Heart & Soul magazine will incorporate all women of color

New owners to expand focus to women of color and reemphasize fitness —

Silver Spring, MD (BlackNews.com) — Heart & Soul magazine, an 18-year-old national wellness publication, has been purchased by Brown Curry Detry Taylor & Associates, LLC (BCDT), a media content company based in Silver Spring, Md. Clarence I. Brown, BCDT president and CEO, announced today that the company acquired all assets of Heart & Soul Enterprises, LLC, the parent company of the magazine, from its owner, Edwin V. Avent, a Baltimore-based businessman.

“We are excited about our acquisition of this important brand and readers will quickly notice a revamped, first-rate print edition and more engaging digital version of Heart & Soul,” said Brown. “We will focus on repositioning the brand back to fitness, health and wellness and broadening the content, the audience, and the advertisers.”

Heart & Soul has historically targeted African-American women. In one of its first moves, BCDT will broaden the magazine’s audience to include all women of color, one of the fastest growing segments in the nation. Racial and ethnic minorities constituted 91.7 percent of the U.S. population growth between 2000 and 2010 and are projected to make up a majority of the country’s population by 2042. By broadening its audience, Heart & Soul becomes the only national publication that targets multicultural women ages 21 to 55 in the health, fitness and wellness category.

“When you look at the statistics and see the significant health disparities that exist between Caucasian women and women of color, you look for ways to close those health gaps,” Brown explained. “Women of color are disproportionately affected by a number of diseases and health conditions and many of those problems can be avoided or minimized through optimizing nutrition and regular physical activity. Heart & Soul will provide readers valuable information, expert advice and relevant resources that will help reduce the disparities and improve the lives of all women of color.”

BCDT, which stands for Brown, Curry, Detry and Taylor, was formed by four highly-respected media and marketing veterans: Clarence I. Brown, George E. Curry, Patrick H. Detry and Pamela E. Taylor. All the principals have past ties to Heart & Soul. Brown was responsible for daily management of the magazine when it was owned by BET, Curry was editor of Emerge when Heart & Soul was part of the BET magazine group and Detry and Taylor provided consulting services to Edwin Avent, the former owner.

“It helps that all of us are familiar with our new acquisition,” explained Brown. “Because we have a history with Heart & Soul, we are uniquely positioned to take it to a higher level.”

Heart & Soul was first published in 1993 as part of a joint venture between Reginald Ware and Rodale Press. It was later owned by BET, Vanguarde Media and, more recently, Edwin V. Avent. The new owners have relocated the magazine’s headquarters from Baltimore to Silver Spring, Md.

M.A. Graham & Associates was responsible for identifying and attracting the capital to complete the transaction. Garland Group LLC provided financial services support during the acquisition.

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