In addition to this weekend’s Sweetwater and Dogwood Fests, tomorrow is also Record Store Day across this great nation.

Decatur’s Paste Magazine has brought back its “Pay What You Want” offer for a year’s subscription (minimum $1) to celebrate, while Decatur CD plans a seductive offer of its own: universal discounts and free alcohol.

All the details are on Decatur CD’s blog.  But here’s a taste…

Sale!
First and foremost, 10% off EVERYTHING. Compact discs, slabs of vinyls, books, box sets, anything that can’t be tied down. If you can purchase it at Decatur CD, you can purchase it on Record Store Day for 10% off the usual price.

Beer!
We’ll have some. Probably a lot. You know the drill. Nice stuff, in bottles, on ice, in that good old trusty giant white cooler. We hope you’ll drink it and that it’ll convince you to hang around and chat with us about music and independent/local business and drinking and Saturdays and good times.

Are you a fan of Aimee Mann?  Are you itching to subscribe to Paste Magazine?   Then you are in luck!

Carl writes in with word that the Paste “Pay What You Want” promotion is back after a successful run last year…this time for Aimee Mann fans.  But it looks like anyone can click the link…so head on over and sign up or renew for a minimum of $1.

This is a great deal…especially for those that want to try out Paste for the first time.  But if renewing, keep in mind that Paste is a Decatur business and perhaps shell out a little more than the minimum to help support one of our greatest local startups.

Here’s the rundown for Night 1 of Wordsmiths’ fundraiser to save itself from extinction…

Additionally, InDecatur notes that a blurb was published in Publishers Weekly regarding the campaign. Also an AJC posting says that the rent at the Old Post Office on Trinity was three times that of the store’s current location. (THREE times!? umm…why?)

Full release after the jump… Read the rest of this entry »

In a recent MediaWeek article, which heralded the return of Paste’s co-founder Nick Purdy to the Publisher role, Purdy discussed the success of their “Pay What You Deal” where subscribers could pay a minimum of $1 for a year of Paste.

Here are the details as reported by MediaWeek…

In a Radiohead-inspired move, Paste last fall offered people the chance to name their price for a one-year subscription, usually $20 for 11 issues.

Purdy said the offer netted Paste (which guarantees a rate base of 180,000) north of 31,000 new subscribers who paid an average price of $4. He called the experiment a success, given that its cost was minimal compared with the $1.5 million he estimated it would cost to enlist that many subscribers via direct mail, assuming a response rate of 1 percent and per-piece cost of 50 cents.

Purdy said the offer benefited from its novelty and no doubt wouldn’t be as successful the second time around. Still, he said the results were good enough to warrant repeating it, adding, “the proof will be in the pudding on conversion.”

While I’ve always enjoyed the onslaught of new music provided by Paste’s monthly sampler CD, recent changes to the disc and its sleeve have left me frustrated.

For those that subscribe to the magazine, you already know what I’m talking about.  To those that don’t, let me catch you up to speed.

A few months ago, in an attempt to get away from plastic sleeves (an admirable effort) the mag informed us that they were switching to a “cardboardy” sleeve to avoid adding countless tons of plastic to the nation’s landfills.  Thinking of all the future generations I would be saving from plastic CD sleeve hell, I turned directly to the distinct division in the magazine where the latest release lay.  I nodded my approval at the striking black cat face starring up at me, and turned the sleeve over, looking to extract the singer/songwriter musical goodness…

(If this were a bad, overtly obvious movie ,this is where the sky would darken and the slow roll of thunder would descend upon me)  Though the back of the sleeve had an obvious extraction point, the tear was impossible to make due to an imperfect perforation and getting the CD out was even harder.  Skip ahead 4 minutes and the CD is on the floor, the cat-face sleeve is nearly ripped in half and a half dozen four letter words linger in the air.  Plastic isn’t seeming that bad after all.

But fear not dear readers, this need not be your future!  For after a couple months of insanity, I’m happy to report that Paste has resolved this musical travesty!  The sleeves are still paper, but now easily tear from the magazine and provide an instant opening, allowing the CD to easily slide out.

Hallelujah!  Rejoice!  And give Paste Magazine this holiday season without reservation!

The source has been compromised! Abort! Abort!

David reports in the comments section that someone from Paste says this deal has been extended for a couple weeks.

David over at InDecatur has an inside source that tells him that the Paste “Pay What You Want” deal ($1 minimum) ends tonight.

So head on over there if you want it. I need to do the same.

Note to self: Get more inside sources.

DMNews has the details…

“For a minimum of $1, new readers can sign up and old readers can renew their subscriptions, which include 11 issues of Paste and the Paste sampler CDs that come with the magazine each month. Gift subscriptions are also available in the offer. Those who pay more than the usual cost of $19.95 will be thanked by name in a later edition of Paste.”

The offer is targeted towards college age students, who don’t want to pay $19.95 for an 11 issue subscription, but anyone can take advantage of it.

I love Paste and would probably feel too guilty to pay only a buck for it. However, this is an excellent way to promote a Decatur business to friends and family. Buy $1 gift subscriptions for everyone you know! I’m sure your Gramma and Pop-Pop are huge Iron & Wine fans!

Click here to take advantage of this wicked awesome deal! (Apparently when I get this excited, I start talking like a Red Sox fan)

Big ol’ Hattip: InDecatur