As Blender magazine shuts down, are lifestyle magazines on the way out?
Filed under: Company News
On Thursday, Alpha Media Group announced that it was closing Blender magazine. The periodical, which specialized in music reviews, employed thirty people. Some will be moving to Maxim and other Alpha publications. To a certain extent, it isn't all that surprising to hear that Blender is closing. Amid tales of tanking newspapers and plummeting periodicals, the failure of yet another magazine is hardly noteworthy. Beyond that, I often hear my wife, a Blender subscriber, snarling at the magazine as she reads its reviews; I have to assume that any publication that regularly antagonizes its core audience has a questionable future.
Even so, Blender's closure bodes ill for the larger industry. Back in February, when Double Down media went belly up, it was easy to attribute its failure to the recession. The media company, which produced Trader Monthly, Private Air, Dealmaker, Corporate Leader and Cigar Report, positioned itself for a very small niche market of extremely wealthy, aggressive people with expensive tastes and jobs in finance. However, as Wall Street jobs evaporated and bonuses disappeared, Double Down's market shrank; even among those who were still able to afford the Double Down lifestyle, indulging in it started to look a little tacky.
Beyond that, Playboy, like Blender, is a lifestyle magazine. Relatively inexpensive and targeted to distinct demographics, both publications should be somewhat resistant to the whims of the battered marketplace. However, it is increasingly apparent that, between the emerging primacy of the internet and the movement toward extremely careful spending, very few publications are completely safe. It seems like the days of the lifestyle magazine may be numbered.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
3-26-2009 @ 5:51PM
Levon said...
Music died when (c)rap garbage became popular. Rap music is an oxymoron.
Reply
3-26-2009 @ 6:12PM
Nemo said...
But you are simply a moron
3-26-2009 @ 10:46PM
reedha said...
levon...you are simply a genius
3-27-2009 @ 11:04AM
Romanthony said...
then why do millions and millions of people pay for it?
3-27-2009 @ 11:53AM
Niki said...
RAP: Retards Attempting Poetry
Why millions of people pay for it? Because they are retards too.
Why the magazine that I have never heard of is going under? Maybe because some of those retards finally realized that paying $3-$6 for a magazine that is packed with nothing but ads (maybe one or two real articles) isnt worth the money. Although that would mean that they would have to have some financial sense, which we all know RAP lovers ("artists" included) have no financial sense.
3-27-2009 @ 12:46PM
FerrariDr said...
I don't know about "GENIUS" having never met you, however having been in the biz my entire life with 4 Grammy Nominations, One Golden Globe, One Emmy, 52 Gold/Platinum Record Awards and numerous Seesion Work (when I was younger) and numerous Production work as I got older, I am in complete agreement with your coment.
3-29-2009 @ 10:37PM
ife said...
im tired of stupid comment you dont hear me giving it to people how much i hat country music or pop music you know why nobody cares so you really should not talk cuz really nobody cares
3-30-2009 @ 5:15AM
Monkey Cheebah said...
I agree with you in full, rap (AKA: CRAP) went out years ago honestly in my eyes, you can act ghetto but anyone who has a job that pays halfway decent will look at you like a retard. And my thoughts on Blender...its a pointless mag, why bother reading about rappers lifes and worry about your own and your dwindling funds in your wallets already.
3-26-2009 @ 5:55PM
Marsha said...
Dang...Blender is my favorite magazine. It's irreverant and easy to read. : (
Reply
4-09-2009 @ 7:33AM
Robb said...
Um, you READ it - you don't COLOR it...
3-26-2009 @ 9:54PM
Brenda said...
It's a sign of the times man. Just a sign of the times. I was told that when I asked why I wasn't getting any job interviews no matter how many I applied for. The Employment Security Commission said it was just a sign of the times. And we both agreed that this BO Administration would continue to make things worse. Sign of the times man! And much more to follow!
Blender, liked ya while you were around. Except for that Rap Crap!! Ick!
Reply
3-26-2009 @ 6:26PM
Leigh said...
Totally 100% agree with Levon....rap is crap and not music at all. Listen to the "lyrics" and you will find they are created by uneducated people rhyming for the sake of rhyming.
Reply
3-26-2009 @ 6:40PM
yousuck said...
You guys are retarded rap rules you jerks
Reply
3-26-2009 @ 6:43PM
Joe McCarthy said...
Levon >>> I couldn't agree more. (C)rap not only s*cks and produces a severe headache. It also fools white kids into believing they are black, and so the ghetto culture worms it's way into what would otherwise be quiet little neighborhoods in the countryside. Blender would be rolling in money right now if they had cover to cover interviews of these street-thugs. Sad but true.
Reply
3-26-2009 @ 6:59PM
Tony said...
If the magazine is so popular why is it going under? :)
Reply
3-26-2009 @ 7:42PM
rickiy53shaw said...
I feel the pain for any business. But this rap thing is something different,Music is music. But rap is a different category today. To put it mildly RAP has become what WRESTLERS were 15 years and look at it today.Someday soon peeps will stating this same argrument over Reality TV.Peeps crave anything new and different .Some as yourselves will hate it others will enjoy the hate and gtet PAID!
In conclusion SUPPLY vs DEMAND(Economics 101). Welcome to the 21 century.
Don't be Hater when know you can be a Participater!
Reply
3-26-2009 @ 7:59PM
Dan said...
Dang! My favorite music magazines keep going under. Tracks, Paste and now Blender!
Reply
3-27-2009 @ 1:50PM
mary said...
why are you so upset i realized that my favorite reigonal mag "midwest beat" also folded. they used to have an unusual awards cermony every year (for it's reader's polls) but that got cancelled since 2 years ago too.....so you're not alone.
3-26-2009 @ 7:56PM
robert said...
rap is crap
Reply
3-26-2009 @ 10:03PM
gscott said...
Brenda please.... it all started with that BG administration or should I say GB yeah a sign of the times just a sign of the times man . (sort of feel like hippie saying that)!
Reply