M Publication
M-Publication
Frankfurt, Germany
- Category: Music
- Periodicity: Bi-Annual
- Language: English
- Format: 212 x 270 mm
- Circulation: 10,000
- Price: 26 - 69 €
- Web: http://www.m-publication.com
No longer published
Exclusive Interview
Pure Pleasure
Meeting with Kimberly Lloyd, co-founder of the collectible "M Publication" for a discussion on the international scene for independent magazines, the CMYK festival in Barcelona, and how to succeed in four editions only to go on to create an international reference point for editions of collectors' magazines.
Interview by Mike Koedinger
M Publication is a magazine out of the commonplace. 224 pages packed full of surprises: a dozen different papers are used like a panoply of printing techniques (Blindstamping, hot foil stamping, punching, UV varnishing ...). The editions are monothematic (Power, Luxury, Surprise, Germany) and the collaborators are international. Somewhere between a book and a collector's item, all the same you prefer to regard it as a magazine. Why? And how would you like "M" to be presented?
If you take a 100 dollar note in your hand, you won’t look at it and throw it away, right? It has value and you get some kind of personal profit out of it. I always want to make a piece of paper worth a 100 dollars at least. The question was, how I could I make this physically possible? What information would I put on that piece of paper or what materials will it consist of to make it valuable for my taste? Then I learned that publishing is similar to cooking. The ingredients are always the same, but the mixture of the elements count and the individual note of the head chef is of eminent importance. So I cooked and cooked until finally, with all the right ingredients, M - the menu was ready to be served; like a buffet stacked up with many dishes, for every taste. People can call it a book or a magazine; to me it is a piece of print publication made for entertainment deluxe. My mission was to always surprise and to keep the fire burning. I am happy to see that this fluid concept is well received by my audience, as M Publication can be in any form as long as it is of a certain personal value to the reader.
The principle of collaboration is the engine of the magazine. You function as an extremely reduced team. You are thus editor, publisher, journalist and creative director all at the same time.
You forgot to mention that I also carry the dustbins out. No honestly, I don’t believe in titles and limitation of duties. Neither do I put my university degree on my card, nor do I shrink from doing all that must be done to create a good publication. I do enjoy working with like minded people around me on a regular basis, for example: Roar Sager (Norway), Louis Paul Miller (USA) and Arnaud Mercier (France), who are also my favorite Art Directors and who have accompanied me in this journey with their infinite creativity. But I believe in a dogma and that a publication needs one signature and a vision, a leader and a commander. My task is also that of a product or brand manager which sometimes leads to harsh decisions also on my self.
From where do your collaborators come? One finds stars like Jürgen Teller, Frederic Beigbeder or even the Rinzen illustrators. How do you carry out your call for submissions? And how do you compose the magazine?
When certain decisions regarding the themes and sub themes have taken place within my team we scout for the right ingredients on the market to see what is available. We don’t take in any work unless it is conceptually approved and certified for the publication. Sometimes, this filtering technique might be frustrating for contributors but M Publication is about challenging the talents to present work in a short time and with no budgets and yet their art work has to be excellent and award winning. Big names? Of course I am proud to have all of them. But I am even more proud that M Publication has the power to help establish talents in an over-saturated market. M Publication is an accelerator for our contributors whether old, young, famous or beginners. Famous artists and also big brands e-mail us wanting to collaborate on a future volume. That is my reward at the end of a long day.
Whereas the scene of fashion magazines complains of being victim to the publicity pressure of advertisers, resulting in ad-driven editorials, you have another approach vis-à-vis your customers. Your advertising becomes an integral part of the content of each edition. Tell us more about it!
The content of magazine should be treated in a holistic way. I do not want to alienate the advertisements and treat them as content of less value. Why hide them somewhere at the back of the magazine or indiscriminately scatter them all over like other publishers do? We all want to sell our products, so do brands. And yes, commercial content can also be interesting for the reader if it is treated and prepared properly. I never allow an advertising client to control my content nor do I plan the subjects to make them fit in a seasonal trend. That is not M Publication. Whereas good communication with brands is crucial and vital for the magazine content wise as well as for its financial structure. Our clients know that we are not a typical text book publishing house and they trust me as a consultant. This relationship makes collaborations easier for me and my industry partners. We try to understand brands but we never break or bend ourselves for the sake of a third party. We have rearranged many ads to make them aesthetically appropriate for our readers. We have also developed and produced completely new campaigns for the publication as in lately for Lee Jeans or Hi-Tec. Constant scouting for new brands and products is also vital since we don’t want to publish the same commercial content as other magazines do – this just bores the readers and is a waste of money for advertisers. Many companies approach us because they have understood our philosophy and want to benefit from the creative pool within the agency.
One recalls the beginning of the 70s when Andy Warhol proposed to Absolut Vodka that he himself would adapt the advertising for the liquor producer for a publication in his famous Interview magazine. The bond with the advertiser had changed, evolved, but Interview was also the pioneer of urban, independent style magazines. Later, in 1991, it was with Visionaire that the first collectible appeared. These two complementary models always coexist. What is your vision of the current scene?
I think what the almighty Visionaire crew was doing is absolutely incredible - creating a luxury print collectible out of luxury brands with and for the affluent enlightened few, limited to a few copies, out of reach for an exorbitant price. Excellent, this is how it works in the luxury sector. Although if we look at the mechanism and systematic, any publisher could do that. All we need is a good co-branding partner with a huge experimentation budget. Of course big luxury brands created and operated these progressive branding vehicles long ago. Now also the mainstream brands like Diesel have learned to reconsider their media budgets. Today, outstanding information is not the only UPS a magazine can bring along. What also counts is the packaging, the commodities and some extra bonus material that might get you to the top sellers list. And if you take a deeper look into the independent magazine scene you will see that the anxiety and hunger of young publishers have made many of them extremely creative – we will soon have Visionaire-Me-Toos for the masses.
How is the German medium currently going? What are your observations in comparison to other markets for the readers, the advertisers and the editors?
At first glance Germany is quite lame when it comes to publications in general. Although some publishers control the small independent market still, the independent German magazine scene is not that experimental and huge as in Japan or Spain. This is due to many reasons, but primarily because of financial insecurities and of course cautious advertisers. I believe that this is not only a German problem. All independent publishers are suffering this trauma. We all have to constantly prove to the brands why we are out there and educate brands on subcultures and how to cultivate this very important group of readers. What we are doing is pioneer work at a certain level. Unfortunately not all brands understand that their opinion leaders are within the subcultures. The responses to M Publication on the other hand are very positive. M Publication has received more then seven awards and is sold out during the first 3 weeks of sale. This can be an indicator that there is a demand for it.
For CMYK 2005, the second edition of the international festival of independent magazines, you have been invited as a curator for the "Guest" element and you will present the German scene to the international public.
During the CMYK I am excited to present to the world some of the jewels of the German independent magazine scene like Vorn magazine, Dummy, Rosebud, Lodown, and others. Dummy, for instance, is run by two journalists who once wrote for major publishing houses. Vorn on the other hand is a total chaotic and creatively anarchistic magazine. It reminds me of my first publication years ago. And look at Rosebud, a beauty and yet so intelligently set. What makes Germany strong in its publishing talent is its very rich and stable graphic scene and not to forget the logical thinking. If you see a German magazine you will know it is German by the graphic in it and the setting of typography. What else to say? Thank you, Gutenberg.
Infos:
M-Publication www.m-publication.com
Awards: ADC Silver, DDC Bronze, EDC Nomination, Printers Club Gold, Printers Club Gold, Leadawards – Visual Leader of the year 2005, Design Prize Federal Republic of Germany 2005. Copies: 13.000. Price: 26 t0 69 €.
CMYK 2005, 21-23.07.2005 in Barcelona www.cmyk-mags.com
M-Publication can be found in Luxembourg at Fellner Books within Nico import
Source: NICO magazine summer issue 2005 (c) Mike Koedinger Editions SA
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