Magazines Suffer First Quarter Ad Revenue Losses

Hold the presses! Although we reported last month that Hip Hop publications were experiencing a slight bump in ad revenue, in particular The Source which was previously on the ropes, reports are surfacing that are painting a bleeker picture for music magazines in general. As the music indsutry experiences a drop in revenue the magazines closely attached to them are feeling the fallout as well.

The flagship industry leader, Rolling Stones experienced a 33% dip in ad revenue. Overall, the music magazine industry fell 26% in the first quarter of business.
So where is those ad dollars going you ask? Well you guessed it, advertisers are spending where the people are at, online. Citing the overall shift in the economy that had affected business in all sectors, businesses that would normally spend with male teen-targeted publications are shying away all together. The cigarette industry is going through legal woes and the car industry is going through financial difficulties.

We’re putting money in Pandora and other music [sites] that in the olden days would probably all have gone to Rolling Stone,” says Scott Daly, executive media director at advertising agency Dentsu America, who still places ads in the Wenner Media title. “We’re trying to reach young, early adopters—which Rolling Stone reaches, but it doesn’t have a lock on them.”

The only challenge online is that there are no “credible-guides” that readers steadily rely on to shape their tastes and interests. That is the only winning point that ‘zines like Spin, who are the exception to the rule, have in their favor. Below is a listing of what these companies did in the first quarter, compared to last year:

Blender $11 million (down 9% from first quarter 2007); 110 pages (down 20%)
Rolling Stone $31 million (down 27%); 195 (down 33%)
Spin $8 million (up 27% from 2007); 146 (up 22%)
Vibe $18 million (down 19% from 2007); 185 (down 22%)

~ by streetknowledge on April 22, 2008.