How has the UK consumer magazine industry evolved?
Task 1: Notes
Factors leading to the evolution of the magazine industry
- Technological Advancements (the development of digital copies and social media)
- The impact of COVID-19
Many successful magazine businesses have shifted their focus from the magazines themselves, as elements such as their digital copies and social media platforms now gain more attention than print copies. This means that many now no longer even consider themselves "magazine businesses".
UK Magazine Advertising Revenue
Expectedly, the revenue from print advertising has decreased, whereas the revenue from digital advertising has increased.
This fall in print advertising revenue has been detrimental to print magazines. The rate of this fall was accelerated by the arrival of COVID-19, which led a drop in the figure by 33%, in comparison to 2019, the year prior to the pandemic's arrival.
However, although the revenue from digital magazine advertising has risen, this has not occurred at a fast enough rate to compensate for the plummeting print revenues.
Fewer Magazines in Cycle
In the UK, the number of magazines in circulation generally has declined, from the heights of 1,700,000,000 copies circulating during the years of 2007-2008, to less than 500 million during COVID-19, an approximate decline of 70%.
UK Consumer Spending on Magazines
The amount spent by the UK public on magazines has declined by approximately 50% from 2000-2020. Unsurprisingly, there has also been a decline in the number of different magazines available.
Many UK Consumer Magazines Have Closed
From 2000-2020, there has been a sharp decline in the number of registered UK magazines, from over 700 to just 241, a decrease of more than 65%.
The most impacted sectors of this decline has been men's magazines (dropping from 32.3 million in 2017 to just 3.6 million in 2021) and music magazines (dropping from 18 million in 2017 to just 1.8 million in 2021, a staggering 90% decrease).
Less impacted sectors include home magazines, dropping by just 15% from 2002-2021.
What's Driving The Decline?
Understandably, there is a correlation between the most impacted magazine sectors, and those most easily replaceable by an online equivalent.
In simple terms, the more digitally replaceable a magazine sector is, the more it will be replaced.
Less Culture of Magazine Subscriptions in The UK
In 2021, just 27% of magazine sales came from subscriptions. This figure dropped even lower during COVID-19, even falling below 20% at certain points.
This has traditionally always been the case for the UK market, unlike other markets such as in the US, as newsstands have been popular with the British public for over 100 years.
The Growth in Subscriptions
Despite the UK's magazine market having always been dominated by one-off sales, the number of magazine subscriptions, in both digital and print formats, has risen from 2017-2021.
However, understandably, digital subscriptions have seen a much larger rate of growth (rising by over 250%) than their print counterpart (rising by just over 30%).
In 2021, almost 60% of both digital and print magazine subscriptions, of which there were over 200 million of in total, were for news/current affairs titles.
Future: An Affiliate Marketing Masterclass
Future, a global specialist media platform, has turned to affiliate marketing in order to generate revenue for their company. This involves advertising other business' products, tailored to the content the readers are consuming, and gaining revenue when these products are sold, or often, even viewed.
This means that 70% of the company's revenue comes from their media, rather than from their magazines. Furthermore, 58% of this 70% comes directly from e-commerce, such as their use of affiliate marketing.
Task 2: Summary
There have been several factors which have led to the evolution of the magazine industry, primarily the advancement of technology in recent years, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In recent years, the advertising revenue of print magazines has dropped, symbolic of their decline in popularity. This downfall was worsened further by the arrival of COVID-19, which is noticeable in the fact that in 2020, during the height of the pandemic, the advertising revenue dropped by 33%, in comparison to 2019, just a year earlier, but before the pandemic struck. On the other hand, the advertising revenue of digital magazines has increased, which is likely to have been aided by the pandemic, rather than hindered.
However, despite this progress, digital magazines have inclined at a slower rate than print magazines have declined, leading to a decrease in overall magazine advertising revenue across the UK.
The number of magazines in cycle has also decreased, from the highest circulations of around 1.7 million in 2007/2008, to the less than 500 million during COVID-19 (an approximate 70% decline).
The consumer spending on magazines halved between 2000 and 2020, which triggered a 65% decline in the number of magazine titles on sale during the same period. The most affected sectors being men's magazines (facing a 90% decrease in circulation during this period) and music magazines (facing an 89% decrease in circulation during this period).
The amount of impact recent technological developments have had on different segments in recent years is correlative with how easily different segments can be replaced by online equivalents.
The UK magazine industry, unlike the USA's equivalent, does not rely heavily on subscriptions for its copies, as in 2021, just 27% of magazines sold were done so via a subscription. This means that the UK magazine market is more prone to decline in years to come, due to its low tendency to utilise customer loyalty.
However, the number of magazine subscriptions, of both online and print variations, has risen in recent years. For example, from 2017-2021, the number of UK online magazine subscriptions has risen by a staggering 250%. However, understandably, the number of UK print magazine subscriptions, has risen by just 30% over the same period.
Future, a global specialist media platform, has began to utilise affiliate marketing in their online magazines, meaning that it is able to draw over 35% of its revenue from e-commerce, which may be a path that other online magazines may look to go down in order to increase their number of subscriptions further.
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