JPG magazine, which was declared dead less than a week ago, is most definitely for sale and it looks like a transaction will close shortly.
Twenty or so potential buyers have expressed interest, say our sources, including Flickr (a natural fit because the photos published by JPG Magazine are submitted by readers), Smugmug and Alexander Muse. Wordpress also expressed early interest, we’ve heard, although they’ve pulled out of the bidding.
It’s unclear how much it’ll take to get the JPG Magazine assets, but our understanding is that 8020 Media, the company behind the publication, is fielding cash offers only and is being fairly successful in getting a bidding war going.
Fans are going to want to see this end up at Flickr.
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fix the fonts in the top area for the post previews!
This is getting very interesting. JPG Magazine has really helped emerging artists so hopefully it ends up in good hands.
Aren’t you missing the key angle of this story, which is that one of JPG’s exiled founders works at Flickr? Or is that supposed to be implied?
I thought I recalled something like that. Is that person still there (at Flickr)?
Yes, Heather Champ is her name. She blogs for Flickr here: http://blog.flickr.net
She and her husband had a very messy public breakup with JPG after issue #6.
JPG Magazine has a very huge user base. Lets see what this ends up in…
ends up in flickr then what tho?
Create or join a crunchie’s chat group at http://groups.im/
Wow, this morning I just knew about Alexander Muse and now I see there are more contenders. I certainly prefer Flickr with all due respect for the other bidders. I was a member of JPG magazine, not too active but I do like the format and the opportunities for photographers. Thanks for this info Michael.
It would be an interesting one to follow..specially with all the economic variables going on topsy turvy nowadays.
Anything paperback will be useless before 2010.
People keep saying that but it doesn’t make any sense, nothing by 2010 is going to replace full color magazines at > 8.5×11″ and be light enough to read on the toilet and thin enough to fit in your manpurse. Especially for a photo magazine thats like saying prints are going to go away by 2010.
Also I hope Flickr doesn’t get JPG, I can’t really imagine them keeping it as a distinct entity, it’ll get absorbed into the mother site. And while Flickr does what it does well, its a bland medium for displaying photos and a poor way to actually discuss anything.
I for one would love to see it end up at Flickr. Smug Mug would be fine though, as I know Don would take care of it too. But since I’m on Flickr and most of the photographers are too, it makes sense.
Shame on JPG for not reaching out earlier though. No evidence that they really tried, although they said they did.
The best thing that can happen to JPG Mag will be to join flickr.
Anyplace BUT Flickr. I’ve long since left that pile of behind.
Isn’t Flickr owned by Yahoo? How do they have the money to buy out anyone - let alone for cash?
Just heard that the deal is done. I guess details will be emerging soon.
Based on an email I got from Rob Palmeri, it would seem that the deal is all but done (i.e. they are still going to wait for better offers to come in by COB Wednesday). Anyway, since we seem to be out of the running I put my thoughts down in a post here:
http://www.texasstartupblog.co.....bris-fear/
Go Flickr!
On the day they announced the magazine was closing down, their CTO, Jason DeFillippo twittered:
“I loathe Halsey Minor. Billionaire douchebag. He killed 8020 along with Ron Palmeri. Brot hers in douche. ”
http://twitter.com/jpdefillippo/status/1091248785
perhaps he shot his mouth off a bit too soon. Lesson to learn: dont bash your investors in public until you are 100% certain that you are out of a job (actually, bashing your investors for refusing to continue funding your company probably isn’t a good thing to do regardless).
Btw, this is the same guy who built the “ihate.vc” website. He seems to go out of his way to do everything possible to make it difficult for a company to hire him.
mr. jack - jason has not worked at jpg for a while.
I’ll start the BIDDING at $14 DOLLARS and take Heather Champ on a date!
…
I plan to turn JPG into what we all assumed it was when we first heard the name…. a hard core pornographic magazine..
….
is this not where im supposed to post that?
Automattic/WordPress.com has never talked to JPG about anything like this.
If any of the interested parties doesn’t get a piece of JPG, contact 52 Clix.
I hope flickr don’t get jpg, jpg is a community and flickr is a sterile waiting room.
First shutting down and now waiting for the highest bidder. I can pretty much guarantee that flickr, smugmug or whomever else plans to buy this has no interest in maintaining jpgmag - rather there are about 200,000+ photographers and emails that they can approach to sell their own services too, so its the ultimate in cheap advertising.
If these guys couldn’t make it profitable, there is no reason to think flickr or smugmug could make it profitable either.
This man speaks the truth.
If JPG Mag is for sale, the price is supposed to be not higher than price of Fotografer.net, an Indonesian-based photography community with over 210,000 registered member and over 700,000 photographs on the gallery
Based on Alexa, today jpgmag.com’s page rank is 17,572, while fotografer.net’s page rank is 10,335
Whoever does buy JPG I pray that they keep it as is.It is a wonderful site with wonderful people.Please do not send us to flickr or any other website.My fingers are crossed that it will stay the way it is now.You will have many sobbing JPGers.We do not want to go anywhere else
Heather Champ just shot down the rumour that Flickr is interested in buying JPG magazine:
“I don’t know who Mr. Arrington has been talking to, but we (Flickr) are not and never have been interested in bidding on JPG. One shouldn’t believe everything one reads on teh internets.”
http://flickr.com/groups/centr.....209756229/