Magazine Industry Analysis

Magazine Industry Analysis

Whether you sell a core range of bestsellers or an extended range with specialist titles, magazines drive both footfall and profit in stores. The top 5 magazines of 2015 were the following:

-          TV Choice: This was the most successful magazine with 1,276,045 copies sold in 2015, but it’s gone down by 2.1% from last year. The category of this magazine is TV Listings.

-          What’s on TV: The second most successful magazine in 2015 was ‘What’s on TV’. This magazine sold 1,010,798 copies in 2015, but went down 2.2% from last year. The category for this magazine is also TV Listings.

-          Take a Break: The third most successful magazine in 2015 was ‘Take a Break’. This magazine sold 602,674, which is a lot less than second placed ‘What’s on TV’. It’s gone down 7.4% from last year. The magazine’s category goes under Women’s and Weeklies.

-          Slimming World: The fourth my successful magazine in 2015 was ‘Slimming World’. This magazine sold 496,308 copies throughout the year. And the percentage compared to last year has risen by 15.0%. The magazines goes under the category of Health & Parenting.

-          Radio Times: And lastly, the fifth most successful magazine in 2015 was ‘Radio Times’. This magazine has sold 454,330 copies over the course of the year but has decreased by 11.5% from last year. The category this magazine goes under is TV Listings.

Today many music fans are aware on the Internet for fast news about the latest in pop music. However, music magazines still play an important role with outstanding writing and analysis. This is a list of 3 of the best for the committed pop music fan.

1.  Q

Q modestly calls itself "The World's Greatest Music Magazine," and it is difficult to argue. Although it is based in the UK, there is plenty of information in Q to keep an American pop fan coming back for more. Each monthly issue is a mini-book stuffed with loads of reviews of albums and music-related movies, DVDs, and books as well as current download lists, great interviews, coverage of key events in pop music history and writing that revels in an edgy sense of humour.

2.  Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone is the granddaddy of US rock music magazines, and it is still well worth reading. There have been moments when it appeared that Rolling Stone was dipping a bit too far into the fashion world, but some of the best pop music writers still work for the magazine. Also, don't miss some outstanding writing on political and societal issues. A 5-star review in Rolling Stone still carries much weight in the music world.

3.  Entertainment Weekly

Entertainment Weekly has only been in existence since 1990 and is therefore still a relative newcomer to the world of popular music reporting. However, although its broad focus includes film, TV, books, and video as well as music, the access EW writers and reviewers receive (the magazine's parent company is entertainment behemoth Time Warner) makes their insight worth reading. Also, outside of music industry bible Billboard, Entertainment Weekly is the only US publication bringing you music news in paper form on a weekly basis.