Statistics and facts on the U.S. Magazine Industry

Not dissimilar to the current state of the newspaper market, the magazine industry is struggling to survive. In 2012, only three percent of Americans stated that they regularly read magazines; another nine read them “sometimes”. This means that publishers are having to aim for relatively niche groups and have accepted that they may be required to fight to retain and gain readership.

The downward trend is leading to shrinking revenues. The industry’s total revenue fell from 10.47 billion U.S. dollars in 2005 to 8.3 billion to 2011 – a decline of 21 percent; paid subscription revenue fell 17 percent between 2005 and 2010. On the other hand, advertising revenue amounted to 15.19 billion in 2012 and is expected to shrink only slightly over the next three years. Advertisers seem to take a leap of faith and invest over nine percent of their ad spend into magazines, in spite of tiny audiences and of the fact that Americans spend least time with magazines compared to all the other media.

This provides the publishers with means of survival, which are then used to try and produce more attractive products and this way keep up their reader base and to attract new readers. The best example for this phenomenon is the fact that for the past three years – between 2009 and 2012, the United States saw more magazine launches than it did closures. Additionally, the industry has been lowering its expenses and increasing prices to cushion declining subscription and sales revenues.



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