Future of the Magazine Single Copy Distribution Business

Magazine editors prefer to use January issues to form predictions concerning the approaching year. Like several medium-size publishers, I'm active in most aspects of the business. I am the publisher and editor-in-chief of our magazines (American Iron and RoadBike). As a 3rd generation publisher with more than three decades of active single copy expertise, I assume a lot concerning its future.
I used to be recently on a PBAA magazine industry panel to discuss the one copy industry. I used to be asked to briefly discuss my best predictions, best ideas and largest gripes regarding the magazine newsstand (single copy) world.
BEST IDEA. As simple because it may sound, my best idea is to offer readers better value. How can a publisher expect to keep up or grow sales while cutting pages and/or editorial quality, particularly when increasing the quilt price? Given a alternative of how to chop costs, I'd advocate printing and distributing fewer copies rather than holding a print order and cutting pages from the magazine.
BEST PREDICTION. In the next 2 years the one copy distribution system will evolve drastically. To survive, the magazine wholesalers can aggressively cut their mounted expenses, and they will finally remove the magazines that do not cover the costs of their distribution. The one copy distribution pipeline will evolve into two channels. The remaining ancient wholesalers will service one,500 to a pair of,000 (down from over five,000) titles. The direct wholesalers will handle as many as 10,000 largely niche titles servicing bookstores with very giant show racks via Fed Ex, UPS or similar arrangement. This variation will force a nice number of today's shopper magazines off the newsstand and possibly out of business. On the opposite hand, it might build it easier for the very smallest niche publishers to finally get distribution within the bookstores.
BIGGEST GRIPE. Too several publishers are flooding newsstand racks with too many copies of too-thin magazines with too-high cover costs hoping for a miracle. Many of those magazines are filled with deep discount subscription offers.
Like all people in the publishing world, magazine wholesalers have been actively cutting expenses. I suspect these cuts will not be sufficient to survive the numerous problems we all face. As overall magazine sales and sales efficiencies still drop, wholesalers can not generate sufficient money flow to cover their expenses. Eventually, I believe, wholesalers can face the brutal reality that they can not afford to distribute each magazine title the national distributors insist they carry.
For the last few years the data shows sales on the newsstand continue to drop and spread out over a very wide base of magazines that somehow manage to keep alive-however barely. Several of the business watchers recognize the solution is to cut back the quantity of magazine titles within the distribution pipeline to consolidate the dwindling sales into fewer magazines. Merely place, we must rationalize every title that creates it through single copy distribution and onto the retailers racks.
"Action While not Vision Could be a Nightmare"
In the following year or two there is going to be a large shift when wholesalers finally stop viewing the sale of all magazines, no matter cowl value or sell through, as money contributors. Only then will they look for a different model to at least break even.
Any long term resolution to our problems will occur when the wholesalers handle solely the magazines that generate enough income to hide the value of distributing them. Taking off a massive variety of under-performing magazine titles can mean fewer sales and fewer cash flow for the wholesalers. But it can additionally cut back their handling costs. The big question is how can the wholesalers cowl their high mounted expenses by handling and selling fewer magazines. The only way to do this can be to aggressively cut their already reduced mounted overhead.
Before we have a tendency to rush to action, contemplate the recent Japanese saying "Vision while not action could be a daydream. But action without vision may be a nightmare." Whereas we have a tendency to need to remove expenses and merchandise from the system, we would like to try and do it in a very smart manner and still have a sensible approach to launch and take a look at new magazines.

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Molly Bennett has been writing articles online for nearly 2 years now. Not only does this author specialize in literary classics,you can also check out his latest website about: Oil Painting Reproductions Which reviews and lists the best Abstract Paintings

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