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i've pushed paste onto a lot folks and bought it as gift subscriptions many times. some of their cover choices are suspect. it seems the line between the artists they "discovered" and those who have record companies that pay to be on the cd is blurry (and something they don't like to talk about).

but since they "accidentally" sent the email renewal notice to the subscribers who were not expired a month or two back, i guess i still have about a year and half to decide if i'll renew next time around...

Robin, I write for Paste, and I have a hard time forgiving them for that Billy Corgan cover, too. :-)

But it's a tough balancing act. The lowest-selling Paste issue to date is the one that had Kathleen Edwards, Sondre Lerche, and Josh Ritter on the cover. Who?, you might ask. Exactly. Cover photographs sell magazines, and cover photographs of well-known (or at least relatively well-known; I can't see Britney Spears making the cover of Paste anytime this millenium) artists sell more magazines than photographs of unknowns. So that's the rationale behind Billy Corgan.

In any event, I'm glad you like the magazine.

For what it's worth, these are my opinions only. I don't speak for Paste. They speak quite well for themselves.

Hi Robin - Not only do I write for Paste, but I also edit a section of the magazine, and we're certainly glad you're so passionate about it. So are we. In fact, we cover what we like, and guns to our heads couldn't persuade us to do otherwise. Even in terms of the CD, we only approach artists we like to purchase tracks (and have turned down perfectly good money offered on behalf of artists no one could get excited about.)

As Andy put it above, the cover often involves a strange calculus of editoral, advertising and marketing/branding. Billy had a great story to tell, but him being on the cover doesn't mean he's necessarily in heavy rotation on everyone's iPod. However, our Aug/Sept issue has a great Death Cab for Cutie cover and I can guarantee that Oct/Nov will knock your socks off. So stick with us and hopefully we'll earn those renewals...

(Andy, Erin McKeown was also on that "whodat?" cover. *grin*)

Oh, I do know how the cover business works. Having worked in the magazine biz (food, not music), I know that every publication has to go with what sells. It's the first thing a potential reader sees. And I'll admit to being a typical buyer; if a magazine's cover catches my eye, I'll investigate further. The beauty of this is, you can attract attention by putting a well-known face on the cover that evokes a response (positive or negative) and in the process introduce readers to music they might not have discovered otherwise.

It's entirely possible for a magazine to maintain their integrity and be profitable. Difficult, but possible. Unfortunately, many publications eventually decide to sacrifice that integrity.

My Billy Corgan remark was completely tongue-in-cheek. I'm not a fan, but will I read the article about him? Most likely. Does his creepy Uncle Festeresque visage stop me from buying a magazine I otherwise enjoy? Nope. I just like making fun of Billy Corgan, is all. And it's much easier to make fun of him when I know what crazy shenanigans he's up to

In all seriousness, I'm really enjoying all the Paste-related discussion.

so i should find what i did with that lovely conor oberst issue and finally read it, then, right? :)

hmm, maybe it's next to my recent copy of mental floss...