Selling magazines is not selling out
Plus, the 'unsexy truth' about print revenues
Hello magazine makers,
I wrote back in 2018 about my fears that the magazine business was becoming like a farmers market, where commercially sustainable magazine publishing was being replaced by artists, hobbyists and side-hustlers.
I was complaining about the sense that if mainstream magazines could only be ‘a bit more indie’, everything would be OK.
Celebrate the success of the independent magazine sector. Buy them… Read them…Share them… but don’t for a second think that they are going to provide your sons and daughters with a career.
Since then, many mainstream magazine makers have channelled the passion and creativity of the best indie publishers, but not at the expense of commercial sustainability.
With print holding steady at number 3 on the America revenue charts, there’s clearly a lot of life left in print publishing.
While future success will require publishers to ditch any nostalgia they have left for mass-market audit numbers, it doesn’t mean magazines discussing the pantone colours of belly-button fluff are the only future.
Slàinte Mhath
Peter
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What is an independent magazine?
If anyone knows what an independent magazine is it’s Steve Watson at Stack Magazines. He’s been thinking about it for over a decade and in this piece he tries to distill his thoughts, introducing eight indie magazines that each do things differently.
One aspect of what Steve says really struck a chord. He writes:
There’s often the sense that a real independent magazine should only exist as a labour of love; they should be hard to find because they’re only sold in specialist magazine shops; and they probably shouldn’t have any advertising, either because the publishers don’t want to compromise their independence, or because selling ad pages is really hard work.
I recognise that description, but I hate it.
Independent magazines are not always art projects. Some are and I love that they exist in the world, but not every magazine needs to be an oh-so-cool, tactile and minimalist Kickstarter project. There are other reasons to publish an independent magazine:
To bring communites together
To help specialists get better at their jobs
To make a shitty situation better
To make a living
Making magazines that sell is not selling out.
Being passionate about profits is what lets you make your next issue.
Print is still top-three revenue driver for US publishers
The head of circulation audits in the US says “the unsexy truth” is that, for many publishers, print remains “a very important revenue driver.”
You might have chosen to forget, but print circulation audits are still a thing.
The biggest reason for the industry’s selective amnesia about regular reader numbers roundups is they’re usually pretty bad news. The latest UK ABC figures showed that half of the UK’s print titles saw a distribution drop of 10% or more in the last half of 2024.
However, this report from the people that certify US circulation numbers led with a cheerier message. While pushing the need to do a better job of combining digital and print numbers (you think?) it highlights the continues importance of print revenue.
Alliance for Audited Media chief executive, Richard Murphy, told Press Gazette:
It’s generally in the top three revenue buckets for every publisher out there… usually digital is number one, events are number two and then print is number three.
I think that’s pretty sexy.
Grab a copy of Grub Street
We’ve published four editions of The Grub Street Journal. Get them now!
The Don Quixote issue: What kind of idiots still make magazines?
The Jerry Maguire issue: Show me the money in magazines
The Walking Dead issue: Why won’t print just lie down and die?
The Next Generation issue: Finding the future’s readers and leaders
Magazine NIBs
PrintGreen aims to redefine the conversation around print sustainability
A UK cooperative of businesses and trade organisations has come together to challenge the misconceptions that persist about print’s environmental impact.
The New York Times’ Reporter Reads are genius
AI story reads are everywhere, but here the reporter is explaing the context of his work before actually reading you the article. BTS insight FTW!
The Beginning of the end of print advertising?
Steven Heller thinks the latest book in Taschen’s All-American Ads series might be the last: non-print platforms have altered the creative focus and goals of ads.
Magazine Songs
Did you know I have a Spotify playlist of songs that reference magazines… WHAT? Music and magazines are two of my favourite things.
If you have a favourite magazine song, just reply to this email and I’ll add it to The Grub Street Journal’s ‘Magazine Songs’ playlist.
This week I’m sharing Rihanna’s ‘Umbrella’ covered by the most excellent Biffy Clyro. MON THE BIFF!
Fun fact: Much to the anguish of NME readers of a certain age, Rihanna was the cover star on the first free issue of the iconic music magazine back in 2015.
