The Business of Magazines

[MissMagAddict]

Can Fashion Photography Survive the Pandemic?
Glossy magazines are going digital. Brands are shutting down. The fantasy images of women in ball gowns with elephants may soon be no more.
source | nytimes

 

[marsnoop2]

Well that was a depressing read, but happy to have the validation from photographers themselves about the issues we always theorize about on here

 

[tigerrouge]

Very few people might be producing iconic fashion imagery at the moment, but if the constant reposting and referencing of it on social media is anything to go by, the appetite for it remains undimmed - it's just that people don't want to pay for it.

Magazines have come asunder at the moment in so many ways, but what are people going to do in ten or twenty years' time when they realise that - for example's sake - Collier Schorr represents the output of the moment? Will they be obsessively looking back at that imagery?

 

[mikel]

Very few people might be producing iconic fashion imagery at the moment, but if the constant reposting and referencing of it on social media is anything to go by, the appetite for it remains undimmed - it's just that people don't want to pay for it.

Magazines have come asunder at the moment in so many ways, but what are people going to do in ten or twenty years' time when they realise that - for example's sake - Collier Schorr represents the output of the moment? Will they be obsessively looking back at that imagery?

I refuse to believe that in the future we look back at Collier Schorr’s work the way we now look back at Newton’s work, or Penn’s work or Avedon’s work. And I can’t imagine that we will.

 

[KoV]

I received 6 magazines in the mail yesterday. Normally when I get multiple magazines, they don’t all fit in my mailbox and they have to hold them at the desk or bring them up and leave them outside my apartment door, but this time all 6 fit in my tiny mailbox. Vogue, at 120 pages, was the thickest of them. American magazines are truly doomed.

 

[Miss Dalloway]

^ Oh god, how depressing, i was raging over US Vogue having barely 120 pages, but I guess there are even thinner issues out there.

 

[tigerrouge]

I once excitedly bought several September issues of various Vogues on the same day and then realised I faced the serious problem of how to get them home, given that I would be dragging them round to a train station full of people, and after that, walking uphill for more than a mile, all the while hoping my plastic bag wouldn't break.

We shall not see their like again.

 

[mikel]

I once excitedly bought several September issues of various Vogues on the same day and then realised I faced the serious problem of how to get them home, given that I would be dragging them round to a train station full of people, and after that, walking uphill for more than a mile, all the while hoping my plastic bag wouldn't break.

We shall not see their like again.

Very relatable!

 

[axiomatic]

Playgirl Is Back and Very Different From Its Last Issue

While many magazines, including Playboy, are going out of print, one is coming back — but not as we last knew it.

Playgirl Magazine is relaunching in print on Monday, looking very different from its last issue in 2015 when it featured “campus hunks of Fort Lauderdale” — four men flexing in their swimming trunks in between several plastic-looking trees and what appears to be a hot tub filled with an odd shade of green water.

This time, the cover star is not a man, but a pregnant Chloë Sevigny, expertly shot by Mario Sorrenti against a backdrop of lush mint green hues and not a plastic tree in sight. Above her is the caption “we’ll take it from here.”

Beginning as a feminist response to Playboy in 1973, in between the male centerfold and other naked men, Playgirl tackled important issues such as abortion and equal rights, while contributors included Gloria Steinem, Maya Angelou and Joyce Carol Oates, making it a dominant voice in the women’s movement and the sexual revolution. It also built up an army of gay readers.

After a period in the Eighties when its covers largely consisted of celebrities wearing clothes, Playgirl was acquired by New York publisher Carl Ruderman and as Esquire wrote in a 2017 essay on the magazine, transformed into “unapologetic soft-core p*rn.”

Now the title is back in another incarnation, but it’s closer to its beginnings than when Playgirl ceased print operations in 2015, according to publisher Jack Lindley Kuhns, great-grandson of Eugene Meyer, who purchased The Washington Post in 1933.

Lindley Kuhns went to boarding school with Ruderman’s son and he and his father approached the-then 26-year-old in 2016 to see if he would be interested in acquiring the publishing rights to the title. It turned out to be the early issues that interested him in closing the deal, of which financial terms have not been disclosed.

“I didn’t know it was a feminist magazine. All I knew was the things that we would see on TV that was not anything of quality or important. But when I finally got my hands on the old issues it shocked me because it was very much entertainment for women in a big way in the sense that not only was Maya Angelou a monthly contributor for the first couple of years, but there were so many categories — fashion, art, editorial,” Lindley Kuhns said in an interview. “When I looked at it….the only thing I could think is this magazine could be elevated in a way to make it so beautiful and so relevant.”


So, after spending the past few years in negotiations, conceptualizing a relaunch, and assembling a team to shepherd Playgirl back into the world, he’s ready to unveil his version, which seeks to “pay homage to its 1970s sexual revolution roots, and relaunches the brand as a forward-thinking voice, celebrating all aspects of the modern feminine experience.”

Assisting him in his mission are a group of experienced glossy magazine/arty types: editor in chief Skye Parrott (cofounder and editor of Dossier), creative director Alex Wiederin (formerly executive design director at Town & Country and creative director of Vogue Hommes), managing editor Chloe Hall (an Emmy-nominated film and television producer and director), fashion director Leith Clark (founder of Lula Magazine and Violet Book and style director at large at Harper’s Bazaar U.K.) , editorial director Nina Renata Aron (formerly features editor of the literary magazine Full Stop) and image director Silvia Prada (an artist and former illustrator for Dazed & Confused, Interview and The Face).

The 272 pages cover everything from culture to politics, sex to style, all seen through a feminine lens. Features include interviews with Sevigny on the uncertainty of new motherhood, Brittany Newell on her best-ever BDSM session, Ivy Elrod on family and identity, and Carvell Wallace on loving men and hating the patriarchy. Elsewhere, there’s Pamela Love on how a mental health breakdown led to meeting her true self, Korsha Wilson on her most memorable meal at the top of the world and Mila Jaroniec on parenting and the cult of independence.

There’s also Playgirl ’s Heroes, profiling 10 female activists including Ai-jen Poo, cofounder and executive director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance; Raquel Willis, Black transgender activist, and Alicia Garza, activist, writer and Black Lives Matter co-creator.

As for the photography, there’s work such as “Power. Play.” by Harley Weir, showcasing the 21st century’s paradigm shift and serving as the magazine’s centerfold; “Midlife” by Elinor Carucci, highlighting the realness of aging, and The New Sexy by Myla Dalbesio, challenging outdated ideas of beauty.

But unlike the original, which was criticized for the lack of diversity in its pages, the magazine’s approach is “gender- and trans-inclusive, intergenerational and strives to reflect the diverse, dynamic array of women’s experiences.” “I’m really proud of how diverse our body types are in the issue — whether it’s in the centerfold or in fashion,” said Lindley Kuhns.

“Oddly enough there’s more female nudity in the magazine than male nudity,” he continued. “The next issue might have more male nudity than female nudity. It just happened to be like this.”

While there is nudity, for the first issue he wanted to set a precedent that “this isn’t p*rn.” “Honestly my biggest hope while producing the magazine was if somebody thought of Playgirl in one way at least they’ll be able to look at issue one and say to themselves, ‘well this makes sense.’ It’s much different than the past, but this makes sense and I’m very proud of it.”

On the business side, Lindley Kuhns originally hoped to produce two issues a year, but the pandemic has meant there will likely be only one for the time being. For the first issue, there will be a limited 2,000 copies available, priced at $20 each and available on newsstands mainly in New York and London and to order online.

There are no advertisers in the launch issue, but Lindley Kuhns said that doesn’t mean there won’t be in future issues. “It was hard enough getting people on board and trusting that we were going to make something as quality let alone taking the effort and energy to get funding from the people that we would want,” he said. “In the future I wouldn’t be turned off by advertisers but it would have to be the right one….Everything has to be appropriate to what we’re saying or displaying.”

While all this begs the question of how will it make a profit, he disclosed that while issue one will operate at a loss, “bringing back Playgirl Magazine in its original print format has always been a fundamental part of the vision.”

“Behind the scenes we are building a media entity that will ultimately broadcast and amplify the voice of the brand, while simultaneously financing the magazine,” he concluded.

interesting list of editors/directors

 

[mikel]

“There are no advertisers in the launch issue.”

 

[tigerrouge]

"I didn't know it was a feminist magazine". Well, maybe it was, but it was generally a magazine superficially marketed at women which was instead roundly appreciated by men. And that's not the sort of charade we have to go through these days, although you can see how it had a sense of thrill about it back then, if someone couldn't get their hands on anything else.

Now it sounds like they want to position it where Playboy left off, with celebrities on the cover, and getting people to "read it for the articles". There's nothing 'odd' about having more naked women in the issue than men. Same old story being sold to you at twice the price because the label of 'feminism' is being attached to it. It's no doubt full of people "reclaiming their bodies". I know what people are saying by that, but it's become such a trite phrase, it now sounds more like they accidentally left their body behind at the train station and now need to make a trip to the lost property office to get it back.

 

[mikel]

This was posted by Jaybee0605 in the Vogue Germany November thread:

What's next with Christiane Arp?

It will be a digital path that Condé Nast intends to take in the future. There is no longer any doubt about this after the announcement of the change in the publication frequency of the German magazines “Glamour”, “GQ” and “Vogue”. The latter magazine in particular stands for the publisher like no other. The change in frequency to eight instead of twelve times a year from 2021 will likely have significant consequences for the future structures….

According to industry experts, it is not yet entirely clear whether the long-time editor-in-chief will join in on the new path. "Christiane Arp remains the brand manager and chief creative director of Vogue," the company says. Nothing has changed for the moment, and the publisher does not want to comment on rumors of a possible departure. At least the development of the print “Vogue” seems to be positive: In retail sales, the fashion bible increased by around ten percent in the second quarter of 2020 compared to the same period of the previous year.

Source: Clap-club.de

So, from 12 to 8 issues a year. Interesting development.

 

[tigerrouge]

12 to 10 I can understand (combined issues for Jun/Jul and Dec/Jan) and 12 to 6 I can also see (every two months) but how does eight a year work? This is how consumers start losing track - and losing interest - about when a magazine appears.

 

[mikel]

12 to 10 I can understand (combined issues for Jun/Jul and Dec/Jan) and 12 to 6 I can also see (every two months) but how does eight a year work? This is how consumers start losing track - and losing interest - about when a magazine appears.

Yeah, it doesn’t make sense. Maybe combining September with October and March with April to have bigger September and March issues?

 

[aracic]

Playgirl sweetie... that cover is so ugly. After seeing so many of Sorrenti's magnificent old works in AnOther, it pains me to see this dreadful mediocrity.

 

[mikel]

Playgirl sweetie... that cover is so ugly. After seeing so many of Sorrenti's magnificent old works in AnOther, it pains me to see this dreadful mediocrity.

Mario Sorrenti’s work now is a mere shadow of his earlier work (that’s basically the case with every big photographer nowadays ), but I actually don’t mind the cover shot for Playgirl. If only Chloe had tilted her head just slightly.

 

[Miss Dalloway]

Wow VG going with 8 issues a year? Worst news today, print really is dying!

 

[Benn98]

Wow VG going with 8 issues a year? Worst news today, print really is dying!

If readership is down then I blame her. I know we talk a lot on here about identity crisis that the phrase almost loses impact, but Arp should be right up there with the rest. She has been alienating a lot of the very readers she nurtured with intellectualism and art, with everything from questionable casting choices such as Helene Fischer to changing the art direction of the magazine's cover each month. For Germans who are so consistent and methodological by nature, I can't imagine that went down very well. Suddenly the simplicity and safeness of Irina's cover make sense.

I'm am however shocked that they're reducing so drastically because they've done at least 2/3 supplements during this year alone. So it can't have been that bad, can it?

 

[MON]

Vogue Germany is dying, but Arp has no one to blame but herself. Vogue Germany lost its magic a decade ago

 

[vogue28]

I haven’t bought an issue of Vogue Germany in years but nevertheless it’s incredibly sad to read the magazine is reducing frequency - drastically.

Not 100% sold on the strategy, especially when we’ve saw new editions of Vogue this year and there’s no other Vogue which has a frequency of eight issues a year. I am almost certain there will be worser performing editions of Vogue across the globe.