TOWN Magazine

What TOWN Magazine does

TOWN Magazine is a regional lifestyle publication covering arts, culture, dining, travel, style, sports, and social events in the Greenville and Upstate South Carolina market. It is published by Community Journals, LLC, a private South Carolina-domiciled media company that also operates Greenville Journal, Upstate Business Journal, and AtHome Upstate. The company is led by Mark B. Johnston as President and CEO of Community Journals, with a shared leadership team supporting all publications in the portfolio.

The core product is a print magazine distributed alongside a digital presence at towncarolina.com, built on a WordPress CMS with email newsletter distribution and an online archive. Content is organized into recurring editorial verticals including On the Town, Culture (with Art and Sport sub-sections), Style, Eat & Drink, Travel, and Social/weddings, plus branded annual publications such as Faces of the Upstate (a business directory with over 40 local advertisers), Explore 864 (a curated city guide), the Dining Guide (a comprehensive restaurant directory), and the Charitable Giving Awards program co-presented with the Community Foundation of Greenville. Recent extensions include a podcast series with The Upstate Trail Talks and broadcast cross-promotion via Access Carolina on FOX Carolina.

The business operates a dual revenue model combining subscription-based recurring revenue from print and digital subscribers (annual billing cadence, specific price points not publicly disclosed) with advertising revenue from local businesses, restaurants, and service providers in the Upstate SC market. Distribution is regional and limited to a single metropolitan area. Primary customers are Upstate South Carolina residents seeking local lifestyle content; secondary customers are local businesses and advertisers seeking access to that consumer base. The company is privately held with no external funding disclosed in the source material.

Name

TOWN Magazine

Legal name

Community Journals, LLC

Website

https://towncarolina.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

TOWN Magazine is a regional lifestyle print and digital publication covering arts, culture, dining, travel, and events for residents of Greenville and Upstate South Carolina, operating as a title within the Community Journals media portfolio.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Regional Lifestyle Magazine Publishing

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (51312), Periodical Publishers (513120)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Arts, Culture & Literary Magazines (MPAJAEAN)

Keywords

• Regional lifestyle magazine
• Local arts coverage
• Community journalism
• Dining guide directory
• Local event calendar

Headquarters

HQ city

Greenville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Print and Digital Subscriptions: Subscription-based revenue from print magazine circulation and digital subscriptions. Subscribers can sign up for e-newsletters or subscribe to receive print publications.
2. Advertising: Revenue generated from advertisers including local businesses, restaurants, and service providers featured in the magazine and on the website.

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

TOWN Magazine is a regional lifestyle publication that produces and distributes editorial content covering arts, culture, dining, travel, style, sports, and social events in the Greenville and Upstate South Carolina region. It operates as a print magazine with periodic issues delivered to subscribers, supplemented by a continuously updated website (towncarolina.com), email newsletters, and an online archive of articles and event coverage. Content is monetized through paid subscriptions and advertising sold to local businesses and service providers.

Product overview

TOWN Magazine is a lifestyle publication operated by Community Journals, offering a print and digital magazine focused on arts, culture, dining, travel, style, sports, and social events in the Greenville and Upstate South Carolina region. The publication's digital presence at towncarolina.com hosts multiple editorial products including TOWN Magazine (the core publication), ArtsUpstate (arts and culture coverage), an annual Dining Guide, and the Charitable Giving Awards program. Additional branded products include Faces of the Upstate (annual business directory) and Explore 864 (curated city guide). The portfolio represents a content-driven publication business rather than a technology platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• TOWN Magazine Core lifestyle magazine covering arts, culture, dining, travel, style, sports, and social events in the Greenville and Upstate South Carolina region. Available in print (delivered to subscribers) and digitally on towncarolina.com with category sections including On the TOWN, Culture, Art, Sport, Style, Eat & Drink, Social, and Travel.
• ArtsUpstate Curated editorial section within TOWN Magazine dedicated to art exhibits, festivals, theater productions, and live arts events across the Upstate region, produced in partnership with the Metropolitan Arts Council.
• Charitable Giving Awards (CGA) Annual awards program presented jointly by TOWN Magazine and the Community Foundation of Greenville, recognizing individuals and organizations making significant community contributions in categories including education, arts, healthcare, and visionary leadership. Includes an annual CGA publication and recognition event.
• Faces of the Upstate Annual publication and definitive business directory highlighting local people and businesses shaping the Upstate region, featuring profiles of over 40 businesses and organizations across healthcare, real estate, dining, legal, financial services, and other industries. Includes paid participants/sponsors such as 3D Wealth Management, Alpha Equity Group, Bannister Wyatt & Stalvey, Larkin's, and Rick Erwin Dining Group.
• Explore 864 Curated guide to Greenville and the surrounding Upstate area featuring recommendations for dining, entertainment, attractions, and local landmarks.
• Dining Guide

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

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Community Foundation of GreenvillecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Community Foundation of Greenville and TOWN magazine jointly present the annual Charitable Giving Awards (CGA), recognizing seven recipients each year for their contributions to improving lives across the Upstate. This partnership produces the CGA annual publication and event.
• Metropolitan Arts Council (MAC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTOWN partners with the Metropolitan Arts Council on various art coverage and events, including the annual Artists of the Upstate exhibition at Artisphere, and collaborative art features in the magazine.
• Access CarolinaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAccess Carolina, a lifestyle and entertainment show broadcast on FOX Carolina, features segments with TOWN magazine's editor Leigh Savage to discuss upcoming shows and festivals.
• The Upstate Trail TalksminorGTM or Marketing PartnerTOWN teams up with The Upstate Trail Talks for podcast series where Donley creates podcasts to supplement articles featured in the magazine for each issue.
• Various Local Businesses (Faces of the Upstate Sponsors)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFaces of the Upstate annual publication features over 40 local businesses and organizations as paid advertisers/participants, including 3D Wealth Management, Alpha Equity Group, Bannister Wyatt & Stalvey, Larkin's, Rick Erwin Dining Group, and many others across healthcare, real estate, legal, and service industries.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves2 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Garden & Gun: Sophisticated regional lifestyle magazine covering Southern culture, food, music, and travel. Comparable to TOWN in category (consumer lifestyle magazine focused on a US region) and in content mix (dining, arts, social events), but with much broader geographic reach and a national advertising footprint.
• Southern Living: Regional lifestyle magazine covering food, travel, homes, and culture across the American South. While much larger in scale and broader in geography, it occupies the same consumer lifestyle magazine category as TOWN and competes for the same Upstate SC lifestyle reader attention and regional advertising dollars.

Direct peers

• Cityscope Magazine: Regional lifestyle publication covering entertainment, dining, and events in the Upstate SC and Western NC region. Closely comparable to TOWN in geographic scope, editorial verticals (arts, dining, events), and scale, representing the most direct local competitive overlap in the Upstate market.
• Atlanta Magazine: City-level lifestyle magazine covering dining, arts, culture, and home design in metro Atlanta. Same category and business model as TOWN (print + digital lifestyle publication), operating in a larger but geographically and editorially analogous Southeastern market.
• 5280 Magazine: Denver metro lifestyle magazine covering dining, arts, travel, and home. Closely comparable to TOWN in city-level scope, content verticals, and print-plus-digital business model, illustrating the proven template of monetizing a single metro's lifestyle content.
• Charlotte Magazine: City-level lifestyle magazine covering dining, arts, culture, and events in the Charlotte, NC metro. Most directly comparable to TOWN in scale, editorial scope, and business model (print + digital + annual directories), operating in an adjacent Southeastern city with similar lifestyle content verticals.

Others

• VisitGreenvilleSC: Official tourism destination marketing organization for Greenville and the Upstate. Not a direct competitor for paid subscriptions, but adjacent as a content producer covering dining, events, and arts in the same Greenville market, competing for the same local audience attention and indirectly for advertiser interest.
• AtHome Upstate: Community Journals sister publication focused on home, garden, and design content in the Upstate. Shares parent ownership and sales infrastructure with TOWN, and covers an adjacent lifestyle vertical (home/design vs. TOWN's arts/dining/social), making the pair natural cross-promotional vehicles.
• Greenville Journal: Sister publication under Community Journals, LLC covering Greenville news and civic affairs. Operates in the same parent portfolio and serves a related but distinct editorial focus (civic news vs. lifestyle), sharing sales infrastructure and audiences with TOWN Magazine.
• Upstate Business Journal: Another Community Journals sister publication focused on business news for the Upstate SC region. Shares parent ownership and sales infrastructure with TOWN, while serving a B2B-oriented audience and editorial focus that complements TOWN's consumer lifestyle positioning.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/towncarolina
• Facebookfacebook.com/towncarolina

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 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 TOWN Magazine