MEL (magazine)

MEL
Editor in ChiefJosh Schollmeyer
CategoriesLifestyle and culture
PublisherMichael Dubin
FounderJosh Schollmeyer, Michael Dubin
Founded2015
Final issue2022
CompanyLiterally Media
CountryUnited States
Based inMarina del Rey, California
LanguageEnglish
Websitemelmagazine.com Edit this at Wikidata

MEL was a men's magazine headquartered in Marina del Rey, California.[1] Originally funded by Dollar Shave Club, Mel has been described by New York Times journalist Amanda Hess as "the rare men's magazine that has taken upon itself to investigate masculinity, not enforce it".[2] The magazine has no advertisements.[3]

MEL was started in 2015 as a newsletter with five to seven employees.[3][4][5] It was originally published on the third-party site Medium.[3] In 2018, MEL reworked the site and transitioned from Medium to a stand-alone website.[3] In 2017, MEL had approximately 1.4 million monthly unique visitors, which grew to 2.8 million by July 2018.[3] In 2020, traffic grew 30 percent, in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic, reaching 4 million unique monthly visitors.[1][6] On March 24, 2021, MEL ceased publishing,[7] and all staff were laid off.[8]

On July 7, 2021, it was announced that MEL had been acquired by Recurrent Ventures,[9] and would be relaunching under longtime editor in chief Josh Schollmeyer.[10] On July 22, 2022, MEL staff were laid off again.[11][12] In December 2023, digital media group Literally Media, who also owns other brands such as Cracked.com, ICanHazCheezburger, KnowYourMeme, and eBaum's World, purchased MEL for an undisclosed amount.[13] As of November 2024, articles up to the 2022 shutdown of operations are still live on the website, though Literally Media has not restarted publication of new articles.

  1. ^ a b Miller, Harry (May 15, 2020). "MEL Magazine's Cofounder On How The Brand-Supported Media Model Weathers A Pandemic – Forbes". Canada News Media. Archived from the original on March 24, 2021. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
  2. ^ Hess, Amanda (May 2, 2017). "What We're Reading". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 24, 2021. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d e Weissman, Cale Guthrie (August 15, 2018). "Dollar Shave Club's men's magazine "Mel" grows up". Fast Company. Archived from the original on April 9, 2021. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
  4. ^ Bienaime, Pierre (April 7, 2020). "Mel Magazine co-founder Josh Schollmeyer on how the site's 'never been there to push razors'". Digiday. Archived from the original on May 5, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
  5. ^ Perlberg, Steven (November 11, 2015). "Dollar Shave Club Launches Men's Interest Editorial Destination Called 'MEL'". WSJ. Archived from the original on March 6, 2017. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  6. ^ "The 2020 Publishing Hot List: Rising To Covid's Challenges". Adweek. October 26, 2020. Archived from the original on May 5, 2022. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  7. ^ Chan, J. Clara (2021-03-24). "MEL Magazine to Stop Publishing After Mass Layoffs From Owner Dollar Shave Club". TheWrap. Archived from the original on 2021-09-16. Retrieved 2021-09-16.
  8. ^ "Dollar Shave Club Cuts Entire Staff of Men's Lifestyle Website MEL". www.msn.com. Archived from the original on 2022-05-05. Retrieved 2021-03-25.
  9. ^ Stenberg, Mark (2021-07-09). "Get to Know Mel Magazine's New Owners, Recurrent Ventures – Adweek". Adweek. Archived from the original on 2022-05-05. Retrieved 2021-09-16.
  10. ^ Fischer, Sara (2021-07-07). "Exclusive: MEL Magazine acquired from Dollar Shave Club by Recurrent Ventures". Axios. Archived from the original on 2021-08-04. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
  11. ^ Stenberg, Mark (2022-07-22). "Recurrent Ventures Lays Off Entire Mel Magazine Staff". AdWeek. Retrieved 2022-08-31.
  12. ^ "Mel Magazine Lays off Its Staff, Again". Observer. 2022-07-22. Retrieved 2022-08-31.
  13. ^ "Literally Media Acquires MEL Magazine to Restore the Once Beloved Men's Lifestyle and Culture Brand". www.businesswire.com. 2023-12-22. Retrieved 2023-12-29.