The magazine industry is not dying, but rather adapting to technological changes. While print sales have declined with more magazines moving online, the industry has embraced digital formats and platforms. Some large publications like Vogue quickly launched digital editions, while smaller titles have become exclusively online. The Covid-19 pandemic accelerated the shift to digital as lockdowns closed retail stores. Overall, the magazine industry has shown resilience by evolving their business models and content to engage audiences across different media.

1. Is the Magazine Industry Really Dying, and How the Industry Has Adapted to the Web Age?
A common misconception is that the magazine industryis a dying one, due to the quick rise
of technologywithinsociety.Althoughthere is a large amount of evidence tosupportthis,there is a
substantial amountof evidence toprove the opposite.Inthisessay,Iwill explorethe “not-so-glossy”
future of the magazine industry, the adaptations the industry has had to make with the rise of
technology,and how magazine companiesuse variousmedia theories to appeal to their audiences.
Magazines have had to adapt to the swift increase of technology to keep their readers
satisfied.The fallof printsalesbeganafterApplereleasedthefirstiPadinApril 2010, causingthe surge
in digital magazines merely 2 years after. Large publications such as Vogue hopped on the trend
rapidly,makingthefirstdigitalsubscriptionavailable inMarch2012. RollingStone wasquicktofollow,
introducing a digital subscriptionin August 2012. This caused the creation of websites such as Issuu
and Yumpu,which allowsanybodytouploadtheirmagazinesdigitallyforfree. These websitesmade
itso that people couldstillshare theircreative workinprintbutmake itavailabletoalmosteveryone.
It has got to the point where it is now normal to create an entirely digital magazine then a print
magazine. In a recent study conducted by Readly, a digital newsstand, showed an 80% increase in
consumptionof digital magazinesinthe UK alone,meaningalmost13 milliondigital magazineswere
read ina year(Begley2019). Big magazinessuchas NME, ownedbyBandLab Technologiesmovedto
fullydigital in2018,afterchangingformfrom papermagazine,glossymagazines,thentoafree paper
magazine. This was one of the first big names to move to fully digital,and it will probably never be
printed again.
Kurt Anderson, the former editor of New York, said in an interview that the industry was in
“more of a dusk, a slow dusk, and we’re closer to sunset,” meaning that he too believed that the
industrywas dying.However,althoughthere isa decline inprintsales,it has simplychangedformat
into digital. Digital magazines allow the publishers to include more than they could in a print – for
example,videos, gifs, links, animations, and pop-up adverts which bring in more revenue. However,
to keepthe magazinestraditionalformatof print,adigital subscriptionisusuallymoreexpensive,and
theyinclude more benefitswithaprint subscription. Magazine usedto include afree gift withevery
monthly issue,but over the last few years, it has died off. The onlytitles that still include small gifts
are forchildren.So,onlinesubscriptionincludegiftstomake forthefactthattheydo notinclude them
anymore, offering a small benefit for buying a print subscription. For example, Rolling Stone offer a
free tote bag with the first issue, and Vogue offer free beauty gifts alongside a magazine. Music
magazinescanalsoinclude freeCDsor 7-inch-singleswithaprintcopy,whichencouragesthe readers
to keep buying their print copies.
A factor that may have contributed to the slow decrease in the industry, is the increase of
paychecks.Workerswithinthe industryare gettingmore expensive,whichisencouragingpublication
officestoadaptinnewwaystokeeptheirnamesrelevantandtheirofficesrunning.Large publications
suchas Condé Nastare nowlookingatsix-figure photoshootsandjournalistscharging$5perwordfor
theirarticles(Ember2019).FortunatelyforCondéNast,ithasaworld-renownedname,withdifferent
magazinesunique tothese countriesthattheyappeal to.Thismeansthattheyhave nothadto worry
aboutthe techage overshadowingtheirnameasmuchasotherpublicationshavehadto.Forexample,
Q Magazine,a music magazine whichran from1986-2020, has recentlyhadto stop publicationsdue
to low subscriptionnumbers and the global pandemic. However large or popular a publishing name
may be,there is alwaysa threat of a newername risingand takingtheirplace.Condé Nast have had
to keepadaptingandannouncingnew,excitingchangestheyare making to keeptheirreadershappy.

2. Additionally,due tothe Covid-19Global Pandemic,smallertitleshave been strugglingtokeep
going,asleisure shops,wherereaderswouldusuallybuytheirmonthlycopy,havebeencloseddueto
the country goingintolockdown.Thishasledsmall publicationstoshuttheirdoorsand printingtheir
lastissues,astheirsaleshave rapidlydecreased.ThishappenedtoQMagazine,andImmediate Media,
a publishingcompany,have had to cut hundredsof jobsbecause of fundinganda sharp decrease in
sales.ThisGlobal Pandemichas forced companiesall overthe worldto move online,shuttingoffices
and shops,makingtheirworkerstoadaptto a digital workplace. The pandemichasalsoshownlarger
publicationofficeswhichtitles performbetterthanothers,showingwhichtitles are notbenefitingthe
publicationenoughtokeepthemgoing. Thishas causedthemtodropthe more unsuccessfultitles,as
theywouldbe spendingmore moneytokeepitgoingthenwhatthe title wasmaking. There are now
online websitessuchasNewsstandswhichmake itavailable topurelybuymagazinesdigitally.These
websites encourage people to buy print online, taking profit away from physical copies.
I would broadly describe this age as the Tech Age. The state of technology has increased in
the last decade,ina way that has neverbeenseenbefore.Alongwith this,we now have generations
beingbroughtup around technology,thusseeingitas a part of normal life.The magazine industryis
an oldone,datingbacktothe early1741, whenthe firstmagazine waspublishedinthe UnitedStates.
The production of magazines developed slowly over the years, however, in the last decade, the
production has changed dramatically. Industry professionals “take the reins” in the industry and
appeal to the younger generations (Ember 2017). Jann Wenner, an older editor of Rolling Stone,
refused to post the Rolling Stones articles online, as the older editors in the business are less
accustomedto webjournalism(Ember2017). Changingthe average age inthe industryisjustone of
the many adaptationsand changesthat have happenedwithinthe magazine fieldtokeepappealing
to their audiences. Smaller publications have had to reinvent themselves – which could include
changing their styles/aesthetic or hosting/sponsoring an event under their name. This keeps the
contentof the magazine freshandwouldpotentiallydraw inaneweraudiencetoreadtheirmagazine.
Publicationssuch as Elle have taken advantage of the popularity of technologyand utilized different
mediaplatformssuchas YouTube to post more contentof the stars of the month’sepisode.Itisalso
another way that the publicationcan bring in money, along withusing social media more often,like
creating short news outlets on apps like Snapchat or Instagram. Bigger, more popular publications
suchasVogue andRollingStonehavealsojumpedonthebandwagonof social mediawhichhashelped
the publication grow in popularity as it can reach readers on various platforms.
Due to the availabilityof various media platforms, it is not unusual for a digital magazine to
ever be printed. Digital magazines allow the publications to have different platforms and types of
media to go alongside their magazine which would not be available with solely print. The more
traditional,oldermagazinesthathave beenrunningfora longtime,before the internetwasavailable
at your fingertips,keeptheirprintsubscriptionsavailable toall,sendingthemtoshopseverymonth.
So,isthe magazine actuallydying?Inshort –no,ithassimplychangedformat.Digital orprint,
the industryisstillgoingstrong,despiteprintsalesdecreasing.Large publicationCondé Nastnowown
a variety of differenttitles, buying magazines which will bring themin more money, they have even
boughtPitchfork – an online musicjournalismsite,which isa leadingfactorfor magazinessuch as Q
to get discontinued. The magazine industryhasshiftedandchangedaround – much like anyindustry
– but it is in no way of ending anytime soon. The readers have changed the way they consume the
magazines, so the industry has followed suit.
Nichermagazine titlessuchasAestheticamagazine have alsochangedthe waytheysell their
magazine. Instead of doing monthly issues, they print only three physical issues a year, but they are
fullerandmore of abook, ratherthana usual magazine.Aestheticahave awebsite/blogwhichcovers

3. lotsof differenttopicwhichappeal to theirtarget audience ina way that the largertitlesstruggle to
do. Thisis because the smallermagazineshave aspecificaudience toappeal to,whichmake iteasier
to create content that they know their audience would enjoy, because it is such a fixedarea. Larger
titles such as Vogue must appeal to a wider audience,as they have hardcore fashion fanatics and
leisure readers,sotheymustappealinawaythatwouldsatisfyalltheirreaders.Theydothisbyhaving
a regular, monthly printed magazine and having special edition books about a more specific area of
fashion for their more devout readers.
To appeal totheiraudience,mostpublicationofficesseethattheiraudiencefitinwithvarious
mediatheorystructures.Theyutilize the theoriesto understandwhyand what theiraudience want.
Thistheoryexploresfivedifferentfactorsasto whypeople consume certainmedia.The firstfactor is
InformationandEducation,whichsuggeststhatthe audience wantstoacquireinformationconcerning
a certainsubject,forexample,The Newsorfactual documentaries.The secondisEntertainment,the
consumer uses media for entertainment purposes. The third and fourth are Personal Identity and
Integration and Social Interaction. Personal Identity is when a person can find personal traits in a
character or situation, causing them to copy or mimic their characteristics. Integration and Social
Interaction is when a certain piece of media can create conversation between people, for example,
contestants on The X Factor or I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!
Using this theory to their advantage, the magazine industry has beenable to access a larger
numberof readersbothdigitallyandprintbased.Thishashelpedthe industryadaptandchange tofit
withwhattheiraudience prefers.Doingthis,ithashelpedthe industrykeeptheirreadersinterested,
and overall keepingthe industryalive and somewhatthriving. It is importantfor producersto know
why theiraudience consume theirproduct.Thiswillhelpthe magazine industryappealtoalargerarea
of readers, and how to adapt to the changing times, keeping the industry going. With this, the
magazines have been able to adjust their contents and carry on appealing to their audiences on
differentplatforms,insteadof justprintmedia. Italsohelpsseparate differentmagazinesintogenres
by content, allowing new readers to see what type of magazine the title is. For example, a space
magazine would be under Information and Education, whereas Hello! magazine would be under
Entertainment.
As well as ‘Use and Gratification Theory’, another theorythat is often usedby the magazine
industryis ‘ReceptionTheory’.Thistheory exploresthe differentmessagesthata producer putsinto
theirwork,andhowdifferentaudiencemembersacceptthismessage. Hall developedthree different
waysan audience canreactto a message:dominant, oppositional, andnegotiated.Dominantreading
iswhenthe audience readsthe message the waythe producerintendedthe message tobe read.This
is also known as ‘preferred’ readings as it is the way the producer wants the audience to read their
work. Oppositional readingsare whenthe audiencerejectsthe intendedreadingandcreate theirown
meaningtothe text. The final readingthatHall presentedisnegotiatedreadings.Thisisacombination
of oppositional and dominant readings.
Thisis usedbythe industrytoadd strongmessagesintotheirmagazinestotheirreaders.For
example,the September2020 issue of Vogue wasabout activismand racismin society.Doingthis,it
spreads awareness to their readers and sends a message from the journalist/person who is being
interviewedaboutthissubject.Dependingonhow theirreaderspick up the message will determine
the effectiveness.Italsoshowsamessage tonew readersthatVogue isanti-racism, drawinginanew
audience who feels a similar way to the view that the magazine holds. This is done throughout the
industry to draw in new readers who hold a similar view to them. This is done in different media
platforms such as films, television shows, music etc. There are messages hidden in most media
projects, which allow the audience to interpret the meaning themselves.

4. To conclusion,the industryisnotdying,itissimply changing.The demographicforpurchasing
magazineshaschanged,andforthe firsttime,the industryhashadtoreinventitself multiple timesto
appeal to the changing times in both society and technology. However, is the industry dying?
Absolutely not, and I doubt it will for a long time. Has it adapted well to the tech age? Yes, creating
different, cross platform subscriptions available to their readers, magazines have benefitted in
keeping their readers interested, during the rapid change.