[3] The magazine was founded[4] as a quarterly in July 2002 and was owned[5] by Josh Jackson,[6] Nick Purdy,[7] and Tim Regan-Porter.

[8] In October 2007, the magazine tried the "Radiohead" experiment, offering new and current subscribers the ability to pay what they wanted for a one-year subscription to Paste.

[18] Paste's initial focus was music, covering a variety of genres with an emphasis on adult album alternative, Americana and indie rock, along with independent film and books.

Each issue originally included a CD music sampler but was dropped in favor of digital downloading as a Going-Green initiative.

Featured artists included Paul McCartney, Ryan Adams, Blackalicious, Regina Spektor, the Whigs, Fiona Apple, the Decemberists, Mark Heard, Woven Hand, Milton and the Devils Party,[19][failed verification] Liam Finn, the Trolleyvox, and Thom Yorke.