Rare Magazine "Bringing in New Blood and Expanding," Says New Publisher
Like the publishing industry as a whole, Austin's Rare Magazine has been undergoing a metamorphosis of late, which ostensibly began with the departure of former Publisher and Founder Matt Swinney earlier this year.
The magazine's co-owner, Taylor Perkins, who runs local real estate firm 512 Realty and serves as Development Director for Charity Bash, a fledgling philanthropy group, then bought out his business partner's share, becoming sole owner of Rare and assuming the Publisher title.
Then, recently, Carrie Crowe, Associate Publisher and Editor of the magazine since 2006, resigned. The entire design team did the same, as freelance writer Tolly Moseley noted on a post over at Austin Eavesdropper (since taken offline). The news surprised us, as on the events side, Rare still seemed to be going strong: just last night they hosted a lavish grand opening party of the new Alexan Vistas on RR 2222, and earlier in the month they threw the Rarest of Them All awards fete at the Long Center. Nevertheless, as the original post hinted, with no word from management, freelancers not getting word of any new assignments, and the July edition in limbo, the fate of the magazine was unclear, certainly to some of its freelance staff. In the hopes of addressing subsequent rumors that have been spreading around the internet, we wrote to Perkins to find out just what had transpired.
"What is going on with Rare is nothing more than a 'transitional' phase, as I recently bought out my previous partner and am now the sole owner of the magazine," Perkins replied. "ALL businesses go through this every few years, especially in this industry where the average shelf life of a magazine is 3-5 years (Rare is 4.5).
"We have some people who have reached a point where they feel that it is time to move on to other things and see what their options are. We are in the process of bringing in some new, incredibly talented people to fill the available positions that will enrich what Rare has been and enhance what it is going to be. Rare is NOT folding, Rare is fine. We’re simply bringing in some new blood, and expanding our operations... If anything, we’re actually growing, as we are expanding the events side of our business by 40% over last year.
"In this industry and especially this city, news travels fast, but unfortunately rumors sometimes travel faster."
So there you have it. The original post on Austin Eavesdropper has since been removed and replaced with an update which notes that the July issue, the last under former editor Crowe and her design team, will indeed be distributed around town.
We also approached Swinney, who recently started a new venture of his own called Launch 787. He erred on the side of politeness when asked to speculate on the current situation at the magazine that he so painstakingly started half a decade ago.
"While I'm no longer involved with Rare Magazine in any way, it is something I spent almost 5 years of my life building and creating," Swinney told us. "I wish Taylor the best of luck in continuing what I started and I look forward to watching the magazine flourish under him."
Several others we spoke with preferred not to comment publicly on the matter.
Update #2: Below is a press release from Perkins that was sent out this afternoon.
Rare Magazine, Austin’s favorite lifestyle magazine and event-hosting publication, has recently had a change of ownership. Founder Matt Swinney and his partner of 2 ½ years Taylor Perkins have negotiated a buyout of Matt’s interest, leaving Taylor Perkins the sole owner at the helm for Rare and all that it plans on bringing Austin in the up and coming issues. The details of this buyout are not disclosed.Taylor is one of the principals of local real estate company 512 Realty that he started over 4 years ago alongside his partner Alan Ware. Specializing in local real estate with a concentration around the student housing market, 512 Realty has grown to become the #1 realty company and property management firm in the area in those 4 years. An investor in numerous other ventures in Austin, Taylor brings his knowledge of small business growth and the local Austin market to Rare, and has a lot of plans for Rare’s expansion and growth in the coming year. Taylor is also the Development Director of local non-profit CharityBash that has thrown many successful events benefiting other local non-profits since its inception in February of this year. CharityBash aims to involve more of Austin’s young professionals in philanthropic giving and participation, and hosts incredible events in local venues benefiting local non-profits each month. Founded with partners Alex Winkelman and Jessica Gross, CharityBash has grown in both participation and attendance tremendously over the course of the last five months, and has donated on average $3,000 per event to a local non-profit. (www.charitybash.org)
“We plan on enhancing aspects of the publication as it currently exists, and to give small businesses in our community an engine to get out to the public. From the artists to the editorial we will be evolving many different aspects of Rare going forward. Our events will grow, and we will be doing a lot more of them. We want to grow Rare, and there is no better time than now to do just that.” (direct quote from Taylor Perkins)
Austin Restaurant Week, a very successful event that brings $25-$35 pre-fixe menus to its attendees over a 2-week period with some of Austin’s favorite and finest restaurants, is an event hosted exclusively by Rare Magazine. Aiming to get Austinites out to experience more of the local fare and to get restaurants to reach out to new and old clientele, Austin Restaurant Week is an incredible opportunity for anyone that wants to get out and try some of the cities favorite restaurants, and chefs an opportunity to try out some new and exciting menu items. Dates for Austin Restaurant Week this fall will be announced in the up and coming weeks.
Bluefish Entertainment founder Jason Hicks has come on board with Rare Magazine as the Director of Events, and will be leading the charge for Rare’s numerous soirees and events going forward. With experience in many different facets of event production from festivals to live music shows both big and small, Perkins felt he is the perfect fit for Rare and for Rare Events. “I am elated to bring Jason on board, and I am very excited about what he will bring to Rare. Our events have been very exciting and well-attended, so having Jason will be a big step for us to put some more exciting events together for Austin to attend going forward.” (direct quote from Taylor Perkins)
Founder Matt Swinney has started another company here in Austin, Launch787, that is hosting Austin Fashion Week this Fall.
