State.ie (formerly ''State Magazine'') was an
Irish website and, before, a monthly music magazine. It launched in April 2008 and switched to online-only distribution in January 2009 after having published a total of ten issues. The magazine continued online until 2020, when that year's edition of its ''Faces'' series prominently mentioned the website having ceased publication.
It enjoyed a good run and was voted Best Music Site in 2008 and Best Web Publication in 2010 in the Irish Web Awards. Originally, the concept of the magazine involved a hard copy of which there was a charge to purchase. However after six issues it was decided to make the magazine's content free both online and in print. The first issue, April 2008, appeared on Irish shelves on 6 March 2008 and featured
Michael Stipe
John Michael Stipe (; born January 4, 1960) is an American singer, songwriter and artist, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the alternative rock band R.E.M.
Stipe was born in Metro Atlanta in January 1960. Due to his father's militar ...
of
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American alternative rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the fir ...
on the cover. This immediately garnered comparisons between the new magazine's similarities with ''
Hot Press
''Hot Press'' is a monthly music and politics magazine based in Dublin, Ireland, founded in June 1977. The magazine has been edited since its inception by Niall Stokes.
History
''Hot Press'' was founded in June 1977 by Niall Stokes, who cont ...
'' who featured Stipe on their cover at the same time, a move widely thought to be an attempt by Hot Press to stifle State's status as a serious 'alternative' to the more established local magazine. At a price of €5.50, ''State'' charged €2 more than ''Hot Press''.
''State'' was published by
Roger Woolman and edited by ''Hot Press'' alumni Phil Udell. Contributors included ''
Evening Herald
''The Herald'' is a nationwide mid-market tabloid newspaper headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, and published by Independent News & Media who are a subsidiary of Mediahuis. It is published Monday–Saturday. The newspaper was known as the ''Ev ...
'' columnist, ''
The Irish Times
''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...
'' reviewer and blogger
Sinéad Gleeson, Rolling Stone writer Kara Manning, award-winning blogger Niall Byrne (a.k.a.
Nialler9
''Nialler9'' is an Irish music blog founded in 2005 by DJ and designer Niall Byrne. The company is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. It has been referred to as "the grandaddy of Irish music blogs" by the Sunday Times.
History
Founder Niall ...
), ''Event Guide'' writer David O'Mahony and ''
The Star'' feature writer Tanya Sweeney. The magazine's art director, Simon Roche, was named designer of the year by the Periodical Publishers Association of Ireland in December 2008.
From October 2008 until January 2009 the magazine was made available for free of charge from a number of venues around Ireland's major cities and online from the magazine's website, following a number of other magazines such as Mongrel, Connected and Analogue Magazine in providing their print content free of charge. The first freely distributed issue of ''State'' featured
Kings of Leon
Kings of Leon is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Mount Juliet, Tennessee, in 1999. The band includes brothers Caleb, Nathan, and Jared Followill and their cousin Matthew Followill.
The band's early music was a blend of Southern roc ...
on the cover. After January 2009, the magazine was only available online from its website.
Issues
The first six issues were available for a fee.
Cross-border collaborations
State.ie linked up with ''
AU'' magazine of
Belfast
Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...
in 2009 to co-host what was described as "a series of cross-border gigs" designed to promote Northern Irish musicians in Ireland.
,
And So I Watch You From Afar and
Conor O'Brien of
Villagers and
The Immediate all featured.
References
{{Reflist
External links
Official ''State'' websiteRoger Woolman's websiteStatement of discontinuity
2008 establishments in Ireland
Defunct magazines published in Ireland
Music magazines published in Ireland
Irish music websites
Magazines established in 2008
Monthly magazines published in Ireland
Online magazines with defunct print editions
Free magazines