Consumer magazines spent most of the past two decades managing decline. The more confident publishers have stopped doing that. Newsstand sales and print advertising are still shrinking, but well-made titles with loyal readers are raising cover prices and growing.
Scale matters less than it did. Bauer has made Grazia a more premium product and charged more for it, while independents such as Anthem have put print back at the centre of the business and grown their export sales. Stylist has changed format several times without losing its readers. Others have gone the other way, and Gay Times dropped print entirely to build a global audience online.
For most consumer publishers, print is our USP. It’s the anchor that makes advertisers trust us and the very thing that readers want from us.
Jon Bickley Our print strategy: Anthem
Behind the confidence sits some hard arithmetic. Newstrade is now a small share of revenue and events and ecommerce are growing from a low base. Trust has become a selling point as AI fills the web with content of uncertain origin, but the paid-for consumer model that works at scale is still being worked out.
Below you'll find some of our best feature articles on consumer magazines, from premium print and cover pricing to brand extensions, membership and the future of specialist titles, alongside our latest news and industry commentary.
For a while now, magazine publishers have been on the defensive, unsure about the viability of their traditional business model in a fast-changing world. Katie Vanneck-Smith wants to change all that.
We asked Tamar Riley, portfolio managing director at Immediate, what does best practice publishing look like in consumer media? This is what she said…
For premium titles like Grazia, Mojo and Empire, growth is increasingly coming not from extending reach but from deepening engagement with existing passionate audiences, as Lauren Holleyoake tells Ciar Byrne.
The printed magazine will be a cherished part of people’s lives for years to come, says Jon Bickley, co-founder and CEO. That is why it’s the key component in Anthem’s publishing strategy.
With the arrival of AI and the widespread availability of unattributable content, specialist publishers need to ensure that their titles are the trusted go-to brands in their sectors, Our Media’s Andy Marshall tells Ciar Byrne.
Stylist’s mission has been clear from day one: to engage with its female audience in an intelligent, positive and non-exploitative way. 16 years on, and current PPA Media Brand of the Year, they are staying true to those values, says Lisa Smosarski.
Gay Times was stuck in a rut, tied to its traditional publishing model and reaching only a small part of the LGBTQ+ community. Under the editorship of Lewis Corner, that began to change, as he explains to Ciar Byrne.
Whatever the rest of 2024 holds, two things are certain. Firstly, the bumpy economic ride will continue. Secondly, the need for media companies to have a broad base of revenue streams has never been more important or more challenging to achieve.
How do you create a specialist consumer media business that is fit for the future? What steps do you need to take to be resilient and flexible as audiences and technology evolve? Carolyn Morgan researched 20 innovators from across Europe to find out.
For many publishers, circulation is all about chasing volume, but they would be much better off chasing profitability, says Natalie Smith, client relationship manager at Warners.
Maney Publishing and the Society of Mining Professors (SOMP) have announced a new partnership which sees the adoption of Mining Technology as the SOMP official journal.
Kerrang! Magazine will be celebrating its 30th anniversary this year in true rock 'n' roll style with the announcement that the Prince Of Darkness himself, Ozzy Osbourne, will be honoured with the 'Kerrang! Legend' award at this year's Kerrang! Award
BBC Music Magazine has announced its Disc of the Year at an awards ceremony held at Kings Place, London.
A Gardeners' World survey has found that a record number of Brits are planning to grow their own fruit and veg this year, with enjoyment, better flavour and improving health the main motivators.
Britain’s best cars have been named – and it’s Skoda who is celebrating after landing the top two awards in the car ownership survey, Auto Express’s Driver Power.
Burns campaigner and star of ‘My Beautiful Friends’, Katie Piper, joins the “star studded” Team Reveal as its newest weekly columnist.
Magazine subscription website MagazineSubscription.co.uk has completed a new web design providing publishers with a simpler and more intuitive portal to promote their magazines and publications.
The world’s first ‘death magazine’ is set to re-launch with a new website, masthead and strap-line.
Research Magazine, the international magazine for the global market research business, has appointed Brian Tarran as its new editor.
Country Living’s eBay Celebrity Craft Auction has raised £4,874.99 for The Prince’s Countryside Fund.
Circdata and Mash Media recently signed a major £65K data services deal at Publishing Expo 2011.
Future, the special-interest media group, has announced the appointment of Chris Taylor as Head of Communications for its UK business.
Owner of Dennis Publishing, Felix Dennis, has acquired US-based trivia magazine Mental Floss.
On Saturday, 9 April 2011, The Daily Telegraph launched Ultratravel Golf, the latest addition to its glossy portfolio of Ultratravel magazines.
Centaur Media has announced the acquisition of 100% of the shares in expatriate information and events business, The Forum for Expatriate Management Ltd (FEM).
