As more and more media switches to online, print outlets are seeing a significant drop in readers. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, magazine sales at the newsstand dropped 6.3 percent in the first half of 2008. This brought the 47.1 million copies sold in the last half of 2007 down to around 44.1 million. It could be that people just don’t read anymore, but it’s more likely that consumers are holding onto every cent they have these days in light of the recession.
While the decrease has forced many popular magazines to fold or move to the online medium, others are taking a different approach to reach the upcoming generation that was raised on TV and internet. Case in point, the iconic music magazine, Rolling Stone, announced Monday that when the October 30th issue hits newsstands it will no longer tower over the other magazines, but will instead resemble the standard-size format.
"The consumer we want to reach watches 'Lost' on a big TV screen, on a computer screen and on an iPhone...They're agnostic on format," said Gary Armstrong chief marketing officer for Wenner Media, the publishers of Rolling Stone.
When asked about the change, Rolling Stone's founder, Jann Wenner stated, “What the magazine has done for over 40 years is evolve with the times.”
Whatever the reason for the redesign, hopefully the new look will keep loyal readers happy while introducing the magazine to a new pool of rockers interested in the latest rock news and features on the hottest bands. If nothing else, the current fan base will have about 20 more pages added to each issue. Here’s to rocking on for another 40 years.
Photo Credit: Rolling Stone
Posted by Lance Buckley on August 12, 2008 6:41 AM
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