Yesterday I blogged about Paste Magazine‘s Evolution of The Hipster and after spending a good amount of time on their site I realized something…
Their branding does not match their demographics!
…
Whenever I would Google Paste Magazine and follow through to their website I would immediately do a double take to make sure I was at the right place.
They are “Signs of Life in Music, Film & Culture” as well as “The best new music, movies, tv, games and books” but what I see is Michael’s craft store or Johann Fabrics. If it weren’t for the Apple Nano advertisement I might “X” out before making sure I was in the right place.
Paste is a monthly, spectacularly written and conceived consumer print magazine. Paste looks for what we call “Signs of Life in Music, Film & Culture” and shines our spotlight on them. This means the best of a wide variety of music, from indie rock and Americana to hip-hop and jazz. We also cover movies, books, games and other media that appeals to the discriminating entertainment consumer. Each issue is packaged with a full-length music sampler (CD or download), packed with at least 20 tracks picked by our editors. We treat each Paste Sampler as a mixtape for our listeners, with all the personal care and attention that implies. Tracks are not sold, but editorially selected because someone on staff passionately likes the music. In October 2009, we added an audiobook sampler. And we even have a quarterly DVD sampler of music videos and short films.
Paste is about the artists, the craftsmanship, and the substance of the art and entertainment that feeds our minds and spirits, that make us laugh, move our feet or explore the human condition. Paste is not about artists’ bodies, hipster trends, arty artifice or celebrity gossip. (To read a manifesto of sorts from two of our founders, see the editorial for our 5th-anniversary issue, “Can Rock Save the World?”) Paste has been called the best American music magazine by the Wall Street Journal and has been nominated in two consecutive years for General Excellence in the National Magazine Awards (the magazine industry’s Oscars). The Chicago Tribune included us on their “50 Best Magazines” list (right behind The New Yorker), and we were named “Magazine of the Year” for three consecutive years at the PLUG Independent Music Awards.
In their about they are trying to keep it relatively generic and open to all music lovers but their articles will resonate stronger with a 20 something crowd. I get that their color scheme is going for the earthy look (Not sure if the homepage always has the rainbow esque banner or if that is for the Apple ad, either way it doesn’t fit) but the colors they have chosen are skewing towards dated. From what I have seen, their print edition has not fallen in the trap. If they want to keep the earthy vibe then why not follow what their Sampler print page does:
Current colors, clean lines and san sarif.
Rebranding can’t be done in a blog post, but Paste Magazine could do with an updated image.
