Blank Street Press Folds After A Decade Serving The Gold Coast

Local street press publication Blank Street Press has closed its doors after ten years of serving the Gold Coast community.

The magazine, which covers music, lifestyle, food, art, culture and sustainability issues, has featured the Gold Coast Music Awards, Sarah McLeod, Angus & Julia Stone, Sarah Blasko, Larkin Poe, Kate Miller-Heidke, Tim Rogers, Spiderbait, Amy Shark, Kim Churchill, Eliza & The Delusionals and many more on its magazine covers in the last few years, covering a vast range of stories and voices that matter to Australian readers.

Sharing the sad news on Facebook last week, Founders Chloe Popa and Samantha Morris wrote in a joint statement, “After 10 incredible years of publishing Blank Street Press, we’re calling it a day.

“We’re so proud that for a decade, Blank Street Press has been at the forefront of this city’s cultural transformation. When we launched in 2013 there was nothing like Blank on the Gold Coast. And we had a very straightforward goal: to be the city’s independent cultural voice. We achieved that goal and we’re going out on a high.”

The pair continued to note some of their proudest achievements, including profiling thousands of grassroots and emerging artists, propping up venues and events, and “proudly shared stories about people and places that would never have otherwise been in the media.”

They added, “With a dedicated core team of paid staff and hundreds of volunteer writers, photographers and reviewers, we’ve left a huge legacy.

“We hope Blank Street Press will be remembered for its fierce independence, its ethical business practices and for its unwavering support of art and community.

“We cannot thank you enough for your support. If you’d like to stay up to date with local music industry news you can follow us at Gold Coast Music Network.”

Their farewell post was met with numerous responses thanking them for their decade-long effort promoting the best of the Gold Coast, with musicians such as Casey Barnes, Atticus Chimps, Electrik Lemonade, Phil Barlow and many more sending shout-outs to Popa and Morris.

Blank Street Press’s website praises the 30,000 devoted print readers per issue in addition to its 35,000 digital readers.