The Business of Magazines

[mikel]

Thansk for the article and vid MMA I hope that this will be the last indepent publication to suffer from the current crisis.

 

[mrsjamesdean]

F%#K you recession!

very second month i'll be going crazy

 

[Mchunu]

that's six less possible model subjects for covers
just wondering, b ut does anyone think there will be more celebrity covers from i-D because of how they are publishing issues now?

 

[Northern Star]

^^That hadn't crossed my mind, but I seriously hope not.
They have done so many great model covers, it would be a shame to go with celebs more.

 

[Mchunu]

Yeah, i know. it may seem like a weird presumption, but i was thinking that only because with it being such a popular magazine and publishing less, maybe to increase their sales they would do that..but i hope not either

 

[ysljunkie]

The whole thing sounds very scary.

 

[homeboy]

Yeah, i know. it may seem like a weird presumption, but i was thinking that only because with it being such a popular magazine and publishing less, maybe to increase their sales they would do that..but i hope not either

Resorting to celebrity covers can prove to be vital for the survival of the magazine. In a downturn, customers only spend money on things they perceive to offer best value. ID is a very niche magazine that does predominantly appeal to fashion enthusiasts like us. But we represent only 5-10% of magazine buyers. Who keeps the magazines alive is style seekers, apathetic and uninvolved consumers. ID Magazine may have to alter their concept or else they will have to become a bi-annual publication, if fold for good.

 

[tigerrouge]

Now that you mention "ID Magazine" - a missing dash and then it becomes the name of an American design magazine - I have always wondered how it happened, that there were two identically-named publications on the worldwide newsstand.

Did they come to some sort of "gentleman's agreement" between each other? Most companies would sue in a heartbeat - but maybe neither had the money to mount such a challenge. ID Magazine vs i-D Magazine.

 

[hfgl]

^I always wondered if they were related somehow.

 

[MissMagAddict]

tigerrouge... please credit the image source.

Thank you.

 

[tigerrouge]

I completely forget - from ID mag's own website, www.idonline.com, where we can see how they work hard to make furniture look exciting on covers, but not as suavely as Wallpaper does.

 

[MissMagAddict]

source | wwd.com

BONJOUR GRAZIA, AU REVOIR MIXTE: It’s a case of “one in, one out” at Mondadori France, which is closing its monthly fashion title Mixte but is gearing up for the fall launch of its weekly magazine Grazia in France. While Mixte’s closure hasn’t been announced officially, pending negotiations with unions, a spokeswoman said the June/July issue, which hits newsstands May 26, would be its final edition. Founded in 1998, the magazine, which costs 5 euros, or $6.80 at current exchange, is billed as offering avant-garde features on luxury fashion, beauty, trends and design, with a circulation of around 50,300. With 25 million euros, or $33 million, invested into Grazia’s French introduction, Mondadori has set higher targets for the title. It’s aiming for a circulation of 170,000 copies plus first-year sales of 40 million to 45 million euros, or $53 million to $59 million. “Grazia is a great high-end magazine with a very innovative concept totally adapted to the French market,” asserted Ernesto Mauri, president of Mondadori France. The 108-page first issue, expected to cost around 2 euros, or $2.60, is to feature fashion, beauty and personality columns. Mondadori could not be reach for comment on Mixte’s closure. The group, which publishes more than 30 other titles, including Closer, Biba and AutoPlus, is present in 11 countries, including India and China.

 

[MissMagAddict]

source | wwd.com

INCOME LEVELS UP: The ad business may be as depressing as it gets, but reader income levels at some titles are managing to defy the recession’s gravity. W magazine scored the largest percentage increase in female household income — and largest figure overall — up 20 percent to $86,539, according to Mediamark Research & Intelligence’s spring 2009 figures. Female readers of Lucky came in a close second, with average income up 1.8 percent to $83,979, followed by In Style, up 6 percent to $83,695. Marie Claire was up 3.4 percent to $75,368, while Elle also rose 6 percent, to $71,964, and O, The Oprah Magazine increased 6.6 percent to $72,922. Ranking income levels, that of Glamour’s female readers’ was essentially flat, at $66,142, while Harper’s Bazaar was up 2 percent to $65,003, Vogue fell 2 percent to $64,828, and Town & Country was up 3.8 percent to $62,995. Allure reported a decline of 9.5 percent to $59,324 and Cosmopolitan was down 3.5 percent to $57,298.

Giving a bit more detail about W’s readers, Nina Lawrence, the title’s vice president and publisher, said that starting in October 2008, the luxury market was hit harder than total U.S. retail sales, a trend that continued through April. In a new study on what luxury fashion consumers are thinking now, W found that during the last six months, most designer fashion purchases (80 percent) were made “on sale.” And sales are creating “addicts,” but so far, they are not damaging luxury’s value.

 

[MissMagAddict]

source | wwd.com

IN AND OUT: Russell Labosky, former creative director of Men’s Vogue and longtime art director at Vogue, has left his position as Interview’s art director after only about a month. Reached at his SoHo home, Labosky said he had stayed on through mid-April to consult on the Brant Publications Inc. art titles and would be working on several book projects, including “Floral Decadences,” with his partner, floral designer Lewis Miller (“So if you can’t forget flowers for your weekly orders, you buy the book,” Labosky explained). The two are moving their business base to Sag Harbor this week, though their apartment was recently shot by Don Freeman for World of Interiors, Labosky said.

A spokeswoman for Interview said Labosky “left Interview in early April for personal reasons.” (Sources close to the magazine indicated friction between Labosky and Interview editorial director Glenn O’Brien.) Stella Bugbee, formerly design director at Domino, is Interview’s new art director.

 

[nyc_art_style]

What!?! What is wrong with Interview?

I mean this is ridiculous! It's foolish! All this activity and drama. How on earth can you make a magazine with a vision with all this commotion?!

It's sad to see a magazine like Interview fall apart right in front of your eyes.

 

[crosidan]

^I don't understand the reason for all of this disorder either. Is Glenn O'Brien reputed to be difficult? It seems the June issue is late as well.

 

[j'adorekapusta]

The rebirth of Pop

A Scott King artwork (above), several hundred words of manifesto (‘…fashion and its related universe is a prism through which so much of contemporary CREATIVITY, as well as the evolving celebrity culture, ends up being refracted…’), a twitter feed and a MySpace page (remember those?).

The hype for the return of Pop begins.

source magculture.com

 

[tigerrouge]

The Daily Mail reports on Playboy being for sale:

Playboy for sale after making a loss of millions - and Virgin is tipped as a potential buyer

24th May 2009

He has become as much a part of the Playboy brand as its trademark bunny ears. But Hugh Hefner could soon be parting ways with the soft-p*rn empire he founded more than 56 years ago. The 83-year-old is reported to be selling the company for nearly £200million, with Virgin tipped as a potential buyer.

Although the magazine was read by a quarter of all university students in its heyday in the 1970s, its circulation has taken a battering from the availability of free p*rn*gr*phy on the internet.

Earlier this month, Playboy announced it had made losses of £8.6million for the first three months of this year, compared to a £2.6million loss for the corresponding period in 2008. The company is said to have been furiously cutting costs and has reportedly sacked 25 per cent of its staff.

Although it is still America's best-selling men's magazine, sales have dropped to about three million an issue from around seven million in 1972.

According to reports in the U.S., two companies, Apollo Capital Partners and Providence Equity Partners, have been approached but decided against making a bid. Virgin Media's name has been raised as a potential buyer by speculators, but no official interest in the acquisition has been confirmed. The purchase price is said to include enough to ensure that Hefner can maintain his lavish lifestyle.

A source yesterday told the New York Post: 'Everyone says that he'll never let go, that he'll take it to his grave.'

Hefner, who has become known for parading around in his dressing gown with a series of beautiful, blonde girlfriends, still controls 70 per cent of the company. His daughter Christine stepped down as Playboy's chief operating officer in January and formally severed her ties with the company at its annual meeting last week.

A spokesman for Playboy said it had not received any offers and denied Hefner has been courting potential buyers. But he added that, as a public company 'we will listen to proposals that could create value for all of our shareholders'.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/wor...-millions--Virgin-tipped-potential-buyer.html

 

[Northern Star]

^^ Playboy having no association with Hugh Hefner just won't seem right.

 

[tigerrouge]

And a tiny bit of positive news from the Press Gazette:

Conde Nast to launch Glamour magazine in Bulgaria

Conde Nast has announced the launch of a Bulgarian edition of Glamour magazine - in the same week that the chairman of its international division said opportunities for global expansion were drying up.

The Bulgarian edition, which is unlikely to launch before the New Year, will be the 16th edition of the monthly style and celebrity gossip title. It will be published by Greek publisher Liberis Media, which already prints Glamour under licence in Greece and Romania.

Speaking at the Fipp World Magazine Congress in London on Wednesday, Conde Nast International chairman Jonathan Newhouse said the industry was running out of places to expand "unless space exploration turns up some overlooked readers on Mars".

"There are markets left to develop but with a few exceptions they tend to be smaller and less wealthy," he said. "We no longer have the possibility to develop by expanding our most profitable brands into the richest virgin markets.

But Conde Nast New Markets vice president Carol Cornuau said in a statement today: "Conde Nast is pleased to begin publishing in Bulgaria, a market that has developed fast over the past years and still shows plenty of potential for high-end magazines."

Conde Nast publishes 126 titles - including GQ, Vogue and Vanity Fair - in 23 markets around the world.

http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=43603&c=1