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Paste Magazine
Jackson and Purdy founded Paste in July 2002, originally bundling a physical magazine and CD compilation to showcase emerging musicians.
Paste Magazine
Jackson and Purdy founded Paste in July 2002, originally bundling a physical magazine and CD compilation to showcase emerging musicians. The print edition ran until 2010, when advertising revenue collapsed industry-wide; Paste then moved fully online, becoming an early test case in reader-supported digital arts journalism. The firm remains headquartered in Atlanta, with a secondary studio in New York that serves as a venue for live sessions and branded content production. Paste's editorial coverage spans music, movies, television, comedy, video games, books, and craft beverages. The business model departs radically from ad-dependent media peers — the company earns revenue through a voluntary membership program called Paste Membership, a monthly wine club that ships curated bottles to subscribers, live events in its New York studio, and limited programmatic advertising. This hybrid structure treats each vertical as a distinct revenue line: culture journalism draws members, the wine club monetizes a separate enthusiast audience, and the studio provides hospitality and production income. The organization operates with a lean core team of editors and contributors, primarily based in Atlanta. Its adjacent vehicles include the Paste Studio in Manhattan, which hosts live performances and interviews, and the Paste Wine Club, a direct-to-consumer subscription business. In early 2023, Paste announced plans to expand its travel vertical, Paste Travel, signaling an editorial push into experiential journalism — an adjacency to the membership and club model that rewards deeper audience engagement. What distinguishes Paste structurally is its refusal to rely on social-media distribution or venture-scale traffic economics. The firm makes money directly from its audience — subscriptions, merchandise, memberships, wine — rather than from targeted advertising or platform licensing deals. This creates a constituency model where the editorial product serves a paying readership rather than an algorithmic feed. The craft-beverage and travel extensions function as operational hedges, insulating the editorial core from any single channel's revenue volatility.
General information
Firm type
Asset Manager
Year founded
2002
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Atlanta
Corporate office
Atlanta, GA, United States
Additional offices
New York, NY, United States
Principals
Josh Jackson
Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief
Nick Purdy
Co-Founder
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
How does Paste Magazine generate revenue?
Paste earns revenue through a direct-to-audience model that includes a voluntary membership program, the Paste Wine Club, branded merchandise, live events and sessions from its New York studio, and limited programmatic advertising. This structure deliberately reduces dependency on volatile digital ad markets, which forced the magazine's original print-to-digital pivot in 2010.
Who founded Paste and still runs editorial operations?
Co-founders Josh Jackson and Nick Purdy launched Paste in 2002. Jackson continues to serve as Editor-in-Chief and is the public voice of the publication's editorial direction. The company operates with a lean internal team supplemented by a wide network of freelance contributors across music, film, television, gaming, and drinks coverage.
What happened to Paste's print magazine?
Paste discontinued its print edition in 2010 as advertising revenues collapsed during the media industry's digital transition. The company preserved its editorial brand by going fully online and building a reader-supported revenue model that now includes membership subscriptions, a wine club, and studio-produced content.
Does Paste operate any non-media businesses?
Yes. Paste runs a direct-to-consumer wine club that ships curated selections to subscribers monthly, and operates the Paste Studio in Manhattan, which hosts live performances, interviews, and private events. Both ventures generate revenue independent of the core editorial operation.
How is Paste structurally different from ad-supported digital media outlets?
Paste employs a constituency revenue model where the bulk of income comes directly from readers — through memberships, the wine club, events, and merchandise — rather than from programmatic advertising or social-media distribution. This structure aligns the editorial product with a paying audience rather than algorithmic scale.
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