Capital Region Living Magazine

What Capital Region Living Magazine does

Capital Region Living Magazine (CRL) is a privately held regional lifestyle publication serving the Capital District of New York State, including Albany, Saratoga Springs, Troy, and surrounding communities. Operated under Empire Media Network, Inc. from a single headquarters at 8 Butler Place, Saratoga Springs, the magazine produces a quarterly print edition and a continuously updated WordPress-based digital property at crlmag.com, with editorial coverage spanning culture and arts, food and drink, style and design, sports and racing, community news, travel, and health and wellness. The product surface is extended by seasonal crossword puzzles, a recurring CRL IRL first-person narrative series, a curated calendar of local events, and a centralized directory of local businesses across entertainment, healthcare, home, real estate, restaurants, services, and shopping categories.

The publication's flagship engagement mechanism is the annual Bestie Awards, a reader-voted recognition program culminating in the BestieFest ceremony (10th annual edition held June 9, 2026) that connects residents with local businesses across categories including food, drink, dining, services, arts, and community. Revenue is generated through two primary streams: print and digital magazine subscriptions managed via Empire Media Network's subscription platform, and advertising sold to Capital Region SMBs through display ads, sponsored content, and directory listings. Distribution is regional, combining print circulation, the crlmag.com website, and organic social channels (Facebook, Instagram, X/Twitter).

The business operates with a small editorial team (1–10 employees across the network) including an Editorial Director, Director of Content, Associate Editors, and contributing writers, and shares operational and back-office infrastructure with sister brand Saratoga Living under the Empire Media Network umbrella. Pricing for subscriptions and advertising is not publicly disclosed and is managed through the parent company's centralized platform.

Name

Capital Region Living Magazine

Legal name

Empire Media Network, Inc.

Website

https://crlmag.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Regional Lifestyle Magazine

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (51312)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Consumer Lifestyle & Fashion Magazines (MPAJAEAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Food, Cooking & Beverage Magazines (MPAJAEAF), Arts, Culture & Literary Magazines (MPAJAEAN)

Keywords

• Regional lifestyle magazine
• Local lifestyle content
• Community journalism
• Print magazine publishing
• Local business advertising

Headquarters

HQ city

Saratoga Springs

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Magazine Subscription: Print and digital subscription revenue through Empire Media Network's subscription platform. The magazine offers subscriptions under the Saratoga Living and Capital Region Living brands.
2. Advertising: Local and regional businesses advertise in the magazine and on the website through display ads, sponsored content, and directory listings.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Capital Region Living Magazine is a regional lifestyle publication covering the Capital Region of New York State, featuring editorial content on culture & arts, food & drink, style & design, sports & racing, community news, and lifestyle features. The magazine operates as both a quarterly print edition and a digital publication at crlmag.com, and produces the annual Bestie Awards reader poll recognizing top local businesses, restaurants, and services. It is published under parent company Empire Media Network, Inc.

Product overview

Capital Region Living Magazine is a regional lifestyle publication operated by Empire Media Network, offering a unified magazine product that includes core editorial content across multiple lifestyle categories (Culture & Arts, Food & Drink, Sports & Leisure, Travel, Community) along with interactive features including seasonal crossword puzzles, an annual Bestie Awards reader poll, and a calendar of local events. The publication operates sister brand Saratoga Living and provides business directory listings, all accessible through its digital platform at crlmag.com.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Besties: Annual awards program recognizing the best local businesses, restaurants, professionals, and services in the Capital Region across various categories including food, drink, arts, and community.
• CRL IRL

Products and services

• Capital Region Living Magazine Regional lifestyle magazine covering the Capital Region of New York State, featuring content on culture & arts, food & drink, style & design, sports & racing, community news, and lifestyle features. Distributed in both print (quarterly) and digital formats for residents of the Capital District.
• Saratoga Living Sister publication under Empire Media Network focusing on Saratoga Springs and surrounding areas, sharing content categories with Capital Region Living including culture, arts, food and drink, sports and racing, and community coverage.
• Bestie Awards Annual awards program and reader poll recognizing the best local businesses, restaurants, professionals, and services in the Capital Region across categories including food, drink, dining, services, and lifestyle. Includes the BestieFest awards ceremony and serves as a paid promotional and recognition platform for participating local businesses.
• Empire Media Network Directory Listings Categorized business directories covering entertainment, healthcare, home improvement, realtors, restaurants, services, and shopping in the Capital Region, sold to local businesses as paid advertising listings through Empire Media Network's centralized platform.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Empire Media Network Inc.coreOthersCapital Region Living Magazine is published by Empire Media Network Inc., which also publishes Saratoga Living. The parent company manages subscriptions, advertising sales, and operations for both publications.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Boston Magazine: Long-running independent regional city lifestyle magazine covering dining, culture, and local features — closely comparable business model (subs + ads + events) targeting a single metro audience.
• Philadelphia Magazine: Regional lifestyle publication operating digital, print, and signature events (e.g., 'Best of Philly') that mirrors CRL's Bestie Awards-driven model in a different metro.
• Cincinnati Magazine: Mid-market regional lifestyle magazine featuring local dining, arts, and city-life coverage — analogous mid-sized-city lifestyle publishing model.
• Indianapolis Monthly: City-level lifestyle magazine covering dining, arts, and local features for the Indianapolis market, with comparable subscription and local advertising mix.
• Baltimore Magazine: City-level lifestyle magazine covering Baltimore with dining, culture, and annual 'Best of Baltimore' awards — closely comparable in content, ad, and events monetization.
• Austin Monthly: Regional lifestyle magazine covering the Austin metro with features on dining, culture, and community — directly comparable in scope, content mix, and audience profile.
• Tampa Magazine: Independent regional lifestyle magazine covering Tampa Bay with dining, arts, and local feature coverage and signature annual awards — directly comparable in scope and revenue mix.
• Saratoga Living: Sister publication under the same Empire Media Network Inc. parent, covering Saratoga Springs and surrounding areas with overlapping lifestyle categories — direct comp for content, audience, and ad inventory.
• 5280 (Denver's Mile-High Magazine): Independent regional lifestyle magazine serving the Denver metro with editorial, directories, and events — same single-metro lifestyle magazine archetype as CRL.
• Charlotte Magazine: Regional lifestyle publication for the Charlotte metro with annual 'Best of' awards and editorial coverage of dining, culture, and community — strong comp for CRL's Bestie Awards model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/crlmagazine
• Facebookfacebook.com/capitalregionliving
• Instagraminstagram.com/crlmagazine

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Capital Region Living Magazine