Deadpoint Magazine Doomed?

Deadpoint Mag is a new climbing magazine that will be launched its first issue in October.

I’ll be honest when I first read about this magazine coming out I thought to myself ‘we don’t need another frickin’ climbing magazine’. I mean there are already 4 here in the states the Alpinist, Climbing, Urban Climber and Rock and Ice.

So what are these guys thinking? At first I thought they were crazy, but now I am really interested to see how this whole thing plays out.

You see DeadPoint Mag is different from the other climbing magazines in several ways, but the main one is that it is FREE. Yes free and I don’t know a climber who doesn’t like that word.

Supposedly this magazine is planning on getting a large readership by allowing gyms and such to carry the magazine for free for any climber just to pick up and read. You will also be able to read each issue online at http://www.deadpointmag.com. This is a very interesting concept to me. Deadpoint Mag is going after the younger climber market and surviving off the revenues from advertising, which could be significant if they can generate a large base of loyal readership.

What I like about this magazine is there plans to be much different and more edgy so to speak then the other climbing magazines. They say they are planning on taking many more risks in their articles and features, which will be nice to see. Not too mention the fact that they are giving bounties out for sending routes. Like the prize they had up for  you to get $1000 for Jumbo Glass 14c. You can read the details here http://deadpointmag.com/news/routebounty.php

So they are definitely going to be different and sounds like a fun magazine that I will want to read, but the big question is can they survive in this competitive and small market?

Only time can tell but here are some of my thoughts. Since the magazine will be free I am certain that they will be able to generate a large amount of readership both online and in magazine format. The issue lies in the fact that there only revenue is coming from advertising.

Not to say that is a bad thing, just look at Google. It is too say though that I see it being hard to pull off in the climbing market. We will have to see whether or not the advertisers are willing to pay and if they are will they be profiting from the advertising in this free magazine.

How will this advertising compare to the paid magazines, where we know the market is and is willing to spend more money on climbing?

This will be very interesting as it plays out. What are your thoughts on their website www.deadpointmag.com , do you think this will make it?

Stay tuned for updates in the future.