Paste Magazine Returns with New Digital Format and mPlayer

After suspending print issues last August, Paste magazine returned yesterday with a new and improved digital format. Readers will now be treated to weekly issues of the music and culture magazine, via a new mPlayer.The mPlayer will include the popular Paste New Music Sampler, as seven weekly music downloads paired...

By Niki D'Andrea

June 29, 2011

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After suspending print issues last August, Paste magazine returned yesterday with a new and improved digital format. Readers will now be treated to weekly issues of the music and culture magazine, via a new mPlayer.

The mPlayer will include the popular Paste New Music Sampler, as seven weekly music downloads paired with features. The first of the revamped Paste issues and sampler includes free songs from Bright Eyes, Dawes, Rye Rye, and The Decemberists (the latter's contribution is an exclusive live track).

In addition to the Paste New Music Sampler, the mPlayer includes long-form music features, but paired with multi-media components. For example, the debut issue on the mPlayer includes a story on The Low Anthem, complete with a video tour of the band's studio and a track from their new album, Smart Flesh.

"We decided to resurrect the magazine electronically, but rather than just pretending that a computer screen, tablet or mobile device was a piece of paper, we wanted to start from scratch and reinvent what a magazine could be in digital form," said Tim Regan-Porter, Paste's president.

The mPlayer is available in beta preview until September, when it will be for paid subscribers only. Weekly issues will be available for 99 cents, or $36 for a yearly subscription (48 issues).

"When we launched the print magazine in 2002, we included the sampler CD so our readers could experience the music we wrote about," said Paste editor-in-chief Josh Jackson. "The mPlayer takes that original idea to the next level with an intuitive, integrated experience."

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Niki D'Andrea has covered subjects including drug culture, women's basketball, pirate radio stations, Scottsdale staycations, and fine wine. She has worked at both New Times and Phoenix Magazine, and is now a freelancer.

Contact: Niki D'Andrea