• by Larry Dobrow , June 30, 2003

Hoping to bolster the company's extensive radio and venue holdings, Clear Channel's Collective Merchandising unit has debuted Music Guide Live!, a magazine designed to hype the local music scene in more than 30 markets across the country.

The free publication debuted this week in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia and San Francisco, among other cities. Each edition is co-branded with the local Clear Channel radio station and, when applicable, a CC-owned concert venue. A second issue is planned for August.

"Let me make it very clear: we're not looking to get into the magazine business," says vice president of tactical marketing Jay Freedman. "What this gives us is the chance not only to extend our brand, but also to provide something to consumers that supports the music industry and has strong production values."

Given the usual radio station and concert handouts - coupon books that are more often than not left lying five feet away from wherever they were parceled out - Music Guide Live could well strike a chord. Boasting a mix of tour information, features about emerging artists and tips on local hot spots, the digest-sized magazine looks and reads like much more than the promotion-centric tripe of summers past.

"Unless you're able to put something together that's either informative or commemorative or collectible, why even bother to do a program like this?" Freedman asks. "The people we're trying to reach are sophisticated enough to tell the difference between something that has value to them and something that doesn't."

While Music Guide Live is primarily intended a branding tool for CC's radio stations and amphitheaters, Freedman concedes that the company isn't blind to its potential as a new source of revenue. "Every company wants to go beyond its current core business," he shrugs. "If we can do something in that regard, all the better." So far, national advertisers have responded to the premise, with big names in the financial (American Express), fashion (Tommy Hilfiger) and alcohol (Budweiser, Smirnoff, Heineken) sectors already on board. "Many of the ads are music-themed," Freedman says.

But it is the local content and advertising - roughly one-third of Music Guide Live, which ranges in size between 40 and 64 pages - that will ultimately determine the project's success. As welcome as the revenue generated by national ads may be, the real benefit CC hopes to derive from the magazine is branding its radio stations and venues as the hottest, hippest and/or coolest destinations for young, well-heeled music fans. Should the company succeed, CC will stand to reap plenty of additional dollars from radio advertisers and sponsors looking at CC venues for out-of-home marketing opportunities.

"Our proposition to advertisers is that we're going to touch close to two million people this summer [with Music Guide Live]," Freeman says. "The magazine should be a good fit for [advertisers] who are looking to get their message out beyond traditional spot media or associate with our different markets."