Blender (magazine)

Not to be confused with Blender (software).
Blender
Issue 2.1 from 1995, featuring Björk
Editor-in-ChiefDale Hrabi
Former editorsRegina Joseph (Founding Editor-in-Chief), Howard Stringer
CategoriesMusic
Frequency10 times per year
Founded1994
First issueAugust 1994 (1994-08) (CD-ROM)
June–July 2001 (Print)
Final issueJune 1997 (1997-06) (CD-ROM)
April 2009 (2009-04) (Print)
CompanyDennis Publishing
CountryUnited States
Based inNew York
LanguageEnglish
WebsiteBlender.com
ISSN1534-0554
OCLC34610465

Blender was an American music magazine published from 1994 to 2009 that billed itself as "the ultimate guide to pop culture".[1] It was also known for sometimes steamy pictorials of celebrities. It compiled lists of albums, artists, and songs, including both "best of" and "worst of" lists. In each issue, there was a review of an artist's entire discography, with each album being analyzed in turn.

Blender was published by Dennis Publishing. The magazine was created by founding Editor-in-Chief Regina Joseph as the first digital magazine, delivered entirely on CD-ROM disc and before the development of graphical browsers required to view the web.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] She brought in co-founders Jason Pearson and David Cherry, and Blender's original publisher, Felix Dennis/Dennis Publishing, UK.[3][5][11][9] Joseph's CD-ROM editions of Blender also featured the first forms of digital advertising.[4][11][5][6][9] Felix Dennis published 15 digital CD issues, and launched a web version in 1996.[12] The final CD-ROM issue was published in June 1997, issue 14.[13] Dennis started publishing a print edition again in 1999 which became the final distribution format of the title. Blender CD-ROM showcased the earliest digital editorial formats, as well as the first forms of digital advertising. The first digital advertisers included SonicNet,[11][4] Time-Life/Philips,[9][4] Calvin Klein, Apple Computer, Toyota and Nike.

In June 2006, the Chicago Tribune named it one of the top ten English-language magazines, describing it as "the cool kid at the school of rock magazines".[14]

Owner Alpha Media Group closed Blender March 26, 2009, going to an online-only format in a move that eliminated 30 jobs and reduced the company's portfolio of titles to Maxim alone. Blender's final print issue was the April 2009 issue.[15] Subscribers to the magazine were sent issues of Maxim magazine to make up for the unsent Blender issues.

  1. ^ Syman, Stephanie. "This Year, Give the Disks That Keep On Tripping". Wall Street Journal.
  2. ^ Messina, Judith (April 29, 1996). "Gen-X Savant Steers Firm Into Busy Internet Traffic: Ad Agency Builds InHouse New Media Business To Fulfill Clients' Web Needs". Crain's New York Business. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
  3. ^ a b Zicklin, Erie. "Mod Jobs: Strange and Twisted Paths to Contentment and Prosperity". Rolling Stone.
  4. ^ a b c d Sibylink (2013-08-04). Blender Magazine presentation at RAND Corp., New Directions For News 1995. Retrieved 2024-08-27 – via YouTube.
  5. ^ a b c Gillen, Marilyn A. "The Enter*Active File: New CD-ROM Mag Is A Hi-Tech Blender". Billboard.
  6. ^ a b LLC, New York Media (1995-11-13). New York Magazine. New York Media, LLC. p. 51.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  7. ^ Gould, Jennifer (2022-04-07). "Blender mag's Regina Joseph lists $2.5M West Village home". Retrieved 2024-08-27.
  8. ^ "The Pop Life". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-08-27.
  9. ^ a b c d Mirabella, Alan (October 24, 1994). "Put Music, Multimedia in 'Blender' and You Get a CD-ROM Magazine". Ad Age. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
  10. ^ L, H. (September 1994). "From A to Zine". CD-ROM World.
  11. ^ a b c Gillen, Marilyn A. (1994-07-16). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. (published July 16, 1994). pp. 1, 93.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  12. ^ "Blender.com on archive.org". 1996-10-19. Archived from the original on 1996-10-19. Retrieved 2022-10-04.
  13. ^ Brown, Janelle (June 26, 1997). "Blender Relaunches as Webzine". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2024-07-22.
  14. ^ "50 Best Magazines", Chicago Tribune, June 15, 2006.
  15. ^ Jason Fell, "Blender Folds: Music magazine latest to succumb to recession", Folio, March 26, 2009.[dead link]