Inspirational Owners: November 2005

The FADER

Through in-depth reporting and a distinct street sensibility, The FADER covers the most dynamic breadth of music and style emanating from the fringes of the mainstream to the heart of the underground. Launched in 1996, The FADER has gone beyond promoting artists to niche audiences to capturing today’s vibrant, trend-setting culture. Alex Wagner, editor of the magazine, shares her thoughts on music and the magazine.

Alex Wagner: Engaged, critical thinkers who are interested in the culture at large. A keen interest in discovering new music — readers are not interested in covering ground that has been tread by others or following rules/dictates that they see as mainstream.

LMKS:Why do you think your readers love your magazine?

AW: We really love — and celebrate — music of all kinds. Hip-hop, grime, dancehall, folk, rock & roll, country and tropicalia all find a home in our pages. We have an authentic conversation about music and music-makers. We’re often first to the table in introducing new artists that will go on to make headlines elsewhere (Kanye West, the Stills, Bloc Party, MIA and Dungen, to name a few). And the production value of the magazine (design and photography) is top notch.

LMKS: Lovemarks is premised on the Love/Respect Axis and attaining both High Love and High Respect. How do you relate this idea to the way your business works?

AW: We maintain a really close relationship with our writers and photographers — making the magazine is a collaborative process and we do our best to listen to everyone’s ideas, concerns and questions. Our creative director spends a great deal of time commissioning and editing with photographers, and our edit staff has an open dialogue with our writers throughout the editorial process. Even our publisher has a remarkably open and respectful dialogue with us—nothing is ever "handed down."

LMKS: Great stories feed the Mystery. They have huge value in business because they look in the right direction — at people. How does The FADER keep the Mystery alive?

AW: We’re always unpredictable — readers never can predict what they’ll find in the next issue of The FADER. It could be a career retrospective of Miles Davis, as seen through the eyes of music makers today or it could be a brand new rapper that you’ve never heard or an indie rock legend whose next album you’ve been waiting to hear. The minute we get predictable is the minute we’ve failed in our mission. We have to keep the mystery — and the excitement — alive.

LMKS: Lovemarks recognizes that the senses are the portals to our emotions. Sight, sound, scent, touch and taste. Can you identify how one of the senses — or a combination or interplay of more than one — are integrated into The FADER?

AW: We execute stories in a way that brings multiple senses into play—the writing in the FADER is incredibly visceral. We aim to describe music in a way where the sound is almost audible, where you can imagine yourself on tour, at home or in the studio with the artist we’re writing about. Painting a really vivid, detailed portrait of an artist is one of the primary goals of our coverage. Likewise, our photography aims to capture our subjects in the most natural light—we never style any one for editorial and shoot everyone in their own environments. We value authenticity and believe it speaks to all the senses.

LMKS: An idea associated with Lovemarks is the idea of Loyalty Beyond Reason — in thinking about your business how do you define loyalty?

AW: Because of the nature of our mission, we need readers to trust us enough to listen to artists they’ve never heard of, trust us enough to open their minds to different sounds and songs, trust us enough to tell other people about what they’ve heard. Trusting us enough to listen is one of the best ways we can define loyalty.

LMKS: What are your Top 5 Lovemarks?

AW: Jay Z, Apple, Jet Blue, Corona, adidas