MTV Gives Magazine a Remix
By DAVID CARR

Major magazines are generally introduced with a great deal of fanfare: news
releases, lavish parties and bold statements about the paradigm shift the new
publication represents. The much awaited MTV magazine will land a bit more
quietly this week. There will be on-air and on-Web promotion, but for the
most part, MTV is letting the first issue speak for itself.

But it will speak in a language that will leave many in publishing baffled.
SN, as the first issue is called (part of MTV's Spankin' New franchise),
represents a huge curveball in retail presentation and editorial execution.
It arrives in a plastic bag containing one large magazine that covers coming
releases in film, video games and toys, a smaller magazine that looks at new
music, and a multimedia compact disc with movie and game trailers and samples of music, games and movies. Graphically, the package is inhabited by "urban vinyl toys," photographs of little characters built out of motifs from punk
to hip-hop to horror movies.

MTV ignored offers from major publishers, most notably Hearst Magazines, and
hired Smoke, a New York-based firm that has created a variety of programming for various media clients. The issue it created is one of a kind; the next issue, due in January, will have another name and take a different approach. MTV is distributing 500,000 copies of the initial issue and promises
advertisers a rate base of 300,000.

"The essence of our brand is the unusual, the innovative and the unexpected,"
said Daniel P. Sullivan, group publisher at MTV. "We wanted something that
enabled us to be flexible and fluid in bringing MTV to our audience."

The large magazine's cover has a tiny logo, two vinyl characters seemingly
shrink-wrapped, and 10 words. In an age of busy, exclamation-ridden covers
that shout for attention, the approach relies on the MTV logo and the
idiosyncrasy of the visuals to entice readers. Bagging different media
elements into a single package for $5.95 is not without precedent, but the
publications inside are clearly aimed at the 21-year-old reader. The voice is
collegiate and friendly, the articles are very short, and topics are sampled
as opposed to thoroughly explored.

Mr. Sullivan said the size and the business plan for the publication would be
shaped by the response, but he and others at MTV were convinced an audience
raised on quick-cut videos was ready for a print product that reflected the
network's sensibility. "This could be a very good business for MTV," he
said. "It is a big brand and this is one more way for us to reinvent
ourselves."