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 seized 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 alternative rock band R.E.M. He is known for his vocal quality, poetic lyrics and unique stage presence. Pos ...

of R.E.M. on the cover. This immediately garnered comparisons between the new magazine's similarities with ''

Hot Press ''Hot Press'' is a fortnightly 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 co ...

'' 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 ''Even ...

'' columnist, ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'' reviewer and blogger

Sinéad Gleeson Sinéad Gleeson is an Irish writer, editor and freelance broadcaster. She has won the Irish Book Award. Career Having edited the work of others, in 2016's ''The Long Gaze Back'' and 2017's ''The Glass Shore'', she released her first book ''Cons ...

, Rolling Stone writer Kara Manning, award-winning blogger Niall Byrne (a.k.a. Nialler9), ''Event Guide'' writer David O'Mahony and ''

The Star ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' 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 band formed in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1999. The band is composed of brothers Caleb, Nathan and Jared Followill, and their cousin Matthew Followill. The band's early music was a blend of Southern rock and ga ...

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 ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

in 2009 to co-host what was described as "a series of cross-border gigs" designed to promote Northern Irish musicians in Ireland. Alphastates,

And So I Watch You From Afar or AND may refer to: Logic, grammar, and computing * Conjunction (grammar), connecting two words, phrases, or clauses * Logical conjunction in mathematical logic, notated as "∧", "⋅", "&", or simple juxtaposition * Bitwise AND, a boolea ...

and Conor O'Brien of Villagers and

The Immediate The Immediate were an avant-garde Irish rock quartet, based in Malahide. They made a considerable impact on the Irish music scene despite releasing only one album during the span of their association together. The album was '' In Towers and Clou ...

all featured.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official ''State'' website

Roger Woolman's website

Statement 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