Andi Gladwin On Why You Should Publish Magic

At the end of this article: an interview with Andi Gladwin.

I have a lot of respect for the fascinating magic product industry we find ourselves in today. During my sixth-form studies in the U.K., I studied Business Studies for two years. I’ve learned far more from the magic product industry than I did in that class. Wholesale, retail, marketing, product development, and manufacturing — all things you can learn just by participating as a buyer.

It’s wild to me that such a niche industry has such an insane number of product releases. It’s nuts that there are even wholesalers or brick-and-mortar stores. The sheer number of product creators fascinates me too.

And then there’s the drama. The pirates, the copycat products, the magic cafe, the doxing, lying, cheating, the money owed to creators and then those bizarre allegations of white-collar crime.

But this essay isn’t about the drama. This is the start of a new series on releasing a magic product. A new part of this series will come out for you every few weeks.

Part 1. Why I Release Products

I was young, 17 years old when I first stepped into the magic product world. Murphy’s Magic Supplies scouted me at Blackpool Magic Convention and offered me a DVD release. Two other publishers did the same thing around the same time; however, Murphy’s swung me with a free trip to America. Jason Brumbalow had been brought in to launch a producer side for the magic wholesaler. He’d just been run running Ellusionist during the era of Pure Smoke and the Messado Rings. Murphy’s found several creators at the convention that year.