Destra grabs Mess+Noise
Behind the scenes, Domenic Carosa continues to grow his empire. Destra is pushing forward as a broad ranging content and advertising provider, positioned for a future of digital, digital, digital. His latest acquisition in this space is Mess+Noise.
I hadn’t heard of M+N, so always great to discover another Australian venture (and even better, they’re Melbourne based). M+N started in 2005 - so 3 years of hard work has led to hopefully a nice pay day. And I don’t see that as a sell out, rather a point of equilibrium. There’s only so long a startup can function before the load needs to be lifted from it’s founders. Proper funds must be injected to take it to the next level.
So congrats to founders Danny Bos and Kristy Milliken of M+N!
January 26th, 2008 at 12:09 am
With all due respect Simon, you know nothing about Mess+Noise, nor the work that went into it (particularly the print magazine) for three years by a dedicated group of writers, nor what M+N meant to those writers as a truly independent publication, with no links between advertising and editorial content. It was about high quality, dedicated music journalism, not “growing an empire”. My comments (which you linked to) as a M+N writer were entirely justified, given that a commercial sale took place for an “undisclosed sum” of a magazine and website which many writers gave their loyalty and commitment to over years, not to mention their unpaid labor. We didn’t see a “nice pay day” out of that resale, I can assure you. What was sold was the worth of a publication that had been built by a group of people, a worth based on a true respect and critical influence within the Australian independent music community. To have that sold to a company who’ll data-mine every reader and website user and sell their interests back to them via advertising and, most likely, paid advertorial is highly distressing to those of us who were a part of Mess+Noise up until now, and who believed in its ethos.
January 26th, 2008 at 10:40 am
Fair enough Emmy! I certainly didn’t mean any disrespect, and can see the dilemma when a venture such as M+N is built on writer input (and largely voluntary). I hope it eventually works out well for you all (time will tell). However I don’t think Destra would be necessarily insensitive to the culture of M+N and possibly drive readership (and contributions) away with a blatant advertising play and new editorial control. And that’s despite the rather bland corporate speak on their investment blurb. And who knows what sort of revenue share might come down the line to contributors. Relying on free content is not really sustainable in the long term (youtube has even introduced payment to top tier contributors).
I’m no fan of advertising - I really don’t like google’s adsense being served to me as I browse, but I do recognise without it, the web wouldn’t be what it is today. There’s only so long a venture can remain in bootstrap mode, it needs income to sustain it. M+N has done incredibly well. But witness the closure of an icon of Australia magazine press: The Bulletin. Successful transition to the web era is essential for survival (and growth), and that brings a whole new set of challenges and opportunities that never existed whilst purely in print.
I think Destra’s purchase can only be a good thing for M+N. M+N will still need strong leadership to keep your manifesto true, but I think the outcome is potentially much better than running out of puff in 12 months and possibly slipping by the wayside.