The Business of Magazines

[Bertrando3]

^ This model styled like this reminds me of a young Steven Meisel. Doesn't he?

 

[Chanelcouture09]

The relationship between M/M Paris and Man About Town is a little sour with their partnership ending with Man About Town owing M/M Paris money..

 

[tigerrouge]

A new UK launch (featuresexec.com

MAGNIFY, a biannual independent print publication, has launched.
The 140-page title, previously online only, is edited by Ruth Awogbade and covers faith, fashion and feminism.
Issue 1 features contributions from over 150 writers, art directors and photographers from London, New York, Los Angeles, Sydney and Lagos, and includes interviews from Grazia's editor-at-large Angela Buttolph, Bobbie Cheema QC and lifestyle blogger Shini Park of Park & Cube.

 

[A.D.C.]

A new UK launch (featuresexec.com

Does the UK need another biannual?? They're in love with those things over there.

 

[Benn98]

Media People: Vogue China's Angelica Cheung
from WWD issue 09/19/2014
By Amy Chung

Angelica Cheung has been editor in chief of Vogue China since the magazine’s launch in 2005. Before that, she was the editorial director of Elle China and editor in chief of Marie Claire in Hong Kong. Today, Vogue China publishes about 400 to 500 pages a month and is considered one of the most successful international editions of the magazine. Cheung said the title has a readership of 1.2 million through a combination of its print, Web site and tablet editions. This September marked Vogue China’s ninth anniversary.

Here, Cheung talks about the Chinese market, shooting covers and the one thing people don’t know about her.


WWD: Can you describe how you decide who to put on the cover and what to feature?

Angelica Cheung: There are loads of creative factors and loads of logistic factors and lots of political factors. Very often, they’re very, very complicated because on one hand, we have Chinese celebrities; on the other hand, we have a lot of international, big photographers and they’re all people in demand who have very little time for everything. To get them at the same time, same place is very hard. We’re based out of Beijing and they’re based in New York usually, and that would involve either the celebrities or the photographers, they fly around the world. So it’s not one day, it’s two, three days.

WWD: Is your readership more conservative? Do you try to push the boundaries during the photo shoots?

A.C.: I think that the Chinese readers are more attracted to what probably the world at large would consider more classic kind of beauty. I would describe it as more classic rather than conservative because they’re very fashionable. They try a lot of things. But, to know what you look good in and what you don’t look good in doesn’t necessarily mean being conservative. But by and large, the Chinese market is more a classic kind of market with a little bit of edge for the young crowd but not an ultraedgy market — not yet. It’s changing a little bit, individualistic styles are starting to appear, which is great, but in general, people still like the beauties like Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, rather than alternative types. We need to combine what’s happening around the world in the fashion community — the trends and the way people style and what would look good on a Chinese because certain looks that would work for a blond, pale-skinned model may not work for an Asian.

WWD: Do your readers prefer Caucasian or Asian models?

A.C.: I believe the world is becoming a smaller place. The reason why Vogue China has been successful from Day One is because we mix the Chinese and international side really, really well. I think that’s what China is about today. It’s obviously, well, Chinese, but at the same time, the whole world is coming to China and the Chinese, they’re going everywhere in the world. So this is the magazine that represents today’s mood of the Chinese — which is when China meets the world. So I don’t think you have to have all Chinese models to show you’re Chinese. You don’t have to show all Western supermodels to show you’re international. We have them all. We usually have 70 percent Chinese [models] and 30 percent international [models]. People want to see Gisele, they want to see Kate Moss, Kate Winslet, [the Chinese] watch Hollywood movies.

WWD: How has Vogue China’s support for Chinese designers changed their careers?

A.C.: Many of these designers have become celebrities. Probably, in some cases, people don’t know exactly what they sell, their clothes...but they see the designer everywhere. Now, I’m starting to think, there’s a little bit of an imbalance because on one hand, it’s great to promote them...[but] I feel sometimes, maybe, it’s not really good for them that they become very well-known but their operation remains at a lower level. It’s actually very destructive to a young talent sometimes. In the old days, designers did a lot but they don’t let people know. These days, before they do anything, you know, they promote things out of proportion first and then they try to catch up. I mean, it really depends on the individual designer, how they operate. I’m not saying if it’s wrong or right. But it really depends on their operational side. Some catch up really quickly but there are others who are weak with operations and then they’re caught in between the stardom and the actual execution level. At this stage, I’m trying to think of what is the best way to support them in a real way rather than purely making them more famous.

WWD: Do you think China Fashion Week will ever have the same appeal as other international ones such as Paris or New York Fashion Week?

A.C.: Not yet. I hope it will. For a fashion week to be successful, you need so many elements. You need the organizational side, the resources side....Your homegrown talent has to be at a certain level collectively. Not just one or two [designers]. People come to China to see Chinese designers. People don’t come to China to see somebody else like Vivienne Westwood doing a show here because they see that in Paris already.

WWD: What will it take to get to that point?

A.C.: First of all, you need some big designers to have an international influence, not just in China, but internationally. These [Chinese] designers are still new and they’re influencing quite a small group of consumers still, which didn’t exist until a few years ago, which is a great advancement but it’s not the same as influencing the trends.

But the reality is, it takes a long time [to grow], especially in today’s world. When you have a good idea, instantly, everyone can see your idea. Then it doesn’t become your idea anymore. It’s easy to copy and adopt. To sustain a lead in this world is difficult. In the old days, you know, like Yohji Yamamoto, all these people, had a lot of time to grow their idea because the world did not have social media or digital media to tell the whole world what was happening.

WWD: What do Chinese consumers want?

A.C.: It’s very hard to say “Chinese consumers” in one unity. There’s such a wide range. There are people still saving their money to buy their first designer bag and then you have people, on the other hand, spending millions of yuan every year for couture and high jewelry. There’s a constant battle, struggle [for the] brands in China between maintaining a very high image and expanding to penetrate all corners of this country, which is a big country. You have consumers who still want the logo, still want people to know they have a Louis Vuitton, they have a Gucci, they have a Chanel, to people who are very happy to get a Vega Wang [the Chinese designer, not Vera Wang] coat simply because they like it. [There’s] a new sense of security [amongst consumers] that gives them the confidence to feel that do not need to persuade other people to believe I have money. So I don’t feel embarrassed being caught wearing a no-name Chinese designer and I do not feel I’m acting like a new-money person when I flaunt an Hermès bag.

It proves the opinion that the Chinese are fundamentally not flashy people. They were just going through a period that things were changing so fast, so many things were coming into China, so many things were thrown at them [that] they were overwhelmed. They are really now acting like themselves.

WWD: Do you deal with censors?

A.C.: Everything you publish has to be approved. It’s the law here. We have problems when there’s suspicion of nudity. There was one picture, people thought you could see something, but I thought you couldn’t so we retouched it a little bit, but I’m not for nudity. It’s a fashion magazine. We don’t touch on other topics, it’s all fashion, lifestyle, women’s lives. To be honest, people always ask me this question. We don’t have major problems.

WWD: Have you thought about going into e-commerce?

A.C.: We are not operating e-commerce. We are one of the few editions that’s actually very fully integrated, so I’m the chief of the magazine, the Web site, the video, the TV, apps, everything. We have no plans yet as we speak to get into e-commerce. We’re still, today, we believe in playing our role as a consultant, an adviser to consumers, as an authoritative voice and helping them make a judgment on what they buy rather than actually selling things. As a media company, you have that objective voice, especially Vogue, that readers have come to build trust because you’re objective, as objective as you can be. Once you start selling your own products, it’s a very fine line there, but we’re building, digitally, we have a new discovery channel called Vogue Discovery Channel where we showcase more products, a lot, lot more products, and some of these products come from our own production and some of these products come from working with some Internet, e-commerce companies, but we don’t sell them ourselves. We’re learning from the users and try to detect what [they] want further from Vogue.

Source: WWD.com

 

[Miss Dalloway]

^ Thank you for posting this interview, she was very honest, i liked it.

 

[MyNameIs]

Sanoma Media is shutting down its operations in Ukraine. This means that five of its publications in Ukraine will cease to exist, including Harper's Bazaar, Esquire, Men's Health, and National Geoegraphic. January 2015 will be the last issue for each of them. Cosmopolitan is the only one that will survive, but will move to another publishing company. The reason for this is the tough publishing market in Ukraine and some financial problems of the company.

https://globenewswire.com/news-rele...oma-closes-down-its-Ukrainian-operations.html
http://www.telekritika.ua/rinok/2014-11-16/100422 (Ukrainian)

 

[Benn98]

^ Thank you for posting this interview, she was very honest, i liked it.

No prob. I though so too, I take my hat off especially for her first answer! She appears to be very perceptive about her audience.

Sad what's happened in Ukraine, 2 mens titles is quite a big loss, especially Means Health which generally draws a huge circulation in most countries.

 

[WilliamsLe010919]

Sanoma Media is shutting down its operations in Ukraine. This means that five of its publications in Ukraine will cease to exist, including Harper's Bazaar, Esquire, Men's Health, and National Geoegraphic. January 2015 will be the last issue for each of them. Cosmopolitan is the only one that will survive, but will move to another publishing company. The reason for this is the tough publishing market in Ukraine and some financial problems of the company.

https://globenewswire.com/news-rele...oma-closes-down-its-Ukrainian-operations.html
http://www.telekritika.ua/rinok/2014-11-16/100422 (Ukrainian)

giving the situation in Ukraine right now, I think this makes sense. But still what a big loss. I wonder how Vogue Ukraine's doing?

 

[Srdjan]

@ MyNameIs >> What a sad news for Ukrainian magazine enthusiasts (and not just for Ukrainians - if a market that big is facing these problems, what could smaller markets expect)! These titles are major, I wonder why only Cosmo is being bought by another company and not all (or most of them).

 

[Thefrenchy]

I've been told from a very reliable source that Harper's Bazaar FRANCE will not be released contrary to what had been planned...

 

[Miss Dalloway]

^ It won't be launched you mean? How disappointing, i would think there would be room for it. Was looking forward to see what they would do, German edition is picking ground.

 

[Thefrenchy]

^According to my source, it won't be launched indeed.

 

[Benn98]

Paper Magazine Chief Dishes on the Huge Impact of Kim Kardashian Cover
You won't be able to get the racy cover on newsstands

By Emma Bazilian

November 14, 2014, 6:05 PM EST

The provocative diva raised the small magazine's profile immensely.

Kim Kardashian's Paper magazine cover may not have technically broken the Internet, but it was certainly a breakthrough moment for the 30-year-old title. With a circulation of just 155,000—roughly the same as Cat Fancy, for comparison—Paper is a relatively small title, with about 70 percent of its readers in New York and Los Angeles. This week, however, Paper became a familiar name for pretty much anyone with Internet access.

"It is definitely the largest moment we've ever had, both digitally and from a media perspective," Drew Elliott, Paper's chief creative officer, told Adweek. "It's definitely touched every market across the globe."

So far, the cover story has driven nearly 16 million page views and 11.4 million unique visitors on PaperMag.com. (The website usually receives about half a million UVs per month.) Its social media footprint has also exploded: On Instagram alone, Paper's followers rose from 128,000 pre-Kardashian to a current 152,000. And that’s not to mention the seemingly endless number of #BreakTheInternet memes inspired by Kardashian's bare backside. (For the record, Elliott's personal favorite is the Homer Simpson version.)

The magazine is also printing an additional 35,000 copies of the new issue to accommodate massive newsstand demand. Quantities of the nude cover, however, will be limited to just 10,000 copies. Retailers and subscribers will only be receiving the champagne cover, so anyone looking to get their hands on the racier version will have to purchase it on PaperMag.com.

According to Elliott, the now-infamous nude cover (or, as he called it, "the butt shot") wasn't actually part of the original concept. Paper had asked Jean-Paul Goude, the legendary French photographer and one-time art director at Esquire, to recreate his 1976 photo of a model resting a champagne glass on her ample derrière with Kardashian as the star. But during the shoot, Kardashian began to do a striptease, and thus the revealing photo spread was born.

"From the get-go, [Kardashian] said, 'I'm ready to do this,'" said Elliott. "She was very familiar with Jean-Paul and very excited to work with him."

As for what's next for Paper, Elliott said that the magazine will be producing more "event" covers, and there's also a website redesign in the works. (The print magazine underwent a major design overhaul in September.)

"We wanted to use this [cover] to help establish ourselves digitally," said Elliott. "We never could have imagined that it would be this successful."

Source: Adweek.com

 

[Benn98]

Vanity Fair broadens global reach with Mexico expansion
By Staff reports
October 29, 2014

Condé Nast-owned Vanity Fair is planning to increase its print circulation in Mexico starting April 2015.

Following the successful launch of Vanity Fair in France last year, Condé Nast International is confident that expanding the publication into Mexico will yield similar results. Although not technically part of the much talked about BRIC countries, Mexico is gaining ground in the luxury space despite the socio-economic troubles plaguing much of the country.

Next stop Mexico:
Vanity Fair Mexico will be the result of an editorial merger with the Spanish language edition to provide the publication’s journalistic content and local advertisements. This merger will be represented across all platforms: print, Web, mobile and social media.

Editor in chief of Vanity Fair Spain, Lourdes Garzón, will lead the local editorial team for the launch. Of her experience with Vanity Fair Spain and how it will affect her new position at the Mexican version of the imprint, Ms. Garzón said, “There are many issues of shared interest between Mexico and Spain. We will have high level contributors, and following great success in Spain we are sure we will be able to succeed in Mexico with focused and exclusive content.”

The launch of Vanity Fair Mexico is the publication’s sixth market. Vanity Fair is currently printed in the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain and France with a gross international readership of 8.4 million and more than 11 million unique online readers.

Of the expansion, Eva Huges, CEO and general director of Condé Nast Mexico and Latin America said, “We have always been characterized for betting on the quality of our publications, for innovating on our platforms and carefully selecting the teams we work with, Vanity Fair is the fifth publication with which we seek to expand our content offerings in the market.”

Mexico and Latin America has seen expansion from Wall Street Journal’s WSJ. magazine as well.

Due to the continued success of The Wall Street Journal’s WSJ. magazine, the news outlet is expanding its lifestyle supplement’s reach to include affluent readers in Brazil and Latin America.

The news of the expansion comes just days after the June issue, which included coverage of the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Brazil, was inserted in The Wall Street Journal on May 31. Since emerging markets in Brazil and Latin America continue to flourish and mature, WSJ. magazine’s expansion will likely result in increased awareness for its marketing partners who are planning retail expansions of their own.

Source: Luxurydaily.com

 

[ellastica]

"She was very familiar with Jean-Paul and very excited to work with him."

Oh really? Funny thing Kendall also cited tumblr as one of her major fashion inspirations

It's endlessly fascinating to me to follow Internet, pop culture trends, especially magazines and trends in content and topics covered and also popularity of specific magazine titles.

For instance when i got sucked into the time-sucking "interest" oriented media platform Pinterest a couple years ago, PAPER magazine pins were no where to be found. Now I can scroll for hours going through many a duplicate PAPER cover or editorial pin. I've noticed Pinterest is mainly a trend following outlet but then those Pin topics later pop up a few months, up to a year later in mainstream magazines!

As print media collector since before the Internet Age, to witness the lag time between print and social media, is at times disheartening yet fascinating and exciting to see how these publication adapt and stay relevant in this ever accelerating and ever inclusive yet competitive market/ medium.

I'm happy for PAPER altho it's an issue I most definitely WON'T be buying.

I purchase around 6 magazines per year. I bought the September issue of PAPER with Courtney Love and i somehow lost it. Apparently an impulse buy on my part as I've never completely lost track of a magazine purchase in my life. I think subconsciously I wasn't that bummed out cuz I know that thanks to a few keystrokes into the magic google search bar the main editorials are instantly within my reach.

I still have a few back issues from the early, mid 2000s and if i ever get back to my buried magazine shrine, I will scan and upload them here

 

[ellastica]

November 21, 2014
Seventeen Magazine Cuts Four From Masthead
By Alexandra Steigrad

SEVENTEEN MINUS FOUR: Hearst’s Seventeen is experiencing some growing pains under its new editorial leadership.

WWD has learned that four were cut from the teen magazine’s masthead this week. They include managing editor Jo Ann Liguori, who will now serve as interim managing editor of HGTV Magazine while its current editor is on maternity leave; fashion market editor Jasmine Snow, beauty director Yesenia Almonte and fashion assistant Rachel Lowe.

The cuts come on the heels of a reorganization of the magazine’s leadership.

In September, Cosmopolitan’s editor in chief Joanna Coles added the new role of editorial director of Seventeen, while then-editor in chief Ann Shoket was dismissed. Cosmopolitan senior vice president and publishing director Donna Kalajian Lagani added publishing responsibilities at Seventeen.

Hearst brought on Michelle Tan, special projects editor of People magazine, as the teen mag’s new editor in chief, reporting to Coles.

A Hearst spokeswoman confirmed the recent cuts and added that some promotions were made as well.

Keeping in line with Hearst’s cost-savings mantra, Coles elevated her beauty director, Leah Wyar, to group beauty director for both Cosmopolitan and Seventeen.

Cosmopolitan fashion director Aya Kanai was promoted to group fashion director for the two titles. Gina Kelly, who previously held the role of fashion director at Seventeen, will now report to Kanai.

More changes are likely to come on Dec. 2, when Tan officially starts at Seventeen.

WWD

Seventeen must've taken our comments to heart

 

[Benn98]

I'm really glad that Coles has now taken control over the Seventeen brand. Before Elle Girl, Cosmo Girl and TeenVogue, Seventeen was a force to be reckoned with. There was an air of sophistication and authority, especially during Berlin's and Rubinstein's reign. They even held steady during the Sassy popularity. I hope Coles will be able to salvage the title's identity, like she's done with Cosmo, and drum up material that'll set it apart from the rest. And yes, the layout is the first thing that MUST GO! I mean, this is not Tiger Beat!

 

[A.D.C.]

I'm really glad that Coles has now taken control over the Seventeen brand. Before Elle Girl, Cosmo Girl and TeenVogue, Seventeen was a force to be reckoned with. There was an air of sophistication and authority, especially during Berlin's and Rubinstein's reign. They even held steady during the Sassy popularity. I hope Coles will be able to salvage the title's identity, like she's done with Cosmo, and drum up material that'll set it apart from the rest. And yes, the layout is the first thing that MUST GO! I mean, this is not Tiger Beat!

In some ways I feel Cosmo has become the new seventeen and seventeen has become the new tiger beat. Tweens now read seventeen and high school girls read Cosmo. Maybe Marie Claire is the closest to what Cosmo used to be and whom it used to be aimed at.

 

[ellastica]

my parents gifted me a subscription to seventeen in the 5th grade. sadly i threw out or scrap booked the majority of issues but i still have some of the editorials saved somewhere.

the seventeen i grew up with was very trend-forward but in a practical, grounded way contrasting runway reports along side fun editorial interpretations thoughtfully styled, mixing and matching fashion sourced from (then) hip up an coming clothing chains like Old Navy, Tripp NYC, department stores to vintage shops and military surplus stores etc.

They also did a regular "streetstyle" feature where every month they'd visit an American high school and shoot the kids, chillin with their buddies and talk style and trends particular to that high school. Very forward-thinking and true arbitrators of the hi-lo fashion aesthetic of the 90s.

One ed in particular which stands out in my mind was a Horoscope themed fashion shoot which I thought was so genius at the time! Overall there just was a good mix of fashion, beauty, pop culture, teen advice wrapped into one visually appealing and high spirited, well-rounded "real" magazine.

I'm most excited to see how Aya T Kanai shapes the fashion content in seventeen.
I remember liking her work in teenVOGUE and NYLON magazine in the mid 2000s before that magazine took a nose dive!

NYLON April 2004
Photographer: Marvin Scott Jarrett
Styling: Aya T. Kanai
Devon's Hair: Sally Hinojos
Devon's Makeup: Elaine Offers at Stila Exclusive Artists

devonaoki.free.fr