Man of Many’s Frank Arthur says ‘it’s very wise’ for publishers to explore other revenue sources
Ahead of its Sydney Whisky Week, the founder of men’s lifestyle publisher Man of Many Frank Arthur spoke to Mumbrella on how much of a role events play in contemporary publishing.
Sydney Whisky Week, in partnership with whisky specialty retailer The Whisky List, is an 11-day whisky festival held across four venues across Sydney. The event is in its third iteration, and is the second with Man of Many’s involvement.
Man of Many founder Frank Arthur
“It’s wise to explore [different revenue streams], whether you are doing events or something else,” Arthur told Mumbrella.
“In this day and age you just need to explore other avenues to generate revenue because [as a] digital publisher, so many things can change. Just like that, Google changes its algorithm, Facebook changes its rules – that can have a big impact. We’re solely reliant upon that so exploring something like events would be something that’s in our control, as long as it’s planned out correctly and budgeted well, and we can attract the advertisers and get the attendees.”
Arthur added that while running events are still a “win-win”, they come with challenges. “Writing a sponsored article is a lot easier than running a big event, like running the event, the planning and ensuring you get people attending and ensuring that you secure sponsors,” he said.
He added that apart from the revenue side, the community building aspect of events was also important to Man of Many. While Sydney Whiskey Week and other events have a strong commercial focus, the publisher also has other events that were not as commercial, which tend to be “a lot smaller” and more intimate.
Arthur also believes a pure publishing model could still be sustainable, but the question is whether the model could be sustainable for the next three years.
“I think you can be a pure publishing company if you’re smart about it at the moment and secure advertisers if your strategy is correct, but there are so many external influencers that can have a significant effect on the commercial success of your business,” he said.
“It is wise to look at other revenue streams, like subscription models, where we’ve seen a lot of publishers who have implemented those quite successfully. And then there’s things like product collaborations which we’ve done with a few brands who do that quite well.”
Sydney Whisky Week will run from the 10th to the 20th of May across four different venues, Grain Bar, The Doss House, Alfy’s Bar and The Roosevelt. The event also has Glenmorangie, Glen Moray, Waterford and Manly Spirit Coastal Stone as participating brands.
Last year’s event had some 1,200 participants, and Man of Many expects this year’s event would be bringing in more.
Attendees will receive a free pour of whisky from each of the partner brands with every purchase of a featured Whisky Week cocktail. The sponsor brands will also be hosting exclusive ticketed tasting events throughout Whisky Week.
The Whisky List co-founder Oliver Maruda said: “We’re thrilled to be bringing Sydney Whisky Week back in 2023. This event is not just about whisky; it’s about celebrating our city’s rich culture and community spirit. We can’t wait to see everyone out and about, exploring the city and enjoying some fantastic whisky at our top bars across the city.”
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