Kelly Goodman

The Magazine Industry Today

Nowadays, the popularity of buying physical magazines has seriously decreased, causing a major pressure

on a lot of magazine companies. In the first half of 2011, magazine NME fell 14.3% to 29,020 along with

several other companies such as The Fly, Uncut and The Stool Pigeon. This is due to various aspects,

though the main culprit is the increasing interest into the internet, and what

it has to offer.

Between 1960 and 2000, the magazine industry was seemingly at its highest

point, when the advertisement was strong, and there was no major interest

in the internet, therefore providing magazines with an increasing profit.

Though, when reaching 2006, social media became a slight threat to the

magazine industry. In 2006, there was a great expansion in Google and

Facebook, meaning that there was much rivalry towards the internet and

magazine industry. Though this was the case, this new opening created a

new opportunity for publishers, since there was a wider variety of advertising and new chances to show

their work. In the following year there was another major risk to the magazine industry; Iphones. This hi

tech piece of equipment allows the public to look through apps about the magazines, which though

seemed a threat, also offered further opportunities to widen the audience. Such major changes to the

media meant that companies strayed away from Men’s magazines, since research shows that they are

more likely to look online for news and updates, therefore companies focused simply on the opposing

market, of women’s magazines.

Adding to this, it is obvious that nowadays publishers enjoying making websites, just as much as they do

making the magazines themselves. Though, there is still a large market for

the magazine industry, not necessarily how we would expect it. Stevie

Spring suggested that there wouldn’t be a need for ‘general’ magazines,

but instead a want for special, glossy interests. Due to the mass interest

in websites these days, magazines such as ‘take a break’ are not as

needed, since weather forecasts, tv guides and true stories can simply be

found online, whereas the internet cannot display the same effect that a

glossy, unique magazine can. This is supported by Nicholas Coleridge,

suggesting that in the next couple of years he would prefer to work in the

glossy industry, since other titles will seemingly deteriorate.

It is obvious that is most magazine companies want to survive, they will

have to produce an online website for readers, though the trouble is, with online companies, there is only

a minimal way of producing money, which is from advertising. If this factor is seemingly decreasing, then

in the end, many magazines will no longer be supported by advertising and will go out of business.

However, companies such as ‘The Financial Times’ allow some of their stories to be read for free each

month, though in order to read them all, customers would have to buy the magazine.

In conclusion, I feel that eventually the magazine industry will nearly disappear, though Niche and glossy

magazine will still exist as collectables. It is obvious that in order to survive, companies will have to go

online and produce websites, and eventually this will cause only a limited amount of magazines to

actually be published.

Kelly Goodman

Top of the Pop’s magazine

Top of the pops is a music magazine aimed at young teen girls, which informs them about fashion,

chart updates, gossip, beauty tips and posters, which seemingly builds

them up to aim for a lifestyle that magazines with an older target

audience project. The magazine has been running since February 1995,

and is famously known for giving The Spice Girls their nicknames. The

magazine followed the well-known television program, and therefore

was a big hit, though nowadays, alongside various other magazines, its

popularity has decreased.

The magazine had always been in competition with various other teen

pop varieties of its time; the biggest of these being Smash Hits. Though,

in January 2006 this magazine closed down, which is seemingly one of

the greatest defeats that the magazine could have asked for. However,

shortly following this, after 6 months, the television programme that the

magazine followed shut down. Such a drastic action therefore caused much controversy within the

magazines success, resulting in a decrease in sales to only 96,579. Though, due to the fall of Smash

Hits, the sales of the magazine did rise to 105,025, which proved that the demise of one similar

magazine company makes a similar companies’ sales rise.

Nowadays the magazine has deflated, though it is not as up to date as others. Top of the pops still

runs as a hand held magazine, though it does have its own

web page. Unlike other magazines of this time, the

company does not have its own featuring online magazine,

which I believe will make it more successful. Though this is

the case, they offer online packages where customers are

able to buy the magazine for a period of time, which

therefore could seem positive within the long run of

keeping customers.

Although the company has developed a lot from 1995, it

still remains using the same fonts and mast heads, along

with the overall idea of the magazine, which seemingly has

been the highlight within maintaining more sales than that of Smash Hits magazine. Even though the

magazine market is decreasing, with the new internet and technical modifications, this magazine has

continued throughout the years, unlike many others of its kind.

Kelly Goodman