Inside Magazine Publishing Understanding the modern magazine publishing industry and the migration to digital. Inside Magazine Publishing is an engaging and practical textbook exploring all aspects of the contemporary magazine world. David Stam and Andrew Scott draw on a wealth of industry experience to present a detailed analysis of the key elements of the business today, alongside a historical analysis of magazine publishing and a projection of its future. The role of digital and new media platforms and their effects are explored in detail. The book features a range of case studies, written by industry experts, providing accessible examples of key issues, and additional micro essays are also included applying theory to practice. Subject areas covered include: π UK magazine publishing today π changing business models π originating and managing creative content π magazine writing and design π circulation, distribution and marketing π advertisement sales π the magazine in the digital age π appendices on printing, paper selection and legal issues. Inside Magazine Publishing is a comprehensive overview of magazine publishing for students and all those wishing to understand this dynamic and complex industry. For additional resources, visit the companion website at www.insidemagazine publishing.com. David Stam was a Director of IPC Media for 11 years. He is now a guest lecturer and member of the Publishing Industry Advisory Board at Oxford Brookes University, as well as a consultant to the magazine industry. Andrew Scott spent 20 years working in the newspaper and magazine industry. For the last three years he has been lecturing on the Business of Magazines at Harlow College and City University. Inside Magazine Publishing David Stam and Andrew Scott First published 2014 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2014 David Stam and Andrew Scott © individual chapters, the contributors The right of David Stam and Andrew Scott to be identifi ed as authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identifi cation and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Inside magazine publishing / edited by David Stam and Andrew Scott. pages cm Includes index. 1. Periodicals--Publishing--Great Britain. 2. English periodicals. 3. Publishers and publishing- -Great Britain. I. Stam, David, 1953- editor of compilation. II. Scott, Andrew, 1966- editor of compilation. Z326.I57 2013 070.5’720941--dc23 2013030318 ISBN: 978-0-415-82711-9 (hbk) ISBN: 978-0-415-82712-6 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-81852-8 (ebk) Typeset in Scala by Saxon Graphics Ltd, Derby Contents List of fi gures and tables vii List of photos ix Acknowledgements xi Preface xiii Authors and contributors xv Introduction 1 1 A short history of British magazine publishing 9 Christine Stam Diana: magazines, her celebrity and its lasting impact on an industry 39 Leander Reeves 2 Magazine publishing in the UK today 43 Andrew Scott 3 Changing business models in the magazine world 75 David Stam 4 Editorial: originating and managing creative content 105 Richard Sharpe What is a magazine? 131 Andrew Calcutt 5 Designing and writing for magazines 137 Richard Sharpe 6 Magazine distribution, sales and marketing 167 David Stam 7 The science of advertisement sales 196 Andrew Scott vi Contents 8 Publishing in the digital age 226 Jim Bilton Appendix 1: Making print and paper buying choices 248 Appendix 2: Legal issues for magazines: a brief summary 254 Further information resources 259 Glossary 261 PPA accreditation scheme 266 Index 267 Figures and tables FIGURES 1.1 Consumer magazines: revenue market share 10 2.1 UK retail sales value of IPC Media and Bauer (2009–12) 48 2.2 Market share of UK magazine publishers (print and digital sales) 48 2.3 UK consumer magazines – revenue share split 55 2.4 Media sectors’ advertisement revenue 2001 versus 2012 at current prices 58 2.5 Consumer and B2B advertisement revenue (2000–11) 59 2.6 Number of regular frequency consumer magazine launches and closures (2007–12) 59 2.7 B2B revenue split by source 65 2.8 Growth of content marketing UK industry turnover 70 3.1 Digital integration models 79 3.2 International strategies – the risk/reward ratio 92 5.1 Make-up of a cover 139 5.2 The pace/fl ow of a weekly business title 150 5.3 Basic example of a magazine fl at-plan: the fi rst 16 and fi nal 8 pages 152 5.4 Simplifi ed example of editorial workfl ow 153 5.5 The inverted pyramid shape of a news story 156 5.6 The diamond shape of features 159 6.1 Retail supply chain 169 6.2 Retailer market share 172 6.3 Postal subscriptions supply chain 180 6.4 Example of lifetime value projection (cumulative profi ts) 185 7.1 Share of adspend by medium 2012 198 7.2 Total advertising expenditure at current prices 199 7.3 Advertising expenditure: year-on-year percentage change at current prices 199 8.1 The B2B revenue map 229 8.2 The consumer revenue map 230 viii Figures and tables TABLES 1.1 Women’s monthly journals introduced 1916–29 21 1.2 Successful women’s magazine launches of the 1980s 33 2.1 Top 25 UK magazines (actively purchased) 49 4.1 UK TV Listings magazines 121 6.1 Individual campaign profi ts over 3 years 185 7.1 Advertising expenditure in local currency at current prices (£ million) 197 8.1 Website revenue split 233 Photos 1.1 Edward Cave’s eighteenth century The Gentleman’s Magazine was the fi rst printed publication to use the term ‘magazine’ 11 1.2 Three hundred years of The Spectator magazine. Richard Steele and Joseph Addison’s original version of 1711 and a recent cover from the modern publication (2011) 12 1.3 Neville Chamberlain appears on the front cover of the 9 September 1939 issue of The Field 14 1.4 Blackpool North Railway Station WH Smith Bookstall, 1896 15 1.5 First issue of Country Life, January 1897 17 1.6 The fi rst issue of Woman’s Weekly in 1911 sold approximately half a million copies 20 1.7 Radio Times. The fi rst issue (28 September 1923) and one of the issues from 1950 that sold 8 million copies 22 1.8 First issue of Woman magazine, 5 June 1937 23 1.9 First issue of TV Times, 22 September 1955 25 1.10 One of many ‘royal’ covers of the 1950s 26 1.11 Robert Maxwell on the cover of Private Eye, November 1986 28 1.12 Marie Claire, still a top selling title in 2013 34 2.1 Distribution of Stylist magazine in Paris 57 2.2 The launch issue of Loaded in January 1994 was a sell out 61 3.1 The UK launch issue, March 1972, now a collectors’ item (Cosmopolitan) 85 3.2 Mollie Makes, launched in 2011, has grown rapidly in sales by utilising the online community of craft enthusiasts 89 3.3 Magazine vendor in Delhi, India 93 3.4 At Creative HEAD magazine’s business networking event, Salon Smart, salon owners from all over the UK learn how to shoot for success at a photographic masterclass 101 4.1 Steam Railway has a specialist and devoted community of readers 106 4.2 Most readers of Simply Knitting are female and likely to be between 35 years and 64 years 108 4.3 The top-selling title magazine Yours is aimed at a target audience aged over 50 years 112 4.4 In 2011 the guest editor for one issue was the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams (New Statesman) 115 x Photos 4.5 Radio Times has the highest percentage profi le of ABC1 readers in the very competitive TV Listings market 122 5.1 The cover of the 10 April 2013 issue of Country Life had all of the elements of a great cover 140 5.2 The cover of Angler’s Mail frequently pictures a ‘big catch’ 141 5.3 Farmers Weekly has a healthy classifi ed advertisements section of properties, tractors, machinery and jobs 149 5.4 Reality magazines such as Pick Me Up regularly include well written narrative features 162 6.1 There are over 50,000 retailers selling magazines in the UK. They range from major WH Smith stores to neighbourhood newsagents 172 7.1 Readers enjoy a unique relationship with magazines 201 7.2 Example of magazine advertisement driving online ordering 207 7.3 Dedicated readers enjoy scanning the classifi ed ads of specialist titles 214 7.4 Reader profi ling of magazines such as Red help the editorial team to create a well-targeted package to maximise both circulation and advertisement revenues 216 8.1 Modern day media consumption is becoming increasingly platform neutral 237 8.2 Brothers reading from a digital tablet – is this the future? 244 A.1 A specialist works on the depth of cell of a gravure cylinder 249 A.2 A roll of sections wound ready for binding 249 Acknowledgements The publisher would like to thank the following companies and individuals for permission to reproduce the following illustrations: Page 12, The Spectator (1828); pages 14, 17, 20, 23, 25, 26 and 34, IPC Media; page 15, University of Reading, Special Collections; page 22, Immediate Media (Radio Times); page 28, Private Eye magazine www.private-eye.co.uk; page 57, Ken Moreton of Stylist magazine; page 61, Blue Publishing; page 85, Hearst Magazines UK; page 89, Future plc; page 101, Alfol; page 106 and 112, Bauer Consumer Media; page 108, Future plc; page 115, New Statesman; page 122, Immediate Media; pages 140, 141 and 162, IPC Media; page 149, Reed Business Information; page 172, WH Smith and National Federation of Retail Newsagents; page 207, DHP and The Carp Den; page 216, Hearst Magazines UK; page 249, Polestar.