Paste (magazine)

History

The magazine was foundedMultiple sources:

• as a quarterly in July 2002 and was owned by Josh Jackson, Nick Purdy,Multiple sources:
• and Tim Regan-Porter.Multiple sources :

In October 2007, the magazine tried the "Radiohead experiment", offering new and current subscribers the ability to pay what they wanted for a one-year subscription to Paste. The subscriber base increased by 28,000, but Paste president Tim Regan-Porter noted the model was not sustainable; he hoped the new subscribers would renew the following year at the current rates and the increase in web traffic would attract additional subscribers and advertisers.

Amidst an economic downturn, Paste began to suffer from lagging ad revenue, as did other magazine publishers in 2008 and 2009. On May 14, 2009, Paste editors announced a plan to save the magazine, by pleading to its readers, musicians and celebrities for contributions. Cost-cutting by the magazine did not stem the losses. The crux cited for the financial troubles was the lack of advertiser spending.

In 2009, Paste launched an hour-long TV pilot for Halogen TV called Pop Goes the Culture.

On August 31, 2010, Paste suspended the print magazine, but continues publication as the online PasteMagazine.com.

Paste Media Group

Paste Media Group began expanding in November 2023 when it acquired US-based news and culture site Jezebel and left-leaning news and opinion site Splinter from G/O Media after both sites closed down, relaunching them in December 2023 and March 2024, respectively. It also purchased The A.V. Club, another former G/O Media property, in March 2024. In October 2024, G/O Media filed a lawsuit against Paste Media alleging a breach in contract from the sale of Jezebel and Splinter.

In July 2025, Paste spun-off its games section into Paste Media Group's fifth publication, **, expanding its reach to include anime, tabletop, pinball, and theme parks. Garrett Martin, who had been Paste games editor since 2011, became the new publication's Editor-in-Chief. In November 2025, Paste Media Group announced that Paste would refocus exclusively on music coverage. As part of the restructuring, the magazine closed its movie and TV divisions, with future reporting on these topics to come from The A.V. Club. The shift resulted in layoffs. At the same time, Endless Mode was merged into the games section of The A.V. Club as The A.V. Club Games, though no layoffs occurred. Later that month, Paste Media president Josh Jackson announced that Splinter would be merged into Jezebel. Jackson explained that while Paste Media had revived two inactive outlets, Splinter "had lain dormant far longer" than Jezebel, and that, along with ongoing industry pressures, led the company to combine the two under the Jezebel brand.

Content

Its tagline is "Signs of Life in Music, Film and Culture". Pastes initial focus was music, covering a variety of genres with an emphasis on adult album alternative, Americana and indie rock, along with independent film and books. Each issue originally included a CD music sampler but was dropped in favor of digital downloading as a Going-Green initiative. Featured artists included Paul McCartney, Ryan Adams, Blackalicious, Regina Spektor, the Whigs, Fiona Apple, the Decemberists, Mark Heard, Woven Hand, Milton and the Devils Party, Liam Finn, the Trolleyvox, and Thom Yorke. Many of these artists also contributed to the Campaign to Save Paste.

Album of the Year

References

References

1. (October 6, 2008). "Masthead".
2. "About".
3. Turner, Dorie. (September 1, 2010). "Paste music magazine to stop print publication". [[The San Diego Union-Tribune]].
4. Welton, Caysey. (September 1, 2010). "Paste Succumbs to Debt, Suspends Print Magazine".
5. Jackson, Josh. "Josh Jackson – Paste Magazine Journalist".
6. Stableford, Dylan. (October 29, 2007). "Following Radiohead, Paste to Let Subscribers Name Their Own Price". [[Folio (magazine).
7. Stableford, Dylan. (January 4, 2008). "Paste President: Radiohead Experiment 'A Huge Success'". [[Folio (magazine).
8. Nolan, Hamilton. (September 9, 2010). "''Paste'' Magazine Freelancers Are Getting Screwed".
9. Stableford, Dylan. (May 14, 2009). "Paste Launches Campaign to Save its Magazine". [[Folio (magazine).
10. Maddux, Rachael. (September 3, 2010). "''Paste'' magazine: Inside the death of a music indie".
11. Jackson, Josh. (October 26, 2009). "New ''Paste'' TV Show Debuts Tonight!". Paste.
12. Nolan, Hamilton. (September 1, 2010). "''Paste Magazine'' Is Dead".
13. (2023-11-29). "Jezebel to be brought 'back to life' after being acquired by Paste Magazine".
14. (26 March 2024). "Former Deadspin owner G/O Media puts The Onion up for sale: source". New York Post.
15. Stenberg, Mark. (October 11, 2024). "G/O Media Sues Paste Media a Year After Selling It Jezebel".
16. Martin, Garrett. (June 30, 2025). "A Note on the Future of Paste's Games Coverage".
17. Martin, Garrett. (2025-07-01). "Endless Mode: It’s the New Thing".
18. Lindsay, Benjamin. (2025-11-17). "Paste Cuts Film, TV Teams to Recenter on Only Music Coverage".
19. Martin, Garrett. (November 17, 2025). "The A.V. Club Games announces a new era".
20. Jackson, Josh. (November 21, 2025). "Jezebel Is the New Home of Splinter.com".
21. "Signs of Life in Music, Film and Culture". Paste.
22. Whitman, Andy. (February 5, 2007). "Fountains of Wayne, Joe Craven, Milton and the Devils Party, Jon Rauhouse".
23. Stableford, Dylan. (May 21, 2009). "'Save Paste' Campaign Raises $166,000". [[Folio (magazine).
24. (January 15, 2007). "Paste's Top 100 Albums of 2006".
25. (November 26, 2007). "The 100 Best Albums of 2007".
26. (November 21, 2008). "The 50 Best Albums of 2008".
27. (December 15, 2009). "The 25 Best Albums of 2009".
28. (December 1, 2010). "The 50 Best Albums of 2010".
29. (November 29, 2011). "The 50 Best Albums of 2011".
30. (November 26, 2012). "The 50 Best Albums of 2012".
31. (December 2, 2013). "The 50 Best Albums of 2013".
32. (December 1, 2014). "The 50 Best Albums of 2014".
33. (December 1, 2015). "The 50 Best Albums of 2015".
34. (November 30, 2016). "The 50 Best Albums of 2016".
35. (November 27, 2017). "The 50 Best Albums of 2017".
36. (November 26, 2018). "The 50 Best Albums of 2018".
37. (December 2, 2019). "The 50 Best Albums of 2019".
38. (November 30, 2020). "The 50 Best Albums of 2020".
39. (November 29, 2021). "The 50 Best Albums of 2021".
40. (November 28, 2022). "The 50 Best Albums of 2022".
41. (November 27, 2023). "The 50 Best Albums of 2023".
42. "The 100 Best Albums of 2024".
43. "The 50 best albums of 2025".