“The global recession has taken its toll on Paste…” the paragraph on Paste’s website began.

And with that sentence Paste Magazine, which covers independent and alternative music and film, turned to an unlikely source for an infusion of short-term capital: its readers.

In a last-ditch effort to survive in the face of declining ad revenues, on May 14th Paste went straight to its readers for help, asking them to pitch in some cash to help the magazine stay afloat while some cost-cutting measures, such as a 20 percent temporary pay cut for its 15 employees and smaller magazine size, take effect.

Purdy said that the staff was ready for anything, including the possibility of being rejected by their readers, who were already paying a $19.95 annual subscription for the monthly magazine.

And then something funny happened.

Paste’s readers contributed more money than Purdy expected. By the end of June, 9,000 readers had donated over $240,000, putting the average donation at $26.67, more than the subscription rate of many magazines.

Paste plans on continuing the campaign until July 10th, and hopes to hit an ultimate goal of $300,000.

“We’ve had a big turnaround,” he admitted.

Since the campaign began Paste has put out two issues.

“Readers have overwhelmingly jumped on board,” he said, “They’ve retweeted it, they’ve Facebooked it, they have forwarded it to their friends… no seems to think it’s a strange or odd thing.”

As a side effect, the campaign for donations has led way to the prospect of more stable funding. Purdy says that he has fielded calls from investors and has been able to sell the dedication of readers to his brand as an advertising perk. He expects to close a funding deal soon, though he declined to offer any details.

Now for the big question: Can other publications use their readers as a means to bridge budget gaps?

“There may be some brands out there that can, and should, try something like this,” said Purdy acknowledging that Paste is in an unusual position.

As an independently owned magazine covering independently published music and film, Paste has developed an underdog quality as well as a dedicated reader base that comes with have a strong critical voice.

Not only did the Paste’s fans come to its aid, but those covered by the magazine also chipped in. Over 150 artists offered unreleased and rare tracks from as an incentive for donations.

Paste believes it is not offering a playbook of a new revenue source, and doesn’t plan on adopting an NPR-style donation model.

“It’s crossed my mind, but I don’t get the sense its part of a sustainable business model,” Purdy continued. “The business needs to be self-sustaining, part of that has to be charging more for content.”

The magazine is no stranger to trying out new payment models. In 2007, Paste offered a pay-what-you-want subscription deal that helped boost subscriptions. The experimental subscription pricing structure was inspired by Radiohead, an English band that sold its album “In Rainbows” to fans for whatever price they wanted to pay.

For Radiohead, the tactic generated lots of free press and buzz that the band turned into album sales. For Paste, it was a cheap way to acquire new customers. They didn’t pay to market to them, but they paid less than a typical subscriber.

Paste’s new plan is a modification of their subscription pricing with an à la carte approach. Every subscription now comes with the “digital edition” standard for 99 cents a month. Readers can then add the print edition, a physical copy of the magazine’s monthly music sampler and a quarterly DVD sampler each for an additional 99 cents a month.

A “digital VIP” package is also available that includes early access to content, a T-shirt and more for $1.99 a month.

“The new model is unlike anything we’ve ever seen in our category,” said Purdy.

Moving forward, Purdy said he thinks that magazine publishers should begin charging more for their content. He now believes that Paste has entered a new era in how it does business by holding its magazine in trust with its readers.

“There’s a great deal of gratitude and humility [there],” he said about their support.