Pop-Up Magazine Will Resume In-Person Events in November

Like Punxsutawney Phil and his shadow, the return of Pop-Up Magazine to live performance suggests the arrival of a new season in the world of in-person events. The publisher announced today that Pop-Up Magazine Productions would be returning to in-person production in November, with shows slated for Nov. 12, 14, 16 and 18 in Oakland, Los Angeles, New York and Washington D.C. “We wanted to start in markets where the trend lines around Covid were favorable, where we saw a downward trend in Covid cases and an upward trend in vaccine rates,” said Chas Edwards, co-founder of Pop-Up Magazine Productions. “We know that a lot of people are eager to get back to live experiences, their favorite shows and the people they get to hang out with there.” Pop-Up Magazine will make nearly 10,000 tickets, priced between $26 - $89 per person, available across the four markets and the performances will be sponsored by Botanist Islay Dry Gin and the software firm Density. The sponsorship deals are in the six-figure range, though the publisher declined to offer specifics. With its Google-Funded ‘Sidewalk Issue,’ Pop-Up Magazine Inches Toward Normalcy Details of Pop-Up Magazine performances Performances in each market will require attendees to wear masks during the show and provide proof of vaccination, though other specifics may vary by city, Edwards said. As part of its sponsorship, tickets to the production will include one Botanist martini for those over 21, and each destination will feature a menu of custom cocktails. After the show, attendees will also have the opportunity to share a drink with performers. Additionally, Pop-Up Magazine will produce a virtual show with Density following the tour on Dec. 1. The Fall 2021 series will feature a number of acclaimed artists from a variety of different mediums, including TV writer Cord Jefferson, author and artist Chanel Miller, writer Jon Mooallem, filmmaker Ben-Alex Dupris and comedian Sudi Green. Pop-Up by the numbers The 18-person publisher struggled to find its footing during the pandemic, and revenue dropped 50% in 2020, according to Edwards. The challenges led to 11 layoffs last October after Emerson Collective, the organization founded by the billionaire investor Laurene Powell Jobs, announced it was severing ties with Pop-Up Productions, the parent company of Pop-Up Magazine. The live-events series adapted to the absence of in-person performance by orchestrating a series of innovative alternatives, including a Sidewalk Issue, a Field Guide and a $70 “issue in a box.” It also organized a handful of collaborations for private companies in industries ranging from financial services to consumer technology. While Pop-Up Magazine explored these new mediums in response to social-distancing restrictions, the experiments have yielded new business opportunities. A brand in financial services asked the publisher to produce a podcast for it, while another is working with Pop-Up Magazine to build a print and digital magazine of branded content. In the latter half of this year, the pace of business has quickened. Pop-Up Magazine predicts a return to relative normalcy in the coming months. The publisher organized two private events in the first six months of the year, but has 10 slated for the final six months of 2021. All of the events generate a return in the six figures, and the publisher is now on track to double its 2021 revenue next year, according to Edwards. “We have had four times the amount of business in the last six weeks than we did the entire first six months of the year,” he said. “Our brand partners are starting to have more confidence in a path forward.”

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Pop-Up Magazine Will Return to In-Person Events in November

The publisher is on track to double its 2021 revenue next year

Mark Stenberg

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Mark Stenberg