Josh Jackson, Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Paste Media Group's Paste, said that title began as a quarterly magazine covering music in 2002 with 15,000 circulation. "The name Paste," he disclosed, "came from our original tagline, 'Connecting music to the soul.'" Each issue of the magazine—which switched to bimonthly in 2003, went monthly last August and now has a circulation of 180,000—comes with a sampler CD featuring acts ranging from Coldplay and Al Green to Norah Jones and The Shins. Through the years, the Decatur, Georgia-based magazine has expanded its editorial coverage and its tagline reflects that: "Looking for signs of life in music, film and culture."

"Our readers are adults 18-plus, who love music and film and who have been underserved in an entertainment world that caters to teenagers," Jackson observed. Prior to Paste, he was Communications Director with The Luke Society and a freelance writer and photographer. Paste was named "Magazine of the Year" at the 2006 and 2007 PLUG Independent Music Awards and won an award for magazines based in the Southeast at the 2007 GAMMA Awards.

Q. Given your magazine's young profile, it's a bit surprising to see you covering Lennon and McCartney. Why do the former Beatles still resonate with today's youth audience after all these years? 

A. One of the assumptions we get all the time is that because we're a music magazine, we're aimed at a youth market. But our audience spans decades. We have readers in their 20s and readers in their 50s, and both groups are interested in The Beatles, who built the foundation for a huge chunk of the music we cover. Still, our focus is on new music more than legacy artists. We're constantly introducing our readers to new music. 

Q. You've had cover stories on such artists as Norah Jones, Bob Dylan (on the cover of your "100 Best Living Songwriters" issue), Elvis Costello, the Flaming Lips and the Neville Brothers. Which one generated the most feedback from your readers and online visitors?

A. By far, we got the most feedback when we did the 100 Best Living Songwriters with Bob Dylan last year. Whenever we presume to rank artists, albums, venues or even "the greatest screams in rock," we get flooded with letters on who got snubbed and who was overrated. Our goal with the Dylan issue was to get people talking about songwriters and songwriting, and it certainly felt like we succeeded—with over 100 letters about that feature, plus a lot of discussion on music blogs.

Q. Paste’s sister companies sell music online (PasteStore.com and PasteMusic.com). What do you think of Starbucks selling CDs like McCartney's "Memory Almost Full"—in Paul's case, on its own record label? 

A. We actually began with the online music store, and it hasn't gotten a whole lot of attention since we launched the magazine five years ago. We'll be shutting it down soon to focus on the many other things we do—the magazine, website, podcast, our Paste Recommends program in independent music stores, the Paste Rock 'n' Reel Festival, our Paste Presents events, our upcoming radio program on American Airlines, and a retail partnership we'll be announcing later this year. But my hat is off to anyone who is having success selling CDs these days. It's a lousy time for the music industry as it currently stands, but it's a great time for music fans. And more and more companies are finding new ways to distribute music.

Q. A recent issue of Paste paid tribute to "the Godfather of Soul." There's talk of a movie about him, a la Ray and Walk the Line. Who do you think should portray James Brown? 

A. That's a hard one because James had such a distinctive look. I'm a particular fan of Don Cheadle, and Cuba Gooding could pull off the look and mannerisms. But they both might be a little old if the film spends a lot of time on James' younger years. Maybe Terrance Howard? They can go to Eddie Murphy for advice... "It's HOT in the hot tub! Ow!"