The Source: Independent Hip-Hop Network, Slowly Emerging Web Strategy

I'm not sure when this announcement at The Source was first made but I was checking out the Zinio digital version from October and saw this news:

Attention!!
Independent Labels and Artists

The Source Magazine...will now dedicate an additional 20 pages of each issue to independent music and artists.  We invite you to call today to register your label and/or artist to become a part of our Independent Hip-Hop Network.  Members will receive in-book or on-line profiles, special advertising discounts, giveaways, invites to high profile events, and more...

For More Information Please Contact:
Che' Johnson: 212.253.3712 - cjohnson@thesource.com
Shalinda Flemmings: 212.253.3738 - shalindaf@thesource.com

I can't believe I had to actually type that.  But that's the sacrifice I'm willing to make for you, dear reader.

The important thing is that this is exactly the kind of move they need to make to revitalize and focus The Source as a magazine.

The Unsigned Hype feature is the thing I've always heard the most about from other people in terms of positive response to content and it has always struck me as one of The Source's true differentiators.  It capitalizes on the positive history of The Source in an honest way.

I'm not sure how the Unsigned Hype Showcases are doing but the YouTube channel seems to be in stasis, the blog is covering the same news as everybody else and the Unsigned Hype forum is not about the features or showcases.

On a related note, The Source's blog and forum both open in new windows from the home page which is not a good look but the move to simpler online tools is a solid move forward.  Honestly this is an improvement over the previous version of the site and that's a good thing for The Source.