HM (magazine)
{{Short description|Christian hard rock magazine}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2017}}
{{Infobox magazine
| title = HM
| image_file = HM_Magazine.gif
| image_caption = HM Magazine, Issue #117 featuring P.O.D., January/February 2006
| editor = David Stagg
| frequency = Monthly
| publisher = David Stagg
| founder = Doug Van Pelt
| category = Christian metal
| company = HM Publications LLC
| firstdate = Summer 1985
| finaldate = 2011 (print)
| country = United States
| based = Houston, Texas
| language = American English
| website = {{URL|http://hmmagazine.com}}
| issn = 1066-6923
}}
HM Magazine is a monthly, digital and print on demand publication focusing on hard music and alternative culture of interest to Christians. It is based in Houston, Texas.{{cite web|title=HM Magazine|url=https://www.linkedin.com/company/hm-magazine|work=Linkedin|access-date=May 22, 2020}} Originally published as Heaven's Metal, it was renamed to HM in 1995, and in late 2004 Heaven's Metal was reissued as a separate publication from HM, with some shared editorial overlap.
History
In 1985, a journalist Doug Van Pelt started Heaven's Metal as a fanzine. It changed its name in 1995 to HM, standing for Hard Music, but the Heaven's Metal branding was brought back in 2004 and was released alongside HM.{{Cite book |last=Moberg |first=Marcus |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aXQpBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA37 |title=Christian Metal: History, Ideology, Scene |date=2015-02-26 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-4725-7986-7 |language=en}}[http://www.tollbooth.org/news/oct4.html Heaven's Metal Re-launches As A Fanzine]. The Phantom Tollbooth. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230918234029/https://tollbooth.org/news/oct4.html|date=September 18, 2023}} October 4, 2004 Heaven's Metal achieved more popularity and became an official publication, with five full-time journalists working for the magazine. In 2000, HM achieved a regular subscription base of 15,000 readers.
During the 1990s, HM sealed a distribution deal with a major magazine wholesaler that immediately increased its print-run from 13,000 to 22,000 copies, and it allowed Van Pelt and his co-workers to double ad rates, making HM a stable business enterprise. The most popular issue of the publication was No. 77 (May/June 1999), where Doug Pinnick of King's X came out as homosexual.{{cite web |author=Langer |first=Andy |date=August 7, 2000 |title=Heaven's Metal |url=http://www.austinchronicle.com/music/2000-08-04/78126/ |access-date=December 11, 2007 |work=Austin Chronicle}} A subsequent wave of Christian music retailers refusing to sell the music of King's X is attributed to the publicizing of Pinnick's sexuality in that HM issue.
In 2010, Heaven's Metal ceased print and its content was merged into the digital issues of HM.{{Cite web |last=Van Pelt |first=Doug |date=2010-03-25 |title=Heaven's Metal Fanzine Subscription |url=https://hmmagazine.com/heavens-metal-fanzine-subscription/ |access-date=2024-12-11 |website=HM |language=en}} In February 2013, Van Pelt sold HM to current editor David Stagg.{{Cite web |last=McCallister |first=Daniel |date=September 1, 2020 |title=HM Magazine |url=https://hmmagazine.com/feature/hm-magazine/ |access-date=2024-12-12 |website=HM Magazine |language=en}} Van Pelt remains the owner and publisher of Heaven's Metal, which is officially a separate publication even though it shares some editorial coverage with HM.{{Cite web |title=Meet the Crew |url=https://heavensmetalmagazine.com/index.php/meet-the-heaven-s-metal-crew/ |access-date=2024-12-11 |website=Heaven's Metal Magazine |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Pelt |first=Doug Van |date=2020-11-12 |title=The great HM/Gwar Commercial Spots |url=https://dougvanpelt.wixsite.com/heavens-metal-mag/single-post/2016/08/12/the-great-hmgwar-commercial-spots |access-date=2024-12-11 |website=Heaven's Metal Magazine |language=en}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website|1=http://www.hmmagazine.com}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:HM Magazine}}
Category:1985 establishments in Texas
Category:2011 disestablishments in Texas
Category:Defunct Christian magazines published in the United States
Category:Magazines established in 1985
Category:Magazines disestablished in 2011
Category:Magazines published in Houston
Category:Monthly magazines published in the United States
Category:Online music magazines published in the United States
Category:Online magazines with defunct print editions
Category:Defunct music magazines published in the United States