Groucho Marx famously said he wouldn’t want to belong to any club that would accept him as a member, but that’s unlikely to be the case with Nylon. The magazine’s high-profile parties are coveted invites.
Nylon is launching an invite-only membership program centered around events and community later this year. It costs nothing to join, but you do have to be very cool.
How cool?
Bryan Goldberg, CEO and founder of Nylon parent Bustle Digital Group, told Fortune that the goal is to assemble “thousands of the most influential young tastemakers in America.” Specifically, 50k people who average 100k social media followers each, for a reach of 5B.
Why? Well, while similar communities and private clubs charge members to join, Nylon’s model is different. Goldberg is counting on brands that want access to its tastemakers to pay up, much like they already do to be featured at Nylon events.
That’s interesting…
… when you consider that most publications try to earn revenue through subscriptions and ads — both of which are on the decline — unless you’re talking about the The New York Times’ recipes and games.
They seem to churn out as much content as possible, farming for clicks and social media engagement, but don’t really focus much on in-person communities.
While Nylon’s model may not be accessible to regular people, it may inspire other publications.
People are hungry for IRL opportunities to make new friends — whether that’s through friendship apps that facilitate meetups or, as we recently covered, communal saunas. So, sure, why not a membership around a shared interest in a particular media brand?
For example, Atlas Obscura, which achieved profitability in 2023, earns revenue from brand partnerships, but also experiences, including members-only events, online courses, and even group trips.
Time will tell if Nylon’s model will turn a profit, but it does sound a lot cooler than clickbait and articles divided into 20 slides with five pop-up ads each.
