CREEM
CREEM Magazine, LLC is a privately held publisher of a premium quarterly print rock music magazine, relaunched in 2022 after a 33-year hiatus, selling subscriptions, merchandise, and back issues direct-to-consumer via creem.com to rock music enthusiasts and collectors.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1969
- HeadquartersDetroit, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What CREEM does
CREEM Magazine, LLC is a privately held publisher of rock music journalism, operating under the DBA 'CREEM — America's Only Rock 'n' Roll Magazine.' Originally founded in Detroit in 1969 by Barry Kramer, the publication ceased in 1989 and was relaunched in 2022 after a 33-year hiatus as a limited-run premium print quarterly. The company sells 144+ page, 50,000+ word issues featuring original long-form journalism, photography, and illustration covering rock music, bands, and culture. Its core technology stack is a standard direct-to-consumer e-commerce build: Shopify for the storefront and Sanity CMS for content management, with an integrated digital archive of all original 1969-1989 issues gated behind paid subscriptions.
The business operates on a multi-stream revenue model. Recurring revenue comes from Digital, Print, and Fan Club annual subscriptions (the Fan Club tier bundling an annual limited-edition gift valued at $60). Transactional revenue is generated from merchandise (T-shirts, sweatshirts, Boy Howdy! branded apparel, accessories, posters), back issue single-copy sales, gift subscriptions, and a wholesale program serving music retailers. Distribution is exclusively direct-to-consumer via creem.com with no newsstand presence, plus a secondary channel for wholesale partners. The company is led by Chairman JJ Kramer, CEO John Martin, and Publisher Boy Howdy!, supported by a small distributed editorial and operations team. A feature documentary ('CREEM: America's Only Rock 'n' Roll Magazine,' directed by Scott Crawford) is distributed via Amazon, Apple TV, and Fandango, functioning as brand marketing rather than a direct revenue stream.
CREEM firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- CREEM
- Legal name
- CREEM Magazine, LLC
- Website
- https://creem.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1969
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- CREEM Magazine, LLC is a privately held publisher of a premium quarterly print rock music magazine, relaunched in 2022 after a 33-year hiatus, selling subscriptions, merchandise, and back issues direct-to-consumer via creem.com to rock music enthusiasts and collectors.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
CREEM industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Music Magazine Publishing
- NAICS
- Periodical Publishers (513120)
- SIC
- Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Consumer Lifestyle & Fashion Magazines (MPAJAEAA)
Keywords
Where CREEM is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Detroit
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
CREEM business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Magazine Subscriptions: Quarterly print and digital magazine subscriptions. Published 4 times per calendar year. Digital includes archive access.
- Merchandise Sales: T-shirts, sweatshirts, accessories, posters, and branded merchandise sold through the e-commerce store.
- Back Issues: Single copy sales of historical and current magazine issues.
- Wholesale: Bulk merchandise and magazine sales to retail partners and shops.
- Gift Subscriptions: One-time gift subscription purchases for digital or print delivery.
- Fan Club Membership: Premium tier subscription including annual Fan Club gift (limited edition earplug set, branded merchandise).
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Digital Subscription |
| Subscription | Annual | Print Subscription |
| Subscription | Annual | Fan Club Membership |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels9 records
CREEM product offering
Product offeringCore offering
CREEM publishes a limited-run premium print quarterly magazine delivering 144+ pages of rock music journalism, photography, and illustration per issue (50,000+ words). Founded in 1969 in Detroit and relaunched in 2022 after a 33-year hiatus, the magazine is sold exclusively online at creem.com alongside a digital archive (1969-1989), branded merchandise, back issues, gift subscriptions, and a wholesale program for retailers.
Product overview
CREEM is America's Only Rock 'n' Roll Magazine - a single unified print publication offering. The core product is a limited-run premium print quarterly magazine delivering 144+ pages of rock music journalism, photography, and illustration per issue. Supplementary offerings include Digital Archive Access (subscriber add-on with full archive from 1969-1989), Fan Club Membership (premium tier with annual gifts), a Merchandise Store (T-Shirts, Sweats, Boy Howdy! branded apparel, Back Issues, Accessories, Posters), Gift Subscriptions, and a Wholesale Program for retailers.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- CREEM Magazine Quarterly Print Subscription America's Only Rock 'n' Roll Magazine — a limited-run premium print quarterly delivering 144+ pages of journalism, photography, and illustration per issue (50,000+ words). Sold to individual subscribers on an annual billing basis. Founded in 1969 and relaunched in 2022 after a 33-year hiatus.
- CREEM Merchandise Store E-commerce storefront selling CREEM branded merchandise including T-shirts, sweatshirts, Boy Howdy! apparel, accessories, posters, and back issues to individual consumers.
- Gift Subscriptions One-time gift subscription purchases redeemable for magazine subscriptions of specified type and length, available to U.S. customers; non-refundable.
- Back Issues Single-copy sales of historical and current CREEM magazine issues, sold as collectible single issues through the e-commerce store.
- Wholesale Program Bulk purchasing program for retail partners and shops to buy CREEM merchandise and magazines for resale in physical retail locations, primarily domestic.
- Boy Howdy! Collaborative Beer Collaborative beer brand under the Boy Howdy! merchandise line, featuring beer releases and branded merchandise including the metal canisters included in Fan Club membership gifts.
- Clay Hickson x CREEM Collaboration Limited edition collaboration merchandise with artist Clay Hickson for the CREEM #16 special edition.
Quantifiable outcome
- 4 issues published per calendar year
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use CREEM
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
CREEM technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
Feature1 record
CREEM partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- Boy Howdy! Beer CollaborationminorCollaborative beer brand with Boy Howdy! merchandise releases. Includes Boy Howdy! metal canisters as part of Fan Club membership gifts.
- Clay HicksonminorArtist collaboration resulting in limited edition CREEM #16 special edition products.
- Documentary Film PartnerscoreFeature documentary 'CREEM: America's Only Rock 'n' Roll Magazine' directed by Scott Crawford. Distributed via Amazon, Apple TV, and Fandango. Features appearances by Alice Cooper, Joan Jett, Gene Simmons, Kirk Hammett, Michael Stipe, Thurston Moore, Cameron Crowe, and more.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights4 records
CREEM competitors and assessment
Company assessmentMarket position
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
CREEM social profiles
Digital presenceCREEM financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
CREEM leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
CREEM funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
CREEM M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about CREEM
What does CREEM do?
CREEM publishes a limited-run premium print quarterly magazine delivering 144+ pages of rock music journalism, photography, and illustration per issue (50,000+ words). Founded in 1969 in Detroit and relaunched in 2022 after a 33-year hiatus, the magazine is sold exclusively online at creem.com alongside a digital archive (1969-1989), branded merchandise, back issues, gift subscriptions, and a wholesale program for retailers.
Is CREEM a public or private company?
CREEM is a private company. It is classified as family owned and is currently operating.
When was CREEM founded?
CREEM was founded in 1969. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is CREEM based?
CREEM is headquartered in Detroit, United States, in the North America region.
How does CREEM make money?
Six revenue lines are on record. Magazine Subscriptions are the primary driver. The others are merchandise Sales, back Issues, wholesale, gift Subscriptions and fan Club Membership.
Does CREEM have an API?
No public API is recorded for CREEM.
What industry is CREEM in?
CREEM's product category is Music Magazine Publishing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAJAEAA, Consumer Lifestyle & Fashion Magazines. Its NAICS code is 513120 and its SIC code is 2721.