Overview of the Magazine Industry

A Brief History of Magazines

The world’s first magazine, Erbauliche Monaths-Unterredungen (Edifying Monthly Discussions), was published in 1663 is Germany. The oldest magazine still in print, The Scots Magazine, was published in 1739. In 1770 the world’s first women’s’ magazine, The Lady’s Magazine, started with literary and fashion content plus embroidery patterns. In 1895 An American magazine, The Bookman, lists "Books in Demand" originating the idea of a bestseller list. Pulp fiction magazines were cheap fiction magazines published from 1896 to the 1950s, their name derived from the wood pulp paper they were printed on. In 1933 Esquire, the first men's magazine is published. Seventeen, the first magazine devoted to adolescents, is published in 1944. In 1953, Playboy, a classy magazine featuring ‘classy’ pornography, opens with Marilyn Monroe on the cover. In 1967, special-interest magazines such as Rolling Stone become more popular.

Advertising

                The cost of advertising in a magazine depends on the readership. For example, at the time of publication, a national woman's lifestyle magazine charged nearly $250,000 for a full-page ad while a niche gardening magazine only charged about $10,000.

Some magazines may charge less per ad if the ad is run in more than one issue; a one-time ad may cost $2,000 while the same ad run in six issues may only cost $1,500 per ad.

Some national publications have regional editions, where it costs less to advertise. This is because it would reach a smaller amount of readers.

Two colour ads (usually black and white) cost less than four colour ads. Sometimes smaller adverts can only be in black and white.  Advertising toward the front of the magazine costs more than toward the back of the magazine, with the exception of the back cover. For example, a West Coast magazine at the time of publication charged $141,800 for the inside front cover, while a full-page ad cost $118,400.

Facts and Figures

·         In 2013, one in 20 Brits purchased digital magazines, with this increasing to one in ten among the younger generation, primarily 18-24 year olds.

·         There were 367 new magazine launches in 2013, including 292 regular frequency titles, an increase of 16% from 2012.

·         79% of the uk population enjoy magazine content annually.

·         2,543 consumer magazines are in regular print production in the UK.

·         3m+ print magazines are distributed every day.

·         55% of tablet owners have read a digital edition of a magazine on their tablet device.

·         41 of the 50 highest grossing apps on Apple Newsstand are magazines.

·         4,395 business titles are in regular publication in the UK.

·         £5bn: the value of the magazine industry to the UK economy.

·         Global presence: 40% of digital editions downloaded across the world are British.

(http://www.ppa.co.uk/marketing/insightanddata/stats/)