The Challenge
Secure executive buy-in to launch a Latin music magazine.
The Story and My Role
I was the Content Director for a Latin media startup. In this lean environment, I had the opportunity to conquer challenges well beyond my level of experience over and over again. It was always exhilarating to accomplish something new that was satisfying both personally and professionally.
In my second year there, I led the launch of Batanga music magazine, serving as both publisher and editor. But before that, I had to convince the CEO and our investors that it was a worthwhile endeavor. Almost one year earlier — with the enthusiastic and optimistic support of my team — that I pitched the idea to our CEO. He was concerned it would draw attention (and resources) from our core business (Batanga.com, online Latin radio) and profit margins for magazine were generally very low.
But for my team, who were struggling to be seen as credible in a time when online music was under fire (e.g. Napster being sued by artists and recording organizations), the magazine was about building relationships with record labels so we could bring the latest releases to our partners and our listeners in a timely manner. It was a chance to tell our story and spread word in the industry that our radio stations were in 100% legal compliance since launch.
I didn’t get additional staff, but secured a thumbs up from investors to go ahead and make a prototype. My team immediately secured interviews, gathered promotional images, and my web designer learned print design in record time. Meanwhile, I researched print vendors, gathered pricing details, and labored over inexpensive newspaper print vs. color. I settled on a low-quality, non-glossy paper, mostly black and white with a color cover and less than half of the pages in color. My talented team pushed forward with writing, translating, and designing. I developed a timeline for the launch of our prototype and within a few weeks, we were there.
We sent the magazine out to the record labels and it was well received. However, our CEO thought it took too much of our time, so it was a no go. Even so, our ambitious experiment gained us credibility with the labels and we continued to produce content such as interviews, online record release parties, and photo galleries to complement our radio stations. This led to profitable “branded content” sponsorships and fueled the development of new online products, the development of which became the primary focus of my job.
It also proved my team was up to the task. That passion and hard work was rewarded a year later when we were given enough budget to print a full-color glossy publication along with a modest freelance budget.
The Result
We launched a magazine! The first full-color, glossy issues was published in March 2002. In 2003, the magazine was selected as an Amazon Top 10 Editors’ Pick and was distributed nationally in stores such as Walmart, Barnes and Nobles, and Borders. Batanga soon became know as one of the most credible content sources in Latin music and investors were calling with an interest in investing in the magazine.
The magazine was published from 2001- 2008.
