It’s ABC day, when the 6-monthly circulation figures for UK magazines (Jan-Jun 2009) are released. And the report makes pretty depressing reading.
Fact is, people are buying fewer magazines. Big sectors are down: women’s weeklies (-4.8%), men’s lifestyle (-4.7%), sport (-4.6%) and even TV listings (-5.4%). And when you strip out the freebies like Shortlist (up 0.9% to 510,720), things look even worse.
The men’s monthly lifestyle has been decimated. Even the closure of Maxim and Arena can’t stop the numbers looking horrible.
Stuff is down 4% year-on-year to 84,565. Given the recession (and the fact that we sell most mags around Christmas), it’s a pretty good result. Others in the men’s category haven’t fared so well: FHM down 16.2%, Loaded down 23.8%, even the previously solid GQ is down 7.7%.
And the men’s weeklies are in freefall – Nuts down 24.6% to 188,532 and Zoo down 31.2% ton a mere 111,012 (from over 200,000 in 2005). Given the costs of producing these mags, and the dearth of advertising, it could be curtains for one of them soon (No guesses which. Seems like the weekly phenomenom wasn’t so phenomenal after all.
Only Men’s Health and Men’s Fitness bucked the downward trend – in fact, Men’s Health has finally overtaken FHM and is now the UK’s best-selling men’s monthly. Congratulations to them – it’s a victory for great magazine making. And great abs.
Full list of paid-for men’s titles below (incidentally, Stuff’s rival T3 isn’t on the list because it doesn’t publish a half-year ABC. Its previous circ figure was 60,127.)
Men’s Health 250,247 (+2.1% year-on-year)
FHM 235,027 (-16.2%)
Nuts188,532 (-24.6%)
GQ 120,019 (-7.7%)
Zoo 111,012 (-31.2%)
Stuff 84,565 (-4%)
Loaded 72,679 (-23.8%)
BBC Focus 68,144 (-2.8%)
Men’s Fitness 67,987 (+3.6%)
Esquire 52,705 (-9.3%)
Outside of the men’s lifestyle category, the notable winners were celebrity fluffers OK!, Reveal, More! and Star. Which I find incredibly depressing. Bang goes my theory (born from nothing more than blind hope) that the recession would scupper this whole celebrity culture.
The Week and Women’s Fitness were the only upmarket mags to post a rise of over 10,000 copies.
So, is the magazine industry in terminal decline? I don’t think so. Yes, there will be more closures – caused by the recession and underlying factors like the range of websites and TV channels now serving niche interests.
The decline of the lads mag is no bad thing, either. The jokes-and-soft-porn formula seems terribly tired. Specialist titles like Men’s Health and Stuff provide more of a reason to make a purchase – in fact, sales of Stuff have been picking up in the last couple of months. Despite the digital competition, and the economic situation, people are still willing to part with cash for well-made magazines that serve their interests.
And let’s not forget that magazines offer something that the web doesn’t: a viable business model. Despite Murdoch’s futile attempts to turn back the online tide of ‘Free’ with a payment wall, online media is suffering terribly in the advertising downturn. Magazines, on the other hand, can make money from copy sales too: not enough to get rich, but enough to keep on publishing. To keep on doing what we do best: communicating passion. Even if that’s passion for celebrity cellulite.
PS My favourite fact from the ABC release: the biggest increase in any sector is ‘women’s interests: hair’ – up 66.4%.
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Comments ( 1 Comment )
Three cheers for celebrity cellulite, and over 400,000 sales per week by New! Magazine…! Dont pretend you dont like it Tom, I’ve seen you buy it
Andrew Tyler added these pithy words on
Aug 13 09 at
2:27 pm
