This document provides an introduction and background for a dissertation exploring how independent ("indie") print magazine publishers have formed the "post-digital indie magazine" through non-traditional routes to traditional publishing. It discusses how print magazines have struggled in recent years due to declining readership and profits. However, it also notes that reports of print's death are exaggerated and that print still has value for many readers. The document argues indie publishers are progressive in creating unique publishing experiences for niche audiences through innovative and digital processes. The dissertation aims to understand why indie publishers continue pursuing print and to re-examine print magazines in the current publishing context.

1. “Non-Traditional” Routes to “Traditional”
Publishing: How the Publisher as a
Creative Entrepreneur has Formed the
Post-Digital Indie Magazine

2. 2
“Non-Traditional” Routes to “Traditional” Publishing:
How the Publisher as a Creative Entrepreneur has
Formed the Post-Digital Indie Magazine
Aimee Dewar
A Dissertation Submitted
in Part Fulfilment of the Requirements
of the Degree of
MA Publishing
Plymouth University
School of Art and Media
September 2016

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Contents
Abstract iv
I – Introduction 5
II – Literature Review 12
III – Methodology 17
IV – Findings and Discussion 25
V – Conclusions and Recommendations 31
Bibliography and References 35
Appendices 40

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Abstract
This research project aims to unpack and analyse the attitudes and opinions of independent (or “indie”) print
magazine publishers, creators, editors and founders towards traditional print media in the digital age. It makes
use of primary sources from interviews with contemporary indie magazine publishers to develop a current,
contextualised case for why print is chosen in the increasingly democratic digital landscape of magazine
publishing, specifically in the years following 2010 and until the present day. As such, the following report
cannot ignore and thus is framed by discussions regarding the advances in digital publishing that have taken
place over the last decade, and consequently takes into account the impacts of the highly networked online
world – including blogging, crowdfunding and social media – upon the routes to publication of independent
print magazines.
Additionally, it explores issues such as the growing entrepreneurship that has been seen to fuel
independent titles and their publishing methods in recent years. The publishing outputs of these entrepreneurial
figures are examined in relation to their specificity as print products, enabling the suggestion that a new type
of publisher is coming into existence, a unique message conveyed through print and, as a result, a new type of
reader is generated. Ultimately, this study intends to pursue the now prevalent notion of the independent
revival of print media in the wake of its prophesied death (Hooper, 2012; Orr, 2015) and, by doing so, suggest
that print is being approached through digital media in a way that may cause us to redefine the core values of
print as a traditional medium.
Keywords: indie, magazine, post-digital, entrepreneurship, print, cultural production, community, digital media
iv

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I – Introduction
Often framed in discussions of either the inevitable death of print (Hooper, 2012) or its miraculous recovery
(Le Masurier, 2012), it can be argued that independent (“indie”) print magazines are largely misunderstood
entities of the contemporary publishing landscape. Their identity, one that both evokes both endurance and
decline, difference and traditionalism, must be unpacked and analysed if we are to accurately define these
products in the twenty-first century, where digital technologies are seen to impact the routes to print publishing
at every turn. To achieve this, the independent print magazine itself must be scrutinised, identified and re-
explored through the motivations, attitudes and opinions of their creators – the indie publishers at work today.
As the main focus of the study, it is through understanding the professional and personal drive of these
innovative, entrepreneurial and digitally-aware publishing teams that we may come to discover why print is
still chosen to be pursued, valued, bought and collected by its producers and readers in the digital age. As a
result, this study aims to gather, extrapolate and examine the attitudes and opinions of independent (“indie”)
print magazine publishers, creators, editors and founders towards print media as a traditional form, how this
identity has been seen to change, and the impacts they themselves have had on the medium through their
independent publishing methods.
Since the turn of the twenty-first century (Martin, 2014), and during the last ten years in particular
(Ludovico, 2012, p. 93), print magazines have been seen to ‘struggle’ within the publishing industry (Orr,
2015). According to a 2015 Keynote market report, the distribution of print consumer magazines is in decline
and the sector as a whole is known to be experiencing ‘difficult trading conditions’ (Keynote, 2015). For
example, the circulation figures of consumer magazine titles – as well as both the ‘profits for some of the
United Kingdom’s largest magazine publishers’ (Das, 2016, p. 3) and independents – have been decreasing
since 2010, with the period of January to June 2015 seeing ‘British magazine print circulations [fall] by an
average of 5.3%’ (Severs, 2016). Additionally, the overall market value of consumer magazines in the UK has
been seen to drop by 1.9% since 2014 (Keynote, 2016) and, ‘while UK magazine publishers saw a modest
overall decline in revenue of 0.9% in 2013, circulations of many printed magazines are set for a sharper
decline in future years’ (Das, 2016, p. 3). Specifically, the ‘circulations of consumer magazines are
consistently among the fastest falling types of publication’ (Sutcliffe, 2016a) in the industry of late.
Arguably, these figures may be representative of a ‘decline of audience interest in print media’
(Sivek and Townsend, 2014, p. 2), and appear to confirm the assumption that readers are no longer driven to
consume print products. Furthermore, though the extent to which it has done so has been a continual topic of

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debate (Ludovico, 2012, p. 111), the purported ‘rise of digital’ (Sivek and Townsend, 2014, p. 2) has also
been seen to impact this trend, potentially obfuscating the creation of “traditional” print publications. For
instance, the number of indie publishers producing digital-only magazines have been seen to increase in
recent years, ‘capturing the attention of the media industry due to their ability to attract readers through
interactive content without involving high costs in production and distribution’ (Santos Silva, 2011). For
some, as ‘more and more content moves from print to digital’ (Ludovico, 2012, p. 153), the advances in
digital publishing technologies, and their benefits in terms of low cost, mean that publishers be may be ‘releasing
more electronic publications than printed materials’ (2012, p. 153) in the future, perhaps extinguishing print
from existence altogether (Hooper, 2012).
Yet, the cause of print’s struggle can be seen to remain unclear. When recent industry statistics are
examined further, the interrelationship between print and digital becomes increasingly ‘fragmented’ and
multifaceted (Liming, 2012, p. 123), and creates a space where it is ‘counterproductive to create divisions [...]
between the worlds of online and print’ (Hooper, 2012). For instance ‘the official number of digital-only
magazines sold online or through app stores [...] has only increased by a modest 4.6%, from a mere 86 magazine
titles in 2014 to around 90 titles in 2015’ (Das, 2016, p. 4), suggesting that the supposed dominance of digital
may not be as significant as first imagined (Hooper, 2012; Sutcliffe, 2016c). The mythological ‘death of print’
(Hooper, 2012) is further destabilised by earlier research within the UK publishing industry of the 2010s;
for instance, a survey carried out in April 2011 discovered that ‘88% of magazine readers in the UK still
prefer to consume articles via print (Hooper, 2012). Correspondingly, figures from a recent US survey mirror
this trend. In a study of over 1,000 consumers born between 1980 and 2000, 72% of those questioned
consume print media in comparison to the 51% who consume e-news or digital magazines (Cox, 2015, p. 3).
Indeed, ‘books and magazines (whether traditional or in some mutated form) still abound’ and, though they
deliver ‘profound repercussions on a number of specific types of publishing’ (Ludovico, 2012, pp. 28 – 29),
print may still bear significance to the reading habits of many, despite the changes the industry has undergone.
Additionally, in terms of the criticisms of limited circulation, this in fact may benefit indie publishers as they
are able to deliver ‘“targeted readership and lower unit page cost. We are not just selling numbers we are
selling smaller magazines with loyal interested readerships”’ (Grylls in Houston, 2013).
Print media therefore is increasingly identified as existing in a complex context (Das, 2012, p. 10),
where its existence remains resolute even as it diminishes in terms of revenue and readership. As a result, this
research intends to highlight the stance of the independent magazine publisher as progressive, ambitious and

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pioneering in terms of how they create unique publishing experiences (Sivek and Townsend, 2014, p. 6) for
bespoke, niche audiences where other print titles may be failing. For instance, independent magazine publishing
can be known to make use of innovative (Das, 2016), entrepreneurial (Le Masurier, 2012, p. 2) and largely
digital processes (Hooper, 2012) in order to create, brand and promote print publications, in contrast to the
large print magazine corporations who may be developing digital publications as a secondary product to their
print counterparts (Jamieson in King, 2015). Fundamentally, the recent wave of independent print magazines
embodies a renewed surge of print-first publications that respond and react to the current changes in the
publishing industry – publications that have sought to adapt as the industry changes. As such, we are increasingly
required to examine indie print magazine publications through the lens of contemporary publishing (Pecoskie
and Hill, 2015, p. 610), where it may be important to question why independent print magazines in particular
continue to be founded, produced and distributed ‘post-web’ (Eggers in Hooper, 2012).
In this way, it may no longer be possible to refer to print as a ‘traditional’ (Hooper, 2012) or
‘throwback’ (Hodak in Andersen, 2014, p. 106) medium seen to only predate the digital world and hearken
back to the past. Arguably reductive to ‘dismiss this development as merely another “retro” trend’ (Cramer,
2012, p. 162), indie print publishing can be seen to endure, transmorph and progress ‘along with the technological
possibilities of publishing’ (Ludovico, 2012, p. 114). Thus, instead of death of print, we are beginning to look
at a media landscape that promotes the ‘ongoing duality between print and pixel’ (2012, p. 144). As such,
independent print magazine publishing can be ‘redefined’ (Sivek and Townsend, 2014, p. 12) as the identity
of these titles as traditional products is ‘increasingly being called into question’ (Ludovico, 2012, p. 111) and
especially in terms of the digital contexts they are seen to coexist with in contemporary publishing. Crucially,
indie print titles may be founded and produced in ‘reaction to the internet’ (Eggers in Hooper, 2012), where
independent print magazines are required ‘to do more than merely replicate the content of print titles online’
(Hooper, 2012). Instead, independent print publishers seek, for example, to create ‘print products that eschew
[the] immediate gratification’ found online, ‘to focus on the quality of product’ (Sutcliffe, 2016a) and give
emphasis to ‘production values’ where ‘design and paper stock are paramount’ (Houston, 2013).
Indie publications may also be defined here as seeking to evade and subvert ‘the engines and processes
of mass media’ (Liming, 2010, p. 122), including mainstream print magazine products, further suggesting that
the purpose of the indie magazine is also changing (Sivek and Townsend, 2014, p. 12). For instance, indie
publishers in the context of this report are defined as micro-business (in Le Masurier, 2012, p. 4), small
companies that promote niche, hyper-specialised (Kinsman and Voltolina, 2010) works from independent

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producers (Le Masurier, 2012, p. 2) through distinctive, thoughtful and professional editorial (2012, p. 6).
Most importantly, however, they are separate entities to large, “top-down” (Pecoskie and Hill, 2015, p. 610)
publishing companies where the ‘industry controls what is made widely and publicly available’ (2015, p.
610). Instead, indie media is ‘loosely defined as all works produced for public consumption that have not
gone through a traditional publisher’ (2015, p. 611). Comprised of small teams and often edited by their
founder (Sivek and Townsend, 2014, p. 9), these magazines operate ‘peer-to-peer’ (Holmes, 2013, p. 193)
with the aim ‘to remain small enterprises in order to retain creative control’ over their publications (Le Masurier,
2012, p. 9). Furthermore, publishing within small companies may mean that each ‘individual player has a
significant role to play in the overall success of the corporation’ (Kinsman and Voltolina, 2010), suggesting
that autonomy within this sector may be arguably high, where indie publishers may find that they may ‘have
more control over the process in house, and do spending a lot less money’ (Kinsman and Voltolina, 2010).
Indeed, it is this ‘literal ownership that differentiates indies from the mainstream niche magazines’ (Le
Masurier, 2012, p. 10), a factor that may be significant to consider as the indie publisher’s motives and
individual aims concerning print are analysed over the duration of this study.
Additionally, independent publishing’s ‘proindividual, anticorporate ethos that privileges the
authenticity of the individual amateur creator’ (Mandiberg, 2012, p. 2 – 3) enables independent products –
both online and off – to become larger, more mature elements of the publishing ecosystem (Kabadyi, 2014).
As a result, the validity of these titles as legitimate products in the publishing industry may be seen to
increase. For instance, these titles are ‘deliberately made for sale’ (2012, p. 8) and, whilst they may not start
out with the intention to become profitable businesses, many of them are (Matthews, 2015). Created to
represent ‘high end’ published work but deliberately ‘anti-high volume’ (Severs, 2016), indie publishers must
employ distinctive, professional measures in terms of generating revenue and overall profitability in the
changing market. High cover prices, crowdfunding and purposive, considered distribution methods – such as
choosing ‘other sites for distribution, places where their readers gather’ (Le Masurier, 2012, p. 8) – are
utilised to distinguish the indies from mainstream titles. Furthermore, the independent print magazine are
described as representative of an alternative stance to the ‘dominant force’ of mainstream media (Pecoskie
and Hill, 2016, p. 610), a viewpoint that gestures towards the roots indie print titles share with zines, low
culture, ephemeral (Liming, 2010, p. 121) products that seek to subvert mainstream offerings (2010, p. 139).
However, whilst zines may ‘articulate a final cry for the era of alternative print communication’ (2010, p. 129), it
can be said that the aims of indie print magazines go beyond representing alternative industry perspectives to

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implement business-focused processes (2010, p. 138) where, unlike zines, generating sufficient capital is among
indie publishers’ concerns (2010, p. 122).
Thus, as the indie print magazine is re-examined in terms of the digital age (Pecoskie and Hill, 2015,
p. 614), it is seen to exist within a ‘more complex and entrepreneurial context’ (Das, 2016, p. 10) where indie
publishing is considered from a serious industry perspective. The independent publisher contextualised in this
way must be distinguished as engaged in publishing activities that extend beyond self-employment or self-
publishing and into innovation (Das, 2016), curation of carefully chosen content (Le Masurier, 2012, p. 6;
Matthews, 2015), and significance to contemporary culture (Ludovico, 2012, p. 155). Indeed, it is argued that
indie publishers have been ‘looking to new models of [...] discovery, and outreach, including online
communities, subscription services, and new publishing formats to connect with digital natives and future
readers’ (Johnson and Cox, 2016, p. 16).
It is important to note for this discussion the recent cultural changes that have brought about the
independent entrepreneurial publisher. For instance, the recent UK economic recession was seen to contribute to
the declining circulations of printed products (Sivek and Townsend, 2014, p. 2) and presented difficulties for
small businesses: ‘Launching in a global recession into a fiercely competitive environment where traditional
magazines [...] compete against large media websites and social media is no small undertaking’ (Das, 2016, p.
7). However, economic uncertainty was seen to lead to the creation of new career opportunities, as can be
seen by the increase in ‘“kitchen table entrepreneurs” who have set up micro businesses in response to
redundancies’ (Hurley, 2010). Furthermore, the recession perhaps enabled established publishers to ‘sharpen
their focus’ (Byng in Brown, 2009), to reassess the market and innovate their publishing models accordingly.
As such, the independent publisher of this time ‘embodies both the spirit of its market’s potential and the
struggle of its economy’s realities’ (Anderson, 2016). Whilst financial success may be uncertain, the
entrepreneurship employed by the ‘smaller independent cousins’ (Houston, 2013) of mainstream magazine
publishers enable them to, for example, generate revenue from multiple sources (Fraser in Houston, 2013),
such as through events (Matthews, 2015), products and experiences (Jamieson in King, 2015), by using
strategic and creative business methods (Das, 2016, p. 3). As such, it can be argued that ‘the value of media
products’ in the twenty-first century ‘derives from the level of novelty and creativity’ (2016, p. 4) they employ.
Further, the greater these notions are ‘“the greater the potential for competitive advantage”’ (King in Das,
2016, p. 5). Therefore, it can be seen that it is the creative and entrepreneurial competence demonstrated by

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indie print magazines that may ensure the permanence of these titles through their inherent characteristics of
autonomy and editorial difference.
The changing nature of the industry and the indie publisher, therefore, may gesture towards the
emergence of new business models (Medieros in Hooper, 2012) that are being seen to operate within print
magazine publishing – both in terms of magazines as a collective, as well as the independent titles – where
digital technologies have caused print models to rethink their publishing strategies (Sutcliffe, 2016a) as the
industry is seen to shift. Hence, rather than being indicative of ‘the inability or unwillingness to keep up’
(Holmes, 2013, p. 188) with digital technologies, the recent decline in print magazines can be attributed to the
vast and continual changes in the ‘physical expression’ of publishing technologies where ‘each change [...]
brings in its wake new challenges for modes of production, methods of distribution and means of making
money’ (Holmes, 2013, p. 188). For instance, while ‘total magazine circulation has stabilized, and paid
subscriptions have even increased slightly’, is it still seen that ‘newsstand sales have declined dramatically
over the last five years’ (Sivek and Townsend, 2014, p. 2), displaced by the internet and, with it, the
emergence of online subscription and selling platforms and services including Magpile and the independent-
magazine subscription service, Stack (Orr, 2015). Vitally, these digital platforms have both contributed
negative newsstand sales figures whilst conversely assisting to enhance the circulation and sales independent
print magazines by moving this service online. For instance, in 2014, Stack reported a ‘78 per cent increase in
revenue, with its number of subscribers growing by 76 per cent’ since the previous year (Orr, 2015).
Therefore, independent print magazines are seen to problem solve for the challenges brought about by cultural
change and, as a result, are seen to expand the current norms for consumer print publishing to better suit the
requirements of their business models.
As the independent print magazine is considered in terms of the contexts of entrepreneurship, digital
impacts and its potential commentary on mass and contemporary culture, it becomes apparent that the
practitioners of indie publishing may be able to offer industry theories regarding the current status of these
magazine titles. Further, it can be suggested that indie publishers’ motivations, attitudes and opinions have
helped to shape indie print publishing and it may be through understanding why print is chosen that we can
begin to uncover the real impact of this new wave of publishing activities on the identity of contemporary
print. It is the arguably ‘uncertain’ future of the traditional print/publishing model (Ludovico, 2012, p. 111)
that motivates this study and calls into question the extent to which the changing characteristics of print are a
‘direct consequence of the ongoing development of digital technologies’ or if the ‘digital revolution merely

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exposed the printed medium’s own basic vulnerability’ (Ludovico, 2012, p. 111), whereupon these potentially
limiting parameters are seen to be re-assessed by indie publishers. As such, this study seeks to discover
independent publishers’ attitudes and opinions concerning the impacts of digital media, culture and publishing
(e.g. online content, digital magazines, crowdfunding, and so on) and their identities as “non-traditional” as
they are enfolded into print business models. In turn, it will analyse the ways in which they believe “traditional”
publishing upended by the post-2010 independent print magazine, as “non-traditional” routes to publication
are explored by these titles. Finally, this research sets out to investigate the wider impacts of indie magazines
on the print sector as a whole, such as the future of the indie magazine, where printed products remain not
only valid but also valuable and valued (Ludovico, 2012, p. 154) by both its readers and creators.

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II – Literature Review
Whilst the future of both online and print media has been hypothesised about in wider academia, it can be
argued that the identity of the independent print magazine of the twenty-first century remains a largely
‘academically unexplored field of media production’ (Le Masurier, 2012, p. 2). Despite this claim, my initial
research recognised three key academic texts that accurately contextualise the current state of analysis on the
indie magazine: Megan Le Masurier’s pivotal 2012 text Independent Publishing and the Rejuvenation of
Print, Opportunities and Constraints for Independent Digital Magazine Publishing by Susan Currie Sivek and
Alyssa Townsend (2014) and Post-Digital Print by Alessandro Ludovico (2012). This literature review is also
supported by additional academic sources: Simon Das’ 2016 investigation into innovation in magazine publishing,
including through using entrepreneurial tactics and digital strategies, and Pecoskie and Hill’s 2015 study into
contemporary publishing models that do not employ traditional routes to publication, such as self-publishing.
Firstly, Le Masurier’s text represents one of the first scholarly introductions into this type of
publication – what she dubs ‘the independents’ (2012, p. 2). As such, the article is largely concerned with
defining the nature of independent print magazines, especially in terms of their identity in the professional
realm of publishing. Le Masurier defines the indie magazine as existing in a ‘borderland’ (2012, p. 11)
between independent and mainstream media. This presents a complex image of indie publications; they are
known to be increasingly sophisticated and expert (Martin, 2014) yet, as Le Masurier outlines, they employ
several strategies that set them apart from mass media. Crucially, Le Masurier identifies indie print consumer
magazine as moving away from the mainstream-amateur dichotomy (2012, p. 7), calls this binary into
question and, in doing so, opens up discussions regarding the production activities and strategies employed by
independent magazine publishers. It is in this space that indie print publishing can begin to be unpacked and
analysed in terms of its identity, aims and motivations. As a result, it may be the act of re-definition (Sivek
and Townsend, 2014, p. 12) that becomes important when scrutinising the indie magazine and its place in the
industry in the ‘post-digital’ age (Ludovico, 2012).
Le Masurier turns to exploring the changing identity of the independent publisher, as well as the
product they are creating, to inform how print has been ‘rejuvenated’ (2012, p. 1) and has strengthened its
position with independent publishers over time. For Le Masurier, the increasingly ‘democratized media
environment’ (2012, p. 3) that first brought forward the surge of independent publishing activities is now
developing into a space where indie publishers are ‘visibly moving from amateur to pro’ (2012, p. 7); for

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instance, they are still employing a characteristic ‘handmade aesthetic’ (2012, p. 8) similar to zines yet at the
same time ‘using high-quality production’ methods (2012, p. 8) to bring the magazine to publication. As such,
it could be suggested that the creators and editors of these publications are coming to be recognised as industry
professionals able to harness a type of ‘editorial power’ that in turn enables them to stimulate the ‘creative
individuality and high quality of many of these magazines’ (2012, p. 10).
Fundamentally, Le Masurier posits that the independent print magazine has brought with it a ‘growing
field of magazine entrepreneurship’, cultivated by young independent publishers in particular (2012, p. 2).
The emergence of this type of publisher – ‘early career professionals’ (2012, p. 2) who possess innovative skills
and experiences – foregrounds potential notions such as ‘ownership and control’ (2012, p. 3) over the
publications, a concept that is explored further by Sivek and Townsend even as a potential ‘empowerment’
(2014, p. 2). These ideas align with Simon Das’ claim of the changing role of the magazine editor (2016, p.
9), suggesting that a new type of publisher/editor is brought about by approaching publishing through ‘business
innovation’ and entrepreneurial routes and perspectives (2016, p. 1). Similarly, the independent print
magazine is specifically seen to occupy a distinct space in the media landscape due to their ‘tightly focused
[...] distinctive, often highly specific, and idiosyncratic editorial philosophy’ (Sivek and Townsend, 2014, p.
5). It may be this philosophy, nurtured by the independents’ entrepreneurism, that determines the ‘value that
print indie editors place upon the concrete magazine itself’ (2014, p. 6). However, the “empowerment” of indie
editors and publishers is questioned by Sivek and Townsend and presented as a false narrative (2014, p. 2);
they suggest that further study is needed into additional factors that may account for the resurgence of
independent magazines as well as the increased attention paid to the benefits and limitations of the different
forms that they can take (2014, p. 17) in modern publishing.
Sivek and Townsend’s research into independent digital magazines also aids in contextualising the
impacts of digital publishing upon the sphere of print independents. This key text frames the strengths and
limitations of digital publishing within the context of ‘the fall of print’ (Sivek and Townsend, 2014, p. 2), and
critically disrupts this viewpoint by questioning ‘the Internet’s promise to open up and diversify publishing’
(2014, p. 2) amongst other “myths” that digital technologies have posited (2014, p. 2). Despite the decline of
contemporary print media that is outlined in their article – illustrated by one industry expert’s projection that,
‘by 2017, magazines’ newsstand sales will have declined by about 68 percent in comparison to the preceding
decade’ (2014, p. 2) – it could nevertheless be extrapolated from this research that there may yet be benefits to
choosing print for particular titles where the limitations of digital are perceivable. For instance, the study

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found that revenue from digital publications was found to be ‘weak and/or uncertain’ (2014, p. 16) and that
more specialised skills are required for digital publications to be produced, such as coding (2014, p. 16). This
research works to present the complex landscape that developed in the wake of the rise of digital publishing
strategies (2014, p. 2) and beyond to concepts such as blogging and crowdfunding, important routes to consider
when taking new-media entrepreneurism into account. For instance, where digital publications have to
employ multiple revenue streams to ensure monetary success, print publications are also in the process of
reimagining traditional business models to ensure the longevity of print.
Further, Le Masurier notes that the identities of digital products and indie print magazines are able
intersect and work in combination in this landscape, and presents a focus on the indie magazine publication as
an entity that acts as a response to the digital world. She suggests that the ‘renewal of the impulse to make
magazines independently and in print [is] facilitated by the expansion of digital technologies and cultures’ (Le
Masurier, 2012, p. 3) such as ‘online marketing [...] and social networking’ (2012, p. 9) as well as developments
in digital services such as online magazine stores offering web-based pre-order or subscription services (2012,
p. 9) that can expand a print magazine’s readership internationally (2012, p. 9). As a result, digital culture and
its tools and strategies can be seen to offer new, “non-traditional” routes to create, promote and distribute a
print publication, complicating the idea of print as a medium that may function solely as a rejection of digital
publishing. For instance, it is argued across relevant literature that indie print magazines are seen to embody
the disruption of the current, overarching standards of mass print media (Pecoskie and Hill, 2015, p. 610)
through their relationship with digital media. Additionally, digital publishing and the creation of electronic
magazines developed for tablets and e-readers are acknowledged to impact greatly on print publishers; Le
Masurier proposes that ‘the more the magazine industry’s digital and mobile media experimentation challenges
the very concept of what a “magazine” might be, the more the indies seem to focus on the medium specificity
of print’ (2012, p. 12). Print, then, becomes an artefact that is returned to, scrutinised and re-assessed as the
consumer magazine has been seen to change and become re-defined digitally. Digital, in turn, can be seen to
both initially provoke the indies’ return to print as well as enabling them to sustain in 2016 and beyond. For
instance, digital can be seen to play ‘a huge role in both magazine creation and distribution’ (Houston, 2013),
two elements of print publishing that must be explored if we are to understand their current business potential.
As such, Ludovico suggests digital technologies are presented as simultaneously able to pose both
benefits and challenges the indie magazine: ‘The traditional role of print is unmistakably being threatened by
the new digital world; but it is also [...] being revitalised’ by it (2012, p. 7). For instance, the sustainability and

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survival of print as a business model and revenue creator (Le Masurier, 2012, p. 9) for independent magazines
can be seen to arguably rely on the ‘network’ that digital technologies can provide (Ludovico, 2012, p. 11). It
may be the coexistence of high-quality print and digital mediums in the current industry that can lead to
discussions regarding the implications of print and what it must become in the realm of the independents,
where publishers are seen to utilise digital technologies for everyday tasks (Le Masurier, 2012, p. 9); they
enable ‘publishers to team up with like-minded colleagues, to connect with potential customers, to foster a
collective understanding of the unique and complementary role of paper within the new digital reality’ (Ludovico,
2012, p. 11). Most importantly for Ludovico, this convergence can lead publishers ‘to implement new and
sustainable “hybrid” publishing models’ (2012, p. 11). In terms of independent magazines, this notion can be
extrapolated to suggest that digital processes are becoming intrinsic, deeply embedded elements of an indie
publisher’s business model. Both Ludovico (2012, p. 7) and Le Masurier (2012, p. 13) refer to this as the
‘paradox’ that can be found in traditional publishing of this decade, whereby the supposed rigidity (Sivek and
Townsend, 2014, p. 13) of print publishing models have expanded to incorporate digital media. Furthermore,
this notion can be seen to advance print magazines into success in terms of, for instance, extending the
potential reach of their niche products ‘across national borders’ to international readerships and global
communities (Le Masurier, 2012, p. 9).
Thus, as argued by Das’ findings in his 2016 research, it can be seen that the ‘relations between old
and digital technologies [may be more] complex, more “congenial”, and less disruptive’ than was first imagined
as the “traditional” print product finds ‘new functions and audiences’ (2016, p. 3). Though academia is seen to
begin the uncovering the fundamental motivations behind the continual publication of print magazines, these
texts suggest that more research is yet to be done; indeed, the printed page began to change and develop in the
late 2000s, yet ‘this role is still to be extensively defined’ (Ludovico in Thoburn et al., 2013, p. 168) especially in
terms of the innovations that surround and occupy indie magazine publishing (Das, 2016, p. 1). Correspondingly,
Ludovico is seen to present a case for print media’s ongoing ‘cultural significance’ in the digital age (2012, p.
155) highlighting that the indie magazine is able to respond to cultural changes both within the industry and
beyond it. For Le Masurier, the cultural contributions of indie magazines, also echoed through Sivek and
Townsend’s attestation that the indie magazine is a form of ‘cultural production’ (2014, p. 614), enable these
titles not only to become part of a culture, they are also used as ‘a way to develop [that] culture’ (Le Masurier,
2012, p. 6). Print, therefore, can be argued to have characteristics that go beyond its physical properties; it can
additionally be used as a powerful tool to connect readers and contribute to contemporary cultural

16. 16
movements. As a result, it is suggested that indie print magazines may be commenting on the nature of print
publishing and its intricate relationship with digital media within their very existence and resilience in a time
of increasing hardship for the medium in a mass media context (Severs, 2014; Cox, 2015; Das, 2016). Ultimately,
these current theories are able to demonstrate that indie print magazines are beginning to be known as extremely
nuanced (Sivek and Townsend, 2012, p. 5) elements within the publishing industry. Despite their diversity from
mainstream media, they are seen to bring about high quality, professionalism and innovation in terms of not only
their look and feel, but also in the purpose and intentions that may be interlaced with their business models
and specialist readership goals. Indeed, when examined through the prism of entrepreneurism and creative
ownership, independent magazines can be viewed as elements of publishing that, through the consideration of
modern publishing techniques, have placed print back into focus.

17. 17
III – Methodology
With the reviewed literature in mind, the methodological processes used within this study make use of current
ideas and theories in the field of indie print magazines as well as extrapolating the most effective processes to
gain insight into the attitudes and opinions of the publishers of these titles. Due to the arguably complex identity
of independent print magazines, it was crucial that I first separate my aims and objectives into three distinct
research questions (RQs) in order to focus the methods used to gather results most applicable for this study.
For example, the research questions detailed below were used to facilitate and guide the collection of my data
as well as providing the lens through which my data would be analysed, thus streamlining and potentially
improving the accuracy of my conclusions (Bell and Waters, 2014).
RQ1. What are the opinions and motivations of indie magazine publishers to publish in print?
RQ2. What are the impacts of this decision on the overall culture of indie magazines?
RQ3. How has print in the post-digital age responded to digital changes in the industry?
The first research question focuses the study on indie publishers’ attitudes and professional preferences for
print as a medium, and allows for discussions into the purpose of print media within the parameters of
independent publishing and niche markets. RQ2 allows the research to centre on the cultural importance of
indie print media and how content may be crucially impacted due to the specificity (Le Masurier, 2012, p. 1)
of print as a medium. Finally, RQ3 helps to frame the potential outcomes of the study within Ludovico’s
‘post-digital’ (2012) environment in which contemporary print culture can be known to sit. Through this, we
are caused to consider what the indie magazine is being encouraged to become due to the proliferation of
digital and online content (Le Masurier, 2012, p. 1). Combined, the above research questions aided to form
the basis for an accurate method of approach for the study as well as potentially generating the knowledge and
resources needed to produce a valid (Bell and Waters, 2014), well-researched study.
As such, to fully explore my overarching aim of how the indie publisher as an innovative entrepreneur
has impacted the formation of the contemporary independent magazine, it was imperative that I gather
primary data to most accurately draw conclusions as to the most up-to-date concerns, values and considerations
of indie publishers as individual figureheads of their titles. As a result, I chose to carry out interviews via
Skype or email with the publishers, editors, founders or directors of a number of print independent magazine

18. 18
publications. Interviews were the most appropriate method of qualitative data collection (Murray and Hughes,
2008, p. 150) for a study that explores nuanced viewpoints and motivations, as a narrative is able to be
generated by the participant, signposted by questions and comments from the moderator (Bell and Waters,
2014). Questions for semi-structured interviews were formulated (see Appendix 1) allowing for this approach,
as each question was able to be reordered as appropriate and ‘followed up as necessary to best bring forth the
respondent’s expertise and to address unexpected responses’ (Sivek and Townsend, 2014, p. 9). Comments
and additional questions were able to be added as the interviews progressed, whereby I could react to the
answers given with additional, open questions (Bell and Waters, 2014) in order to clarify any ambiguity that
may have arisen or to delve further into any comments. Due to this, it is possible that data collected via
interview-style interactions not only remains focused to the RQs – as I was actively able to reroute any
tangential responses – the data also can be seen as more applicable to the research overall (Bell and Waters,
2014). Additionally, at the end of each Skype interview, I was able to ask if the participant had any other
comments to make, allowing for more data to be generated outside of the parameters of the formal questioning
that was taking place. This feature was able to promote the participants’ opinions and attitudes in a less
restrictive manner, informed by the preceding questions and their responses so far.
It was not possible to conduct semi-structured interviews via email, due to the responses being typed
and not given in real time. As such, a more comprehensively structured list of questions were delivered to
these participants (see Appendix 2) that ultimately functioned as a questionnaire. This feature made an
attempt to focus the purpose of the questions in order to funnel the responses given, much in the same way as
in the semi-structured interviews, in which participants could react to answers and ask for further information
if required. For example, the question In your experience, how did the option of an online-only publication
compare to print? is followed by Does print publishing offer your readers qualities that digital publishing
cannot? (Appendix 2) in order to allow the participants to further consider their answer in relation to the
qualities of digital publishing compared to a more tactile print experience. Yet, it is important to consider the
inherent limitations of carrying out written interviews via email: ‘The way in which a response is made (the
tone of voice, facial expression, hesitation, and so on) can provide information that a written response would
conceal. Questionnaire responses have to be taken at face value, but a response in an interview can be developed
and clarified’ (Bell and Waters, 2014). Therefore, despite the measures taken to elicit in-depth (Sivek and
Townsend, 2014, p. 7) responses from the email interviews, verbal interviews are able to provide researchers
with an added dimension of communication, through which more relevant and comprehensive answers could

19. 19
be given. Due to the difference in interview styles, the data may be limited in terms of its ability to make
conclusions about the attitudes and opinions of independent print magazine publishers in the industry overall.
The notion of an ethnographic study (Sivek and Townsend, 2014, p. 17) was taken into account at
the early stages of my research, a method of research whereby participants – here, indie publishers as
entrepreneurial individuals, or small teams of individuals – are observed in their ‘natural, real-world setting’
(Gov.uk, 2016). However, this particular methodological stance could not be realistically replicated in this
study, primarily due to its concordance with longitudinal studies of approximately six to eight weeks in
particular (Gov.uk, 2016), a time period that could not easily be replicated by this research that instead chose
to investigate snapshots of data from the participants’ day-to-day professional lives through interviews.
Additionally, ethnographic methods of data collection not only pose issues in terms of long time frames, there
are also problems relating to the ‘representativeness’ (Bell and Waters, 2014) of the data gathered and the
potential ‘generalization’ of the results (Bell and Waters, 2014), as the findings may not be able to represent
the true feelings of every indie magazine publisher operating in print at present. Further, utilising interviews
in order to discover participants’ views and values from within the industry being studied may be subject to
bias (Bell and Waters, 2014); for instance, by only selecting indie publishers already invested in the print
business model it is possible that the study is limited to one singular viewpoint in terms of the information it
can yield as well as the analysis that follows. To overcome this, it may have been beneficial to interview
digital magazine publishers for example to gain insight with regards to print media from another industry
perspective. Additionally, the impacts of bias were also able to be minimised through vigilant identification of
these perspectives and ensuring I accounted for this in my analysis (Bell and Waters, 2014).
However, the notion of ethnography was able to inform the research methods employed, as well as
the study’s focus on individuals and their experiences, and enabled me to gather perhaps increasingly
authentic data from indie print publishers in real-time ‘to understand better why they act in the way they do’
(Bell and Waters, 2014) as opposed to relying on potentially dated secondary interviews or other sources,
such as from news websites. This method can produce ‘relatable data [...] that will enable members of similar
groups to recognize problems and, possibly, to see ways of solving similar problems in their own group’ (Bell
and Waters, 2014). As such, the participants’ own professional experiences and niche expertise within the
field of indie print publications could at least be accurate insofar as explaining their individual experiences
and can potentially be used to forecast the main concerns for indie print magazine publishers. The ethnographic
stance of this study could have been improved upon, however, to additionally capture culturally significant

20. 20
observations (Bell and Waters, 2014) from within the participant’s professional environment. For instance,
face-to-face meetings could have been arranged with participants in the UK as well as the potential for visits
to be made to the offices of these companies if applicable. Through this, a more in-depth analysis may have
been generated where the motivations of the participants used could be explored in greater detail and in tune
with a larger picture of their professional lives as independent publishers.
As attitudes and opinions form the basis of this research, it is this data that may help to extrapolate
the fundamental choices an indie publisher makes when creating a print magazine (Le Masurier, 2012, p. 1).
The interviews generated data able to provide an understanding of how contemporary print magazine
publications are continuing to develop in the current ‘explosion’ of indie publishing in the UK (Hooper in
Severs, 2016) and across national borders. It is due to this apparent surge in Western publishing activities,
though indie print magazines are continued to be founded and produced in a number of non-Western territories
including Japan (Hairston, 2015) and the Middle East (Holland, 2014), that I chose to focus my research on
indie titles from Europe, North America and Australia in particular, thus examining the attitudes and opinions
of publishers that are fully immersed within the apparent Western revival of indie print media. However, by
excluding non-Western indie print magazines from this research, it is possible that the findings may represent
only a partial view of the identity of the most dominant indie print media and is seen to neglect marginalised
publications. This trend appears in the research of both Sivek and Townsend (2014, p. 8) and Le Masurier
(2012, p. 2); though Le Masurier does include a magazine produced in both Brazil and Spain as part of her
text, it features no titles solely founded and published in non-Western communities (2012, p. 2). Ultimately,
as this study chose to focus on only the Western viewpoint of indie print magazines, it must be taken into
consideration that this viewpoint will not be complete or without gaps and through this the conclusions drawn
cannot account for the indie print magazine movement in other areas across the globe.
In addition, the independent print magazines selected were chosen through their ability to correspond
to the set of criteria outlined in the introduction of this study. Ultimately, though, the chosen publications not
only identify and are identified by others as independent, but they are niche titles that also maintain key
differences from mainstream print media. For instance, the publications typically opt for small print runs and
employ distribution models that directly focus on stocking their title where their intended type of readership is
likely to visit (Le Masurier, 2012, p. 8), thus rejecting the notion of mass reach. Finally, in terms of the digital
realm in regards to the participants initially contacted, it was not fundamental for the titles to identify as having
no corresponding digital counterpart to their print product – indeed, all participating magazines chosen for this

21. 21
study operate detailed websites or blogs that are integrated with their print outputs in order to give the title
digital, potentially global reach that print cannot always secure (Le Masurier, 2012, p. 9). Critically, the print
magazine was identified at the primary output of the company in question, with the digital aspects acting in
complementary roles.
Through general internet research, details of 53 independent print magazine titles were collated and
assembled into a spreadsheet, forming my list of potential participants (see Appendix 3). Information regarding
indie print titles was sourced from a mixture of news, design and publishing websites and formed a large part
of my initial research. These sites were seen to produce articles on the topic of indie print magazines, with many
of them bearing examples of the ‘new wave’ of ‘thriving’ (Smith, 2015) independents that have come about in
the last decade in particular (e.g. Lamont, 2012; Hairston, 2015; Jamieson, 2015; Bernstein, 2016). I chose not
to limit the scope of my study to one style or topic of magazine in particular, instead increasing the research
area to include many varying fields including art, business, science, fashion, lifestyle, film, coffee and crafts.
By generating data from a mixture of titles, it is possible that the movement of indie print magazines is able to
be examined from a variety of perspectives and disciplines and the individual issues or notions they encounter
are able to be taken into account. Furthermore, in accordance with my focus on Western indie print magazines,
information of titles published in the UK, USA, Netherlands, Belgium, Finland, Germany, Australia and Canada
were gathered, thus increasing the relevance of my potential research to outside the UK as well as within it.
The websites of these featured titles were then visited and email addresses were sourced; these
included a mixture of both generic and personal email addresses of senior members of the publishing team.
Websites that featured a only generic contact form were chosen not to be contacted as this method of
communication could highlight a lack of ‘desire to engage with the public’ (Sivek and Townsend, 2014, p. 8)
and therefore potential unwillingness take part in the study. Each of the 53 publications were subsequently
contacted via a general email (see Appendix 4) to assess the possibility of setting up an interview with an
appropriate member of the publishing team. To enable the recipient of the initial email to determine which
team member this should be, a copy of potential interview questions also were sent at this time, providing
them with insight into the type of information the study required.
This methodological step was also influenced by the study’s approach to ethical guidelines and
protocol. For instance, sending interview questions ahead of time additionally removed any ambiguity as well
as any elements of deception as to the true nature of the study (Oates, 2006, p. 212). This not only enabled the
production of knowledge and data that is more likely to be ‘trusted and valued’ within this study and future

22. 22
research (Oates, 2006, p. 207). In addition, this permitted the participants to give their full, informed consent
to take part (Oates, 2006, p. 213). Correspondingly, a disclaimer (see Appendix 5) was included in the initial
correspondence, briefing the potential participants as to how their data was to be used and, in doing so, assuring
the potential participant that any information provided by them would be treated as confidential and only to be
used for academic purposes and exclusively within the parameters of a university research project (Bell and
Waters, 2014). Additionally, once consent was given to take part in the study, a copy of the disclaimer was
signed and returned to me by each participant before any data was collected (Bell and Waters, 2014).
The participants were then recruited for the study in terms of the written replies received, whereby
their willingness to take part was outlined and consent to proceed given. In total, seven participants were
recruited from independent magazine titles produced and published in the UK, USA and Canada (see Table 1).
Table 1: Independent Print Magazines Agreed to be Interviewed/Included in Research
Magazine Topic Participant Location Web Address
1 Holo Science and art Founder and Editor-
in-Chief
Canada holo-magazine.com
2 Intern Creative graduates/
young professionals
Founder and Editor-
in-Chief
UK intern-mag.com
3 Courier Business and startups Founder and Creative
Director
UK courierpaper.com
4 The Gentlewoman Women’s lifestyle and
fashion
Founder and Editor-
in-Chief
UK thegentlewoman.co.uk
5 Hello Mr. LGBT men’s lifestyle Founder and
Publisher
US hellomrmag.com
6 Pom Pom Quarterly Knitting and crafts Co-editor and
Director
UK pompommag.com
7 Dumbo Feather Conversations with
inspiring people
Assistant Editor US dumbofeather.com
Out of the 13 replies initially received, whereby interest was expressed in taking part in the study, six
did not complete a Skype or email interview. The titles in question were prompted once with a general email
but were not chased any further. Indeed, recruiting participants within the professional publishing realm has
been reported as a ‘challenging task’ (Sivek and Townsend, 2014, p. 7) and, due to the nature of independent
magazine operating as small businesses ‘in some cases just one person, many with other full-time jobs’ (2014,
p. 8), it could be assumed that the potential participants simply did not have the time to complete the interview

23. 23
process. As a result, the sample size used in this study was less than the originally intended number of 10 to
15 participants (see Appendix 6), a participant number that may have increased the validity of the data collected,
as prevalent themes could have been more easily recognised and even justified as representative of a bigger
proportion of the indie publishing sector. However, a small number of interviews may still demonstrate a
‘pattern of repetition of topics and issues in [the] responses’ (2014, p. 8) once the data has been analysed,
suggesting that even a small sample size can be helpful for research into an individual’s opinions and
motivations, so long as the data is regarded as incomplete and only a sample of information from a wider field.
As can be seen from the Participant column (see Table 1), I chose to embed anonymisation (Oates,
2006, p. 216) into the study’s confidentiality procedures to remove the participants’ comments from their
named professional identities within the magazine titles themselves. As such, all first and last names of
participants have been omitted and each participant is referred to as per their preferred job title and further
identified by the title they work as a part of. It is significant to note that participants included in the study
identified with a senior role in their titles publication, usually associating themselves with Founder, Editor-in-
Chief or Director roles. Further, all participants identified with more than one formal job title as the ‘distinctions
between industrial roles such as publisher, brand marketer, editor and journalist seem less well defined’
especially in the ‘digital era’ (Das, 2016, p. 10). This phenomenon appears to coalesce with the emerging
identity of the publisher as a creative entrepreneur, a ‘new generation’ publishing figures that can be known as
passionate (Fraser in Houston, 2013), innovative (Das, 2016) and non-standard and ‘deviating’ from the norm
(Liming, 2010, p. 134) in terms of their roles and potentially in their use of print as businesspeople and
publishers. This was important take into account during the study as this stance may have influenced the
responses given by the participants.
The interviews took place in July 2016 with participants from five titles, with Holo, Intern and
Courier interviewed via Skype and Dumbo Feather and Pom Pom Quarterly via email correspondence. The
remaining two titles, Hello Mr. and The Gentlewoman, were in the production stages of publication at the time
this research was carried out and were consequently unable to accommodate my questions; yet, to account for
this, past interviews dated within the past decade were sent to me and written permission via email was given
to use this data for my research. These included conversations recorded for publications and books, for
instance with the Founder and Publisher of Hello Mr. for Ruth Jamieson’s key text Print is Dead, Long Live
Print (2015), as well as recorded footage of interviews with the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of The Gentlewoman
at conferences and events.

24. 24
I ensured to preface each Skype interview with an introductory briefing, during which I was able to
reiterate the purposes of my study to further reduce the chances of deception, seek the participants’ express
verbal permission (Murray and Hughes, 2008, p. 135) to record the conversations – and to indeed receive the
verbal consent from all three participants before collecting any data – and to finally notify them that they were
able to remove themselves from the study at any time before the 1st of September 2016. The duration of the
Skype interviews typically lasted between 15 and 30 minutes, dependent on the time the participants in
question had to dedicate to the study; the durations were largely determined by time constraints imposed by
fitting in with the participants’ schedules and were pre-arranged via email before any interviews began. The
Skype interviews were recorded using screen and audio recording programme Quicktime and transcriptions
were made from the recordings to aid in the discussion of my findings. Once the conversations had concluded,
I included a small debrief and discussion of next steps with the participants should they wish to withdraw
from the study in the future. To ensure the participant was happy to proceed and have their comments
included as data in the study, a copy of the transcript was sent to each interviewee for to check and approve
before analysis took place. This step was not required in regards to the email questionnaire interviews; all the
ethical issues were dealt with at the time of first correspondence and reiteration was not needed.
In terms of data analysis methods employed, the responses from the Skype interviews, email
correspondences and past interviews supplied by Hello Mr. and The Gentlewoman were assembled. The
documents were then initially analysed for key comments given by the respondents that were seen to most
closely respond to, challenge or collate with my outlined research questions and the theories that informed
them. In order to cross-analyse the comments in accordance with each interview that took place, the comments
were separated into key themes that were able to most accurately ‘illustrate viewpoints from the coded data’
(Das, 2016, p. 8), and therefore highlight the areas of significance for print as a medium for this particular set
of publishers. The themes and the corresponding data – in this case, quotations from the interviews – were
amassed into a table where the comments could easily be examined side by side and comparisons drawn (see
Appendix 6). As a result, the findings can be considered in relation to each data source and the results
extrapolated to form sound, more overarching conclusions.

25. 25
IV – Findings and Discussion
From initial analysis of the data gathered from transcripts, questionnaire responses and the past interviews,
three overarching themes were seen to emerge in which the indie print magazine is seen to function: identity,
tangibility and community. As such, the interviews are able to give insight to the attitudes, motivations and
opinions that have helped to form the indie print magazine as we see them today, including their ability to
forge and create communities, their innovative re-thinking of professional, mainstream publishing models and
their touchable physicality in the marketplace (Ludovico, 2012, p. 108). Further, the impacts of digital
advances were seen to permeate each set of data and were seen to frame each response given, where their
choice for print was seen to be informed by its dynamic, adaptable nature in contemporary indie publishing,
despite, or perhaps even because of, recent setbacks for the print market as a whole.
Primarily, each participant was seen to discuss the identity of independent print magazine titles
largely in terms of rethinking of past, mainstream and/or arguably “traditional” publishing models in terms of
both the ‘specificity’ (Le Masurier, 2012, p. 3) of publishing in print and their individualistic rank within the
industry. Founder and Editor-in-Chief (Editor-in-Chief) of Intern outlines that ‘independent magazines, nine
times out of ten, are produced as an active reaction to mainstream publishing’ (Appendix 7), whereupon print
is used to ‘anchor the brand and define the voice’ (Hooper, 2012) of independent publishers. Participants also
stated that independent titles are able to present printed content in terms of a ‘new spirit and a new ethos’
(Appendix 9), facilitating ‘a new voice in an extremely saturated market full of publications’ (It’s Nice That,
2014); further, ‘it’s an approach that says you don’t have to do it the old way’ (Appendix 9) where indie
publications can ‘become a platform for [...] a different way of doing things’ (Appendix 8), thus producing
‘something completely new and unhindered by a particular tradition’ (Appendix 10). Further, it was noted that
print has been ‘reappropriated’ (Appendix 7) by independent publishers who have ‘undoubtedly been
influenced by the web’ (Appendix 7), with participants indeed displaying the use of innovative and/or digital
processes in order to achieve consecutive publications of their title. As such, indie print magazines can be
emblematic of a recalibration (It’s Nice That, 2014) or ‘re-tooling’ (Appendix 9) of the professional print
model, where recent industry concerns can be addressed from new perspectives. This allows the publications
examined here to function in a new way, with some utilising digital routes to publication and with all seeking
to work professionally within the industry yet with an independent slant.
Through analysing the data, print was discovered to be ‘the ideal method for expressing their visions
as publishers’ (Sivek and Townsend, 2014, p. 16), with the data indeed showing that none of the participants

26. 26
interviewed considered presenting their titles as digital-only magazines or blogs (see Appendices 7, 8, 9, 10
and 11). For physical magazines, it can be argued that ‘“the default position tends to be more considered,
longer-form, more edited”’ (Leslie in Sutcliffe, 2016a) than, for the Editor-in-Chief of Holo, more readily
‘disposable’ (Appendix 8) online formats. This is explored by the Co-Editor and Publishing Director of Pom
Pom Quarterly who states: ‘I think digital content has forced print media to up its game in many ways. You
have to offer your reader something they can’t find online. I do think people trust print more than online
content (whether or not that is justified), and so that is one aspect you can draw on as a print publisher’
(Appendix 10). It can be seen, therefore, that independent print publishers may exploit the quality, ‘“credibility
and [...] authority”’ (Husni in Sutcliffe, 2016a) that print is seen to possess. Correspondingly, the Creative
Director of Intern confirms that ‘being published in print or self publishing in print it has an extra rung of
professionalism, of networks that you have to build and associated with it, and [...] it’s very much linked to
the kind of statement we’re looking to make’ (Appendix 7). As such, it could be suggested that the participants
seek to create publications that acclaim to be highly professional and sophisticated entities. The Editor-in-
Chief of The Gentlewoman states that ‘we wanted to make something that was extremely edited, very opinionated,
a single viewpoint, periodical, timely, incredibly ambitious for what it was’ (It’s Nice That, 2014). Similarly,
for Intern, some indie magazines can be ‘credibly researched, incredibly put together, thought-provoking,
intelligent, challenging and important publications out there’ (Appendix 7).
Yet, as stated by the Editor-in-Chief of Courier, the aim of independent magazines is not to be
esoterically expert (Appendix 8); instead, they are distinctly removed from ‘old fashioned, patronising, top-
down’ models, where the editors are ‘the experts of [the] title’, telling their readers ‘what to think’ (Appendix
9). Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Intern posits that mainstream media ‘is coming from a very different place
to somebody who’s engaging with the ideals and hopes and intentions that effectively allow you to be defined
as an indie publisher’ (Appendix 7), further stating that ‘the lines remain quite clearly drawn’ (Appendix 7)
between the two models. This observation lends itself to the discussion of the indie print magazine as
embodying a “traditional” stance in the industry. The Co-Editor of Pom Pom states: ‘The way I see it, up until
quite recently almost all publishing was print, so the tradition of publishing is print’ (Appendix 10). Additionally,
the Assistant Editor of Dumbo Feather concurs that indie publishing is significantly ‘modern’ in terms of
magazine publishing, where ‘design and storytelling has changed but the medium itself is still the same’
(Appendix 11). However, the “traditional” basis of independent magazines may collude with print contrarily
and through increasingly “non-traditional” publishing structures, methods and techniques. For the Editor-in-

27. 27
Chief of Courier, this can include the professional or academic backgrounds of indie publishers, as ‘a lot of
[indie publishers or editors] don’t come from the magazine world, so it is a bit “amateur” or outside the norm’
(Appendix 9). As such, though the independent magazines appear to borrow from traditional print media, the
expression of independent publishers as at once amateur and professional can be considered.
As a result, it can be said that the publishers of these titles are expressing their ‘business savvy
around publishing economics’ and, as the data here can reflect, they are seen to redefine current models of
‘advertising and newsstand distribution’ as they strive to ensure their title will ‘survive beyond its first few
issues’ (Kinsman and Voltolina, 2010). For the independent publishers explored in this study, print is used in
a measured (Appendix 10), purposive manner that seeks to explore and innovate beyond the inherent limitations
of print media to better suit their titles. For instance, indie titles are limited as ‘a lot of structures within the
print sphere [...] aren’t yet reacting, adjusting or sympathetic to this new wave of independent publishers’
(Appendix 7) and it may be a ‘long time before those traditional structures might start to better serve and
represent the individual’ (Appendix 7). As such, Founder and Creative Director of Courier stated that ‘being
independent is about asking [...] questions and finding different ways of solving them’ (Appendix 9),
displaying how independent publishers must innovate to discover methods to economically innovate for
sustainable business strategies. Thus, for the Editor-in-Chief of The Gentlewoman, independent magazines
publishers must work to reinvent the model, addressing the issue of ‘commercial buoyancy’ (It’s Nice That,
2014) if they are to sustain producing subsequent publications in print.
In terms of advertising models, therefore, these publishers are also employing digital entrepreneurship
to overcome print publishing challenges that have been stifling the industry of late. The Editor-in-Chief of
Courier states that, for indies, ‘it is very hard to establish a profitable business [as] it’s hard to sell the number
of copies that you need to make money on them and you can’t because quite a lot of investment is required to
build an advertiser base to pay for advertising’ (Appendix 9). Therefore, the Founder and Publisher of Hello
Mr. is seen to utlise ‘advertorial’ content (Cimarusti, 2015) in a ‘combination of wanting to innovate on that
traditional model’ and a rejection of working with traditional advertisements, as he states that this structure
‘doesn’t pay our bills’ (Cimarusti, 2015). Furthermore, digital technologies and online publishing activities
are both integrated into their distribution models. Courier, for instance, is seen to employ a fusion of online
distribution methods as well as stockists of physical copies such as urban independent coffee shops and
magCulture in London, UK (Courier, 2016; Sutcliffe, 2016c) in response to the founder noting that ‘82% of

28. 28
our audience hasn’t been in the newsagent in the last four weeks’ (Appendix 9), with 47,000 readers
worldwide choosing to buy through alternate methods (Appendix 9).
Correspondingly, the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Holo states that their worldwide distribution of
the title, aided by the internet, ‘would have been prohibitive twenty years ago. You’d have to probably have
been a publishing insider for a long time and have connections with all these networks and then sell more
because you’re making less’ (Appendix 8) on the cover price of these titles, where indie titles can be priced
much higher at £8, £10, £12 or even £15 (Appendix 7). Conversely, as the Editor-in-Chief goes on to state, ‘in
the internet age, we can interact with an audience a lot easier and don’t have to worry about newsstands, so if
the audience is out there, as we always see with these Kickstarter projects, you can find 2,000 people that will
help you cultivate your project’ (Appendix 8), allowing ‘independent magazines to exist and reach audiences
that fifteen-twenty years ago they wouldn’t have been able to’ (Appendix 7). Indeed, 22% of crowdfunding
goes towards the creative media industries (Sutcliffe, 2016b), helping independent media entrepreneurs to
source funds. Additionally, this method can be used not only for capital generation, but also for reader-
acquisition (Severs, 2016) where perhaps ‘once you have a dedicated following, you can then print a magazine
for them and be pretty certain they’ll buy it’ (Severs, 2016). This feature works to ensure that adequate or even
surplus (Sutcliffe, 2016b) reader circulation will be achieved by the title, without having to take a chance on
the product, potentially strengthening the indies’ place in the market. As a result, the identity of independent
publishers as creative entrepreneurs is confirmed as they are seen to respond to the industry, and adapting as
online media has been seen to disrupt traditional print media (Appendix 7), subsequently owing to its decline.
Additionally, the participants were seen to comment on the tactile nature of print when discussing
how print functions for independent magazine media as well as why it is chosen by many independent
magazine publishers. Editors from Pom Pom Quarterly, Dumbo Feather, The Gentlewoman and Courier were
seen to mention their use of print in terms of the tangible, ‘haptic’ experience of reading physical magazines
(Jamieson in King, 2015). These titles also identified print media as ‘hermetic’ (Adorno in Thorburn et al.,
2013, p. 172), unfragmented and with set beginning and end, encompassing its readers within an experience
where communication and understanding is achieved through touch and high-cost, high-quality (Appendix
10) printed content. For instance, the Assistant Editor of Dumbo Feather states that a ‘tangible, sensory
experience’ (Appendix 11) can be explored and delivered by their title; ‘there is a texture to the magazine; we
have beautiful, rich lush photography that is important also in the print form’ (Appendix 11). This notion was
similarly addressed by the Editor-in-Chief of The Gentlewoman – ‘a strong affection for black and white

29. 29
photography [and] a love of print and paper’ (It’s Nice That, 2014) – and Courier as, for the stories they
wanted to tell – ‘long form, with beautiful photography’ – print was ‘the best medium’ (Appendix 9). Lastly,
Pom Pom stated that their target audience of ‘knitters and other crafty types would appreciate a physical
object, as they deal with, and have a particular affinity for, tactile things’ (Appendix 10) informed their choice as
well as wishing to present knitting and visual craft in ‘a beautiful way’ (Appendix 10).
However, discussions were seen to emerge beyond issues of tactility. Independent print is approached
both in terms of how independent publishers are seen to repackage printed magazines in beautifully designed
formats as well as the ‘sensory connection’ readers can make with these publications, informed how they
must ‘engage with [...] its physical properties, what it can and can’t do’ (Appendix 7). For instance, indie
publishers are considered representative of ‘new generation understanding [print] in a different way’ (Appendix
7) and, as such, these titles are increasingly viewed as luxury, collectable items (Jamieson, 2015), ‘“crafted
rather than just manufactured as a convenience”’ (Owers in Severs, 2016), thus enabling them to move
‘“away from trying to compete with the internet and towards doing things only print can do”’ (Jamieson in
King, 2015). Founder of Hello Mr. states that ‘many of the best emerging titles today are aiming smaller and
reaching niche audiences who appreciate a less frequent piece of literature, produced without disposability in
mind’ (Fitzgibbon, 2014). These notions that are specific to print and how the emerging revenue models in
this area are sustained: the indie magazine is bought at high cover prices infrequently because it can be kept,
revisited and, ultimately, create an experience for the reader than cannot be found online.
Indie publishers, then, are seen to exploit how the physicality of print is able to increase their visibility
in both the marketplace, such as on newsstands – ‘the stand just looks different: it’s a riot of colours, styles and
mastheads’ (Appendix 9) – and in the sphere of readership, such as ‘on a coffee table’ (Fitzgibbon, 2014).
Correspondingly, the Founder of Hello Mr. states that ‘physical magazines have the ability to become part of
the composition of a space, and add to the story of the person it belongs to’ (Fitzgibbon, 2014). Similarly, Pom
Pom Quarterly comments that ‘we have many readers who collect their Pom Pom magazines and display them
proudly’ on their bookshelves (Appendix 10). As such, issues concerning visibility were further expanded by
the participants into notions of what print magazines are able to achieve in terms of community building that are
singular to independent publishing because of how it can use print. For the Editor-in-Chief of Intern,
successful publications are seen ‘without fail’ to ‘create and harness a community’ (Appendix 7), a network
of consumers, contributors and publishers. Founder of Hello Mr. states that by using the properties of print,
publishers ‘can create a physical badge that people [...] are proud to own and feel a part of’ (Fitzgibbon,

30. 30
2014), whereby the physical visibility of these independent titles can become motifs for the aspirations,
cultures and identities (Fitzgibbon, 2014) of their readers.
Furthermore, the participants were seen to contribute discussions regarding how their audience is
returning to print via the community of independent publications and how, in turn, the publishers are able to
supply them with the visual-textual spaces to achieve this. For instance, the Editor-in-Chief of Courier
identifies that their audience is also rejecting mainstream media as they are ‘too smart [...] that’s why they’re
not buying them, not because they’re too busy on Facebook all day or not reading print, it’s just that they’re
too intelligent for most of these titles’ (Appendix 9). As a result, as stated by Editor-in-Chief of Intern, their
readers ‘are really interested to go and invest in something that they can critically assess and they can have an
interaction with’ (Appendix 7). The long, considered form of independent media is, for the Editor-in-Chief of
The Gentlewoman, akin to ‘in-person transactions and real conversations, skills and sharing in real spaces,
rather than the cabaret of the nameless’ (Johnson, 2014) that may found in mainstream print publications,
where the writer is absent and the message is ‘truncated’ (It’s Nice That, 2014). Indie media, therefore, allows
for each member of the publishing supply chain to be ‘shoulder to shoulder’ (Martin, 2014); the author,
publisher and reader can interact on a level that bypasses the authoritarian mainstream and emulates the social
interactivity of the online world whilst also employing features that are unique to independent print publishing,
permanence, quality and collectability. The result is a highly democratised (Le Masurier, 2012, p. 1), mutually
beneficial relationship between creator and consumer, where the product being produced is enmeshed within
the expectations and identity of its readers. Therefore, by recentralising both the needs of the readers and the
requirements of print, indie magazine publishers have been able to transform the medium into a new way of
considering physical readership, print ownership and magazine production.

31. 31
V – Conclusions and Recommendations
This research can begin to make suggestions regarding how and why Western independent magazine publishers
continue to engage with print media in the twenty-first century. It has suggested that the independent publishers
interviewed within this study showcase entrepreneurship and innovation to create strong industry identities for
their products and, as a result, tribes of invested readers.
For this research, it was important to first construct an analysis of the current state of the market for
independent magazines during the last five to ten years, as well as the fluctuations of print in the UK and US
magazine sectors. It was found that the distribution, circulation and profit figures presented a complex and
fragmented arena for print to be considered as a whole, depicting both a fall in the production and consumption
of print media as well as hopeful statistics suggesting the consumer magazines aren’t performing exactly how
we thought. For instance, it was suggested that the larger sphere of print publishing is undergoing a revolution
due to independent publishing activities. The UK’s creative industries are ‘growing twice as fast as the rest of
the economy’ (Rebuck, 2016); they are ‘worth £84 billion a year’ with £5 billion generated from print publishing
alone (Rebuck, 2016). Indeed, the UK, recently named one of the seven most dynamic publishing markets in
2016, is seeing ‘a slowdown in ebook sales (-1.6%) and a rise in print sales (0.4%) for the first time in three
years’ (Johnson and Cox, 2016, p. 16). This confirms that consumers, though buying at a slower rate than they
are seen to abandon e-books, are rediscovering print simultaneously as it is being produced in new ways by
independent, creative publishers.
The literature that informed this study was sourced from three pivotal texts from the fields of
independent and print publishing, uncovering elements of this topic area such as how print has changed over
time (Ludovico, 2012), the attitudes and opinions of digital magazine publishers (Sivek and Townsend, 2014)
and the current democratised media landscape for independent titles (Le Masurier, 2012). This research aided
in framing new print media as nuanced, diverse, high-quality and innovative, with a slant towards sustaining
their publications through an overturning of dominant print business models, thus re-centring print as an
adaptable feature in the midst of drastic industry changes. Additionally, this study was carried out in response
to surrounding literature. For instance, my research was inspired methodologically by Sivek and Townsend’s
2014 study that focused on digital independent publishing and the corresponding attitudes and opinions of its
practitioners. As independent print publishing has been relatively unexplored in any great detail, I chose to
unpack the motivations, attitudes and opinions of current indie print magazine publishers in order to develop
an in-depth industry perspective on a academically overlooked topic. Theoretically, therefore, my study

32. 32
may be able to add to the conversation of creative industries and the current commercial perspectives on
rethinking print formats in the future of publishing.
In turn, certain characteristics of the indie magazine in the digital age were seen to emerge from the
data generated during this research. Firstly, independent print magazines were seen to combine art and
commerce; though revenue creation must be encompassed within their strong, reader-focused business model,
these small publishers produce professionally and innovatively designed works of collectable media that are
driven by passion (Sutcliffe, 2106a) before profit (Le Masurier, 2012, p. 5). Equally, as indie magazine
publications offer what cannot be found online or within mainstream publications, a unique selling proposition is
seen to emerge, ensuring that reader loyalty (Grylls in Houston, 2013) generated through their community-
driven goals to ensure their survival. Additionally, the independent magazine market is seen to operate in a
cyclical manner. The findings of this study have suggested that it may be difficult to know if the rejuvenation
of print has been borne out of the movement created by independent publishers or if the recent increase in
print consumption has simply helped inform indie publishers choose and relate to the medium. Nevertheless,
it can be said that all types of print publications, including novels and even academic textbooks (Johnson and
Cox, 2016, p. 16) are now created with the medium at the fore, now there is indeed this choice through which
they are choosing to engage with the cultural and historical weight of print (Ludovico, 2012, p. 152).
This research uncovered the optimism of independent publishers towards the future of their products
– a viewpoint that is aligned with the rising print market – with the potential that approximately 5% (Appendix
9) of indie titles in circulation today will attain profitability and stability in its subsequent publications and
loyal readerships. In addition, though 95% of independent magazine titles will struggle to establish profitable
businesses (Appendix 9), indie publishers remain ‘excited and inspired by the breadth of the chances people
are taking, the productivity and the different formats that are out there’ (Appendix 9), as it is this diversity that
has driven the market forward in times of stagnation and struggle. Consequently, the number and variety of
titles may be seen to decrease in the coming years, dependent upon now many entrepreneurial publishers are
seen to innovate and push the boundaries of print. Further, as entrepreneurially strong titles are seen to
dominate the industry, readerships of these publications may be seen to increase and, with it, a continual
flourishing of print magazine media as a collective and ‘a growing niche print marketplace’ (Sutcliffe, 2016a).
Therefore, though the future of print can remain unclear (Sutcliffe, 2016a), it is evident from the
discussions unpacked within this research that it is possible for independent magazine publishing to be made
lucrative, fulfilling and meaningful in the contemporary industry. For instance, indie publishers have been

33. 33
seen to acknowledge that traditional models of production, distribution and reader acquisition may be flawed;
they may be misrepresenting print as it permeates and works to define the current creative climate in the UK
and other in Western territories around the world. Furthermore, arguments can be developed for the indie
magazines to become harbingers for a new type of publishing culture, spokespersons for their readers and
may be stepping up as the alternative gatekeepers for print media where mainstream media has been seen to
decline and even fail. In fact, we may begin to see ‘the mainstream starting to look more like the indies [...]
They have to learn from independents if they want to survive’ (Jamieson in King, 2015), the ideologies and
passions of independent publishers absorbed into existing business models as new publishing stratagems are
seen to succeed in the modern media landscape. Perhaps controversially, it may even be suggested that
independents may begin to replace mainstream print magazine publishers.
In terms of recommendations for future research, it is clear that cultural, psychological (Rebuck,
2016) and social factors must be taken into account if we are to further discuss the identity of print with any
accuracy. As the motivations and attitudes behind producing and publishing print media represent only one
side of a greater narrative, it may also be beneficial to explore the consumer experiences offered by independent
media and how these impact the indie titles’ potential dominance in the marketplace. For instance, handling,
manufacturing and consuming print media can relate to how physical objects feel in our hands, how they are
read, what they are able to communicate because of longer reader interaction and which trends creative people
and industries are currently following. As a result of this, research into the opinions and viewpoints surrounding
independent media can extend into the user perspective.
Correspondingly, further research into the design and layout of indie magazines, as well as reading
patterns, may be needed, ‘as the enthusiasm for the subjects they cover mean the magazines are themselves
minor works of art’ (Sutcliffe, 2016a), with design processes that are either grid-breaking or abandon the
notion of a grid altogether (It’s Nice That, 2014). Through these investigations, publication research may
begin to form an understanding for the individual encompassing factors that instigate the consumption print
media beyond issues such as entrepreneurial business modelling and publication sustainability. For instance, it
can be argued that print media is deeply social and cultural, and potentially seen as ‘the DNA of our
civilisation, an unbroken line of stories, ideas and knowledge which essentially completes our relationship
with all of humanity and with ourselves’ (Rebuck 2016). If print indeed has this presence in the lives and
everyday, human interactions of readers and independent communities nationally, and perhaps even globally, it is

34. 34
may be more significant than in any previous period to analyse why small audiences are determined to
consume print to not only view the world but also to explore and interact with it.
As such, to remove sample bias and to add to discussions on the worldwide impacts of the potential
renaissance (Appendix 7) of independent media, it may produce significant results to include “Eastern”
independent print magazines in future research. Though the biggest growth has been seen or, at the very least,
avidly recorded by the media in Western cultures such as the UK, pockets of non-Western and Rest-of-World
independent and, significantly, creative publishers are emerging in the foyer of global publishing. As a result
of recent research into dynamic publishers around the world, this has included Brazil and their innovation in
times of economic recession, The Philippines tapping into the global print marketplace, and the United Arab
Emirates as they rapidly expand their publishing industry (Johnson and Cox, 2016, pp. 4 – 14). By expanding
the research area in this way, or by simply carrying out an isolated study on non-Western independent
publishing activities, the identity of indie print media and the attitudes and opinions of its publishers can be
explored in terms of difference (or similarity) between cultural, social and geographical groups. Similarly, by
incorporating high numbers of questionnaires into their research methodologies, additional studies can work
to expand the sample size the still within the realm of Western indie publications and, therefore, increase the
validity of the findings and conclusions from the small sample size included in this study.
Whatever the collective or individual motivations, aims or objectives of independent print magazine
publishers, ‘passion projects, celebrations of a hobby or idea or community’, for the titles that have managed
to change the face of print media, it can be said that they will ‘have succeeded in their aims all the same’
(Sutcliffe, 2016c). The attitudes and opinions uncovered as part of this study have suggested that, in the post-
digital age, the practitioners of independent magazines are able to ‘spark a little jolt of innovation into the
system’ (Fitzgibbon, 2014), and perhaps believe that they must represent the ‘risk takers’ through every major
publishing shift (Fitzgibbon, 2014). In this way, despite the continual setbacks for print media – as the usage
of digital technologies has risen and the qualities of mainstream publications not quite appealing to the needs
of modern audiences – it can be seen that independent publishers remain hopeful, determined and optimistic
for the future of print whilst it is in their care.

35. 35
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