Spinning in the Grave is an excellent article by Jonah Weiner on Slate. Weiner focuses on music magazines and offers a useful perspective as he was a senior editor at Blender magazine until a few months ago. The article is relevant to newsagents because it thoughtfully assesses the changes impacting the segment. Rather than saying online is taking over, Weiner presents reasons for the decline of music magazines. I see the challenge in sales figures – the music category is experiencing a rocky ride. Even free CDs and other giveaways are not driving sales as they used to.
New York Magazine covers this story too. Be sure to read the comments at the end of their piece.
One of the things I haven’t worked out, with the ever-increasing competition from the web, is why adult magazines continue to be my second most profitable category, and why computer magazine sales are on the increase!