NYLON Magazine [IG] has landed, publishing its first print issue since 2017. Landing with a BOOM, NYLON put pop star Gwen Stefani, now 54, on the cover of their new Spring/Summer 2024 issue. [Note, AOC will be sharing the fashion story separately.]

The pop star is styled by Jan-Michael-Quammie in images by Domen & Van de Velde [IG]. / Hair by Suzette Boozer; makeup by Anthony H Nguyen

Today, Nylon is available at Barnes and Noble bookstores and online. My copy via Amazon is on the way at $19 w/tax, but not with a PRIME promise. It’s being fulfilled by Magazine Cafe w/an 89% praise rating for fast performance. I see no subscription offer on the Nylon website or send option on the Barnes and Noble website.

This could be a good move on the part of Nylon’s owners BDG media, home to 11 brands, reaching the largest millennial and Gen Z audience in the U.S, according to their website.

Speaking for myself only, I loathe dealing with the traditional magazine subscription model, as they sell my home address info to all willing buyers. Online only is now more important to me, and I pay the premium price.

The physical size of many magazines makes them look like baby toys. It will be interesting to hold and see Nylon’s new issue. My expectations are high.

The full-circle moment of Nylon in print marks the 25th year anniversary since Nylon’s debut issue. The magazine’s return to a tight print schedule — perhaps only twice a year but also with the possibility of special editions — marks a trend towards investing in legacy publications.

Book Clubs Increase Post Covid

This story of a return to print in a digital world is gaining major momentum, triggered perhaps by the growth of book clubs led by people like Kaia Gerber. Book club event listings grew 24% in the United States in 2023 annually, according to ticketing platform Eventbrite; and Meetup saw a 10% increase in book club listings, according to CNN.

As part of their growing media mini-empire — but one flying with big wings — Karlie Kloss and husband Josh Kushner are set to rebirth Life Magazine.

Gwen Stefani at Coachella 2024

Gwen Stefani’s Nylon cover story is timed for the pop star’s band No Doubt return to Coachella, also celebrating its 25th anniversary this spring. The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival launched in October 1999 as a two-day festival with Beck and Rage Against the Machine as headliners.

The original Coachella festival lost money — just months after Woodstock 1999 fizzled. Coachella’s organizers took a year off and then brought the festival back as a one-day event in April 2001, hoping to get ahead of the desert heat. Coachella then returned to a two-day event in April 2002 and expanded to a third day in 2010. In 2012 Coachella became a six-day event, spread across two consecutive weekends.