Finding Success at The Source

In August 2008, at a time when many magazines were folding, L. Londell McMillan—an entertainment lawyer, real estate developer and part owner of the New Jersey Nets—snapped up the ailing brand The Source with plans to revamp the New York-based "Bible of Hip-Hop Music, Culture and Politics." He went to work quickly. By December, McMillan's efforts had won back major advertisers such as Sony, Warner Music Group, the Army and the Navy. In February, the magazine announced that it had eliminated $3.75 million in outstanding debt—a sum that McMillan, who is co-owner and executive publisher of The Source, personally secured in financing to free the brand from this burden. Despite these successes, McMillan says he still is battling to regain advertisers who felt burned by previous management's choices. As if to reinforce the new era, an "Under New Ownership" notification now appears on the cover directly below the magazine's title, a practice McMillan inaugurated with his first issue, the 20th anniversary issue in September 2008."We've got a lot of work to do. I understand and appreciate that I inherited a 20-year business that has had its ups and then had its downs," he says. "But I look forward to the opportunity to revise and revamp this legendary and iconic brand, and to showcase it around the world in a more responsible and creative way."Here, McMillan discusses his business strategy for breathing new life into The Source.What were the business reasons behind The Source's troubles?L. Londell McMillan: There were decisions [made by] the prior owners that impinged upon journalistic integrity and objectivity, and it appeared to some as if The Source had become someone's personal media machine versus the legendary hip-hop media source. … Why did The Source lose advertising? Well, it's a combination of reasons. One was [that] all magazines started to lose advertising in the past two to three years. The music industry, which played a large role in The Source's advertising base, started to shift its marketing and advertising budgets away from print media to radio and television and Web sites. Three, [the magazine] lost a number of [its] very talented sales executives because these sales executives lost faith in the prior owner's leadership.What was your first priority in revamping â€¨The Source?McMillan: … We had to restore the editorial, creative and management integrity of the business, to reconnect to our readership and then gain back [our advertisers'] trust. Then, we had to digitize and aggregate over 20 years of non-magazine, audio-visual content in our libraries. … We have almost 20 years' worth of interviews, Source Awards shows, network specials. … We're going to digitize it all; repurpose it; and create vehicles to serve as advertising, information and entertainment content. … [That] means a host of programs for broadcast, radio, Web and mobile applications. … We have a brand. We're going to partner the brand with the highest-quality content and create a media company.How did you win back â€¨advertisers?McMillan: We're still fighting to win them back each day—but, [with] honesty, hard work and responsible management. We created an intergenerational product with the magazine that engages what I consider to be a fresh and exciting lifestyle of hip-hop culture, while reforming the images and the content that cause concern with hip-hop, in general. … In very specific ways, we're taking many meetings. We are collecting and presenting our data. We are presenting the new era of The Source, in the form of electronic press kits, PowerPoint presentations, [etc.]Coming in, you had a lot of challenges to handle. What was the biggest?McMillan: I think it was just revamping the business culture and work ethic within The Source, as well as terminating past employees. You know, it's always difficult, in these tough economic times, to let people go—even when it's necessary. But we had to make some very necessary business, creative and editorial changes in The Source, and start fresh and start new.How has the recession impacted your business strategy?McMillan: Oh, in a major way. The effect on the media industry and publishing overall, I think, has caused many people to turn to ways [other than print] to produce their content [such as] online and mobile, [and to] look at cost cutting. … It had a very profound impact on our plans, because it delayed some of them. … We shifted our priorities to immediately reduce our debt burden. So, unlike other magazines, we carry no institutional debt.What do you believe The Source's greatest opportunities are right now?McMillan: … Our digital and our mobile initiatives, I think, represent The Source's greatest opportunities, due again to the vast volume of content that it owns and because of its global brand. So a combination of digital, mobile, the interactive nature of our content, as well as further exploiting [The Source's] global brand. For example, we renewed our Source Japan deal. …How is your marketing model evolving?McMillan: ... The marketing component of The Source will be a key strategy, because we're becoming almost like marketing partners for those [companies] that [want to] use The Source brand and The Source media assets … to get the word out about what it is that they're doing. … The magazine is going to become a tool for our online and interactive activities. It's not going to be the focus and core. …How do you plan to advance the The Source brand in the coming years?McMillan: … The Source is the most recognizable hip-hop brand in publishing. So, it's only a matter of time before our new management team, with our strategic partners, will rightfully claim its place as the social community of choice for hip-hop worldwide.Heather Fletcher is a senior editor and staff writer at North American Publishing Co.

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Finding Success at The Source

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Heather Fletcher