Does Hearst still want its MTV?

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, April 1, 2003 by Michael Learmonth

Byline: Michael Learmonth

MTV Magazine is a concept that folks have been humming about for years. But last year it seemed that a music title based on the powerful MTV brand might actually come to fruition when Hearst Magazines and MTV Networks signed a joint agreement to produce the title. In January 2002 they rushed out and hired a staff, including Spin designer Arem Duplessis and former Glamour deputy editor Pamela Miller, only to dismiss the crew less than a month later. The venture has been locked in a corporate deep freeze ever since, as Hearst and MTV executives struggle over - what else? - creative differences.

Neither side seems willing to drop the project entirely. Hearst executive vice president Michael Clinton won't say the Hearst-MTV venture is dead, just that there's "nothing new to comment on."MTV is equally cryptic. "There's no update on the status," says a spokesman.

The impasse illustrates the difficulty of making a magazine out of a brand that is constantly evolving. MTV means music in the minds of most people, but actually the brand is a hodgepodge of reality shows and dramas, in addition to music videos and "TRL." "I think it's one of those things that sounds easy, but is actually hard to figure out," says Alan Light, former editor of Spin. "MTV can go more hip-hop, more bubblegum, more rap-rock and still feel consistent. But I think that would be difficult to translate into a printed product."

If MTV is ever going to make the leap, the time to jump may be now. The music scene is filling up fast, as Rolling Stone, Spin, Vibe, Blender, The Source, and XXL may be joined by two new titles in 2003. Emap is studying a possible U.S. launch of its U.K.-based Q Magazine this year, and Light is launching a music magazine for 30-somethings in September.