Arthur Magazine Saved by Readers Donations

July 3, 2003— -- "Arthur magazine needs $20,000 by July 1, or it will die."

It wasn't a ransom note but a plea for help from the editor of Arthur, a small independent Los Angeles-based magazine that covers the indie music scene and has garnered a loyal following.

And Arthur's readers are so loyal that they responded immediately when editor Jay Babcock posted his appeal on the magazine's Web site late last Thursday afternoon. By Saturday, just two days later, the donation counter had gone to more than $21,000, with 264 contributors. Arthur was rescued, at least for now.

"It has been a harrowing experience, and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy," Babcock said of his financial woes.

Babcock found himself neck-deep in debt after he bought out his partner, maxed out his credit cards and borrowed money. Having exhausted all resources, he decided to follow Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's similarly unconventional fundraising model and ask for small donations.

Responding to his cry for help, readers contributed anywhere from $2 to $1,000.

Babcock's fundraising scheme is not unusual for small independent magazines like Arthur, Samir Husni, chairman of the journalism department at the University of Mississippi and a business and magazine consultant who is known as "Mr. Magazine," said. The editors of such publications "feel they have created some kind of community within the readers and subscribers, so there can be this plea: Support us, donate," he said.

Arthur appears to have built quite an extensive community, with donations coming from all over: Brooklyn, N.Y.; Nevada City, Nev.; Australia and Japan. Although he was reluctant to reveal contributor's names, Babcock shared that one of the more high-profile benefactors was Grant Morrison, a popular Scottish comic artist known mostly for his nonlinear narratives and counterculture leanings.

Morrison's support does not come as a surprise to Babcock, who said the magazine appeals to everyone -- "not just the hippies, but the beats before them, the punks after them, the ravers in the '90s and anyone doing anything interesting and progressive now."