Alternative Press (magazine)

Overview

Alternative Press is an American entertainment magazine primarily focused on music and culture. The magazine was originally founded in 1985 in Cleveland, Ohio, by Mike Shea. It generally provides readers with band interviews, photos, and relevant news. In 2020, Alternative Press was sold to MDDN, owned by Good Charlotte members Benji and Joel Madden, and relocated to Los Angeles. In 2024 or 2025, the magazine was acquired by Veeps, a ticketed livestream platform founded by the Madden brothers and owned by Live Nation. In August 2026, Veeps laid off nearly all of the publication's staff.

Alternative Press
Cover of July 2013 issue of Alternative Press (#300), featuring My Chemical Romance[1]
CategoriesMusic
FrequencyQuarterly
FounderMike Shea
Founded1985
First issueJune 6, 1985
Final issue
Number		Winter 2024
417
CompanyVeeps
CountryUnited States
Based inLos Angeles
LanguageEnglish
Websitealtpress.com
ISSN1065-1667

Alternative Press is an American entertainment magazine primarily focused on music and culture. The magazine was originally founded in 1985 in Cleveland, Ohio, by Mike Shea.[2][3] It generally provides readers with band interviews, photos, and relevant news. In 2020, Alternative Press was sold to MDDN, owned by Good Charlotte members Benji and Joel Madden, and relocated to Los Angeles. In 2024 or 2025, the magazine was acquired by Veeps, a ticketed livestream platform founded by the Madden brothers and owned by Live Nation. In August 2026, Veeps laid off nearly all of the publication's staff.

History

The first issue of Alternative Press was distributed at concerts in Cleveland, Ohio, beginning on June 6, 1985 by AP's founder, Mike Shea,[4] to advocate for bands playing underground music. The name of the magazine, Alternative Press, was not a reference to the alternative rock genre, but referred to this fanzine being an alternative to the local press. Shea began working on his first issue in his mother's house in Aurora, Ohio. Shea and a friend, Jimmy Kosicki, targeted the Cleveland neighborhood of Coventry.[5] Financial problems plagued AP in its early years, and by the end of 1986, publication had paused due to its financial problems, only resuming until the spring of 1988.[6]

In December 2020, Shea sold Alternative Press to MDDN, owned by Good Charlotte members Benji and Joel Madden,[4][7] who expanded the magazine's online presence and reduced its publication frequency from monthly to quarterly.[8][9] In December 2021, Alternative Press closed its offices in Cleveland and relocated to Burbank, California.[7] Anna Zanes became the magazine's editor-in-chief starting with its Fall 2023 issue (#413).[8] The magazine published its last issue in the winter of 2024 (#417).[10] In 2024 or 2025, Alternative Press was acquired by Veeps, a ticketed livestream platform founded by the Madden brothers and owned by Live Nation.[11] In August 2026, Veeps laid off nearly all of the publication's staff, alongside those of BrooklynVegan, Goldmine, and Revolver, amidst declining advertising revenues for music media outlets.[11][12] The publications' websites remain online, but have largely ended day-to-day operations.[12] Hours after the announcement, and amidst online backlash, Joel Madden and Good Charlotte performed with Hilary Duff at one of her concerts at Madison Square Garden.[13][14]

The Alternative Press Music Awards

The Alternative Press Music Awards was an annual music awards show in the United States, founded by the music magazine Alternative Press. The inaugural awards show in 2014 was hosted by Mark Hoppus, bassist and vocalist of Blink-182. In 2015, the hosts were Alex Gaskarth and Jack Barakat of All Time Low. In 2016 and 2017, the show was hosted by Andy Biersack of Black Veil Brides.[15] A fourth award show was due to take place in the fall of 2018, but was postponed indefinitely.[16][17]

References

  1. ↑ Zemler, Emily (May 31, 2013). "Alternative Press Magazine Celebrates 300th Issue with Gerard Way-Designed Cover". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 7, 2026.
  2. ↑ "Potential Markets". Freelance Writing. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Alternative Press: Contact". Alternative Press. Retrieved September 20, 2011.
  4. 1 2 Oprea, Mark (July 10, 2024). "Mike Shea, Founder of Alternative Press, Starts Ruffian Books, a Music-Focused and Cleveland-Based Publishing Company". Cleveland Scene. Archived from the original on July 10, 2024. Retrieved August 7, 2026.
  5. ↑ Alternative Press, Issue #264. July 2010. pp. 82, 84.
  6. ↑ Hoffman, Kevin (February 18, 2004). "Almost Famous". Cleveland Scene. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
  7. 1 2 Smith, Troy L. (January 25, 2022). "Alternative Press is no longer a Cleveland magazine". The Plain Dealer (cleveland.com). Retrieved December 13, 2023.
  8. 1 2 Guterman, Gutes (April 15, 2024). "Anna Zanes Shakes Up Music Media". Byline. Archived from the original on July 6, 2026. Retrieved August 6, 2026.
  9. ↑ altpress [@AltPress] (September 9, 2022). "Alternative Press moves from a monthly magazine to quarterly releases. 25% bigger than before, this poster book will feature in-depth cover stories and full-page images ready to be adorned on your walls. If you have a monthly subscription, please check your inbox. https://t.co/56oyXUYKzh" (Tweet). Archived from the original on November 30, 2022. Retrieved December 5, 2022 – via Twitter.
  10. ↑ "Wisp appears on the cover of Alternative Press' Winter 2024 Issue". Alternative Press. December 5, 2024. Archived from the original on August 26, 2025. Retrieved August 6, 2026.
  11. 1 2 Monroe, Jazz (August 5, 2026). "BrooklynVegan, Alt Press Hit With Mass Layoffs". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 5, 2026.
  12. 1 2 Eff, Billy (August 6, 2026). "Four Music Publications Lose Editorial Teams as Veeps Restructures Media Division". Rolling Stone Canada. Archived from the original on August 7, 2026. Retrieved August 7, 2026.
  13. ↑ Dunworth, Liberty (August 7, 2026). "Good Charlotte join Hilary Duff on-stage at Madison Square Garden just hours after the Madden Brothers' company carried out mass layoffs at US music journalism titles". NME. Archived from the original on August 7, 2026. Retrieved August 7, 2026.
  14. ↑ Wollen, Miranda (August 6, 2026). "After BrooklynVegan layoffs, Veeps co-founder Joel Madden reunites onstage with Hilary Duff". Paste. Retrieved August 7, 2026.
  15. ↑ "Who were the big winners at the 2017 APMAs? See the full list". Grammy. July 14, 2017. Retrieved August 5, 2026.
  16. ↑ Smith, Troy L. (March 5, 2018). "Alternative Press Music Awards to return this fall with greater purpose". Cleveland.com. Retrieved August 7, 2026.
  17. ↑ Smith, Troy L. (November 6, 2018). "Alternative Press Music Awards a no-go for 2018, future uncertain". Cleveland.com. Retrieved August 7, 2026.

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