Nashville, TN – UNITE Magazine, a lifestyle publication catering to the professional lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community has announced the launch of its 4th magazine in Virginia. The publication, founded by entrepreneur Joey Amato began in Nashville, Tennessee in 2013 and has also expanded into Indianapolis, Indiana and Cincinnati, Ohio.
UNITE Nashville and UNITE Indianapolis are both owned by Amato, while UNITE Cincinnati and UNITE Virginia are licensed publications. After the success of the first two editions and Amato’s involvement in national LGBT business organizations including the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, entrepreneurs and publishers began expressing interest in opening a UNITE in their city. UNITE is currently the only licensed LGBT lifestyle publication in the United States.
“Unlike most regional LGBT magazines, UNITE is an upscale, professional publication which can be read in an office setting or displayed proudly at home on your coffee table without fear of risqué content,” state Amato. “This conservative concept was developed as Nashville, UNITE’s first city, is a fairly conservative market. It was a huge success from the start and we immediately attracted high profile advertisers including Fifth Third Bank, New York Life, Mass Mutual and Edward Jones.” This was also aided by the publications high profile cover stars including Carrie Underwood, Rod Stewart, Dolly Parton and Ricky Martin.
A year later, Amato launched the Indianapolis edition, which became profitable after just one issue. The publication is distributed in some of the most high profile arts and cultural institutions in the city as well as on university campuses and trendy coffee houses.
Knowing that it was physically impossible to manage another publication in yet another city, Amato decided to license the UNITE brand. Publishing industry veteran Chuck Beatty decided Cincinnati was ready for a publication such as UNITE, which launched earlier this year. Shortly after, Justin Ayers, president and CEO of the Virginia LGBT Chamber of Commerce decided to purchase a license as he believed the publication would become a viable business venture while also serving as a vehicle to promote its members to the community. The publication will launch in June in Richmond, with a goal of expanding to Norfolk shortly after.
Amato believes the pairing of the magazine with an LGBT Chamber is the perfect marriage. “In addition to have an immediate distribution channel, being part of a chamber of commerce gives the publisher access to a steady stream of potential advertisers as well as businesses and people to write about all while adding value to their membership.”
In the past 12 months, Amato has seen interest from entrepreneurs in Chicago, Las Vegas and New York. While no further plans have been announced yet, he views these cities as perfect markets for the expansion of the UNITE brand.
For more information, visit www.unitemag.com
