PEOPLE

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, May 1, 2002

After years of bubble-gum pop and gangsta hip-hop, rock is making a comeback on the music charts, and Sia Michel, Spin's new editor in chief, says the timing couldn't be better. As the first woman ever to take the helm at a rock magazine, Michel is planning to retool the title's style from somber and cynical to electric and eclectic. Rock's resurgence gives the magazine an edge at a time when the competition is intensifying, she says. New players like Blender and an upcoming MTV-branded title make differentiation a must. Here, Michel talks about her plans to rotate in a new direction.

Why has it taken this long for a woman to top edit a national rock music magazine?

There have always been really interesting female rock critics and editors, but it's still pretty much a boys club. Sometimes you have to look a little harder to find a female critic. Part of it is that there were traditionally fewer women involved, and therefore fewer women to move up the ladder.

How will a woman's touch affect Spin?

In terms of the gender aspect, I've been here for quite a while. Spin has traditionally covered female artists - and it wasn't always the case that the woman had to [be wearing] a bikini on the cover. The whole time I've been here, we've always been supportive of female artists. But it's a tough time to find a lot of women in rock to cover because there are just not that many on the charts.

What changes are in the works?

We're identified as a rock magazine, but we've always covered hip-hop and pop when we felt that it was interesting music we wanted to comment on. You will definitely see us broadening even more. Pink is on the May cover. She's not somebody you might have assumed Spin would put on the cover, and she isn't presented in the normal way. The cover just looks really different - it's a really striking photo.

I think sometimes our design was too sedate. There were fun stories that didn't look fun to read. In the past, some musicians wanted to look really serious. So sometimes our covers were too still - the artists didn't look like they were having a good time. We really want to get away from that and have some kind of eye-popping setup or more of an electric kind of feel to the shoot.

Are you changing the tone or voice?

Critics say Spin is too cerebral or elitist, even cynical about music, which I think at heart hasn't been true (although I can see why people might take that out of certain issues and sections). Spin will now be out there uncovering cool new bands for people and writing about the people we think are great, but being more at the reader's level about it.We've hired a new reviews editor. The reviews are still going to be opinionated and smart and have interesting ideas about music, but they're going to be more readable to a wider variety of readers.

And there will be more consistency. Different sections of the magazine have sometimes felt as if they belonged to a different magazine - there's going to be more consistency throughout. I want to run recurring content so that people will be buying the magazine because they know there are special departments they want to read - versus having them buy something based on who is on the cover.

How are you positioning to compete against newer books like Blender and MTV and older competitors like Rolling Stone?

There are major differences between us and Blender. They're covering what's popular. It's not like there's a point of view - they kind of want to be something for everybody. You've seen the same thing in Rolling Stone. It became much more about reflecting whatever is at the top of the charts at the moment. We still very much have a point of view: It's about music we think is important. We filter the bands we cover through that aesthetic. Our readers want to hear about a cool new band before anyone else does. You're definitely going to see more of that coming from us because it's a great way to differentiate ourselves.

How do trends in the music industry affect the magazine?

It was tough a few years ago when the primary music was teen pop and then hip-hop and R&B. Now it's great for us - I look at the charts and see tons of rock records in the top 20 and a lot of interesting bands to think about.

I'm lucky because I'm coming in at a good time when I have more stuff to choose from that I think can work on a cover. People just feel more excited about rock again. - Susan Thea Posnock

advertising & sales

Kevin Aiken to director of sales development and advertising research for Rodale's Organic Living Group, from advertising research manager.

Suzanne Lang to advertising director, Blender, from corporate accounts director, Spin.

Tina Newman to beauty/fashion director, Organic Style. Previously, she was executive director of Estee Lauder USA.

Jennifer Kapfer to beauty director, Lucky, from beauty manager, People.

Cory Coleman to national sales manager for Advanstar's Ophthalmology Times, from senior account manager at Thomson Medical Economics' Drug Topics and Red Book.

Charlotte DeFuria to New England manager, Cooking Light, from account manager.