Greetings all!

For a while now there have been suggestions of an official deviantART magazine, and I want to talk to you about the concept, how it could be beneficial to the community and how we would implement it into the site.

Physical or Electronic?

There could be two ways to make the magazine; either a physical copy which is printed and shipped out to deviants, or an electronic version (also called an 'e-magazine' ) which can be emailed to deviants.

Both versions have their advantages and disadvantages so I want to talk to you about both types:

~ Printed
This would be shipped to deviants every month, the advantage is that people can have a physical copy of the magazine and they can read away from their computer, this copy could also contain promotional material and 'freebies' by selected advertisers.

However the problem is production costs, it would be very expensive to print hundreds of thousands of copies, let alone shipping costs to send a magazine to deviants all around the world. This could be rectified by providing another subscription to DA, so deviants who pay an extra $25 can have a physical copy of the magazine shipped to them; this gives users the choice whether or not they want to subscribe to the magazine.

~ Electronic
This version could be implemented by .pdf, .swf or similar file types and is sent to deviants via email or through an extra DA site feature (like the ones above the search). DA could still charge for the subscription such as an extra $10.

Magazine Content

The whole purpose of the magazine is to showcase deviants who are hidden on the site and don't receive the recognition they deserve for their beautiful work. The magazine should also contain:

- DA site news as well as new features
- Tips on improving your art work (a different art theme every month)
- Random deviant of the months top 5 pieces of work
- Interviews

I think it would be biased to limit the magazine to only deviants who are already well-known on the site, especially when they don't need more advertising.

How to implement the magazine into the site?

There is no doubt that having a magazine would be a very complicated and big process, and for the site to manage with the magazine I'm guessing there would have to be people dedicated to editing the magazine including magazine writers.

Of course some people will not want their work to go in a magazine for copyright and personal reasons so it would be good if DA included a function in the submission process of new deviations where you can have the option to include your deviation in the magazine if its picked or if you don't want it in the magazine.

Why have the magazine & costs?

The main purpose of the magazine is to advertise deviants work and to bring forward other DA material which many users might miss-out on the site (important news). I recently made a poll asking users whether they thought a magazine would be a good idea, and over 90% of the deviants who took the poll agreed that the main reason to have the magazine is to show less-know deviants work. In terms of the costs, as I mentioned above a subscription based magazine probably would be the best idea.


So, will there be a deviantART magazine? Maybe, maybe not. I would love to have a magazine as like many of you I spend a considerable amount of time on the site so I think its a good idea. So what can we do to make this happen? The best way is to spread the message around the community, from there we can find out whether DA staff think its a good idea and then possibly in the future we may have a magazine!

Thank you for taking the time to read this, if you ever want to contact me send me a note or comment on this news report. Good luck deviantART Magazine, maybe we'll see you soon!

Daniele Delgrosso
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