Mad about mags
2nd-half surge of new titles
THE number of new print magazines launched in the United States dropped by more than half in 2020 to 60, compared with 139 a year earlier. But in a surprise move, the pace of new launches accelerated in the second half of the year with food, home and fitness titles proving the most popular.
The data come from professor Samir Husni, founder of the University of Mississippi’s Magazine Innovation Center at the School of Journalism and New Media, who bills himself “Mr. Magazine,” and has been tracking the number of new US magazine launches since 1978.
“Considering all the problems with the pandemic, I think it shows there was still a lot of interest and vitality in magazines,” he said. “It’s almost a miracle that there were 60 new launches.”
Like in all areas of our lives, the pandemic had a tremendous impact on the titles that were launched, with food, fitness, home and mags tied to celebrity influencers dominating the field.
“People still believe there is a need for print,” Husni said. “People are stuck at home, bombarded by bad news. They are looking for diversions.”
The pace of the launches was also seemingly dictated by the health crisis. After 15 launches in the first quarter, startup activity came to a screeching halt in the April-June period when popular retail magsales outlets like Barnes & Noble and Books-A-Million had to shut their doors or curtail traffic.
But in the second half of the year, as the economy began reopening, 45 new magazines were launched.
The pandemic even helped the launch of The Week Junior, a kidoriented weekly news magazine from Dennis Publishing that started being mailed directly to subscribers’ homes in April in accordance with pre-pandemic plans. Sales exceeded expectations as parents desperate for healthy diversions for their stuck-at-home middle-schoolers signed on in droves.
Food titles were by far the single largest launch category, with titles such as Joy the Baker, Meal, 506, Sandwich, Fifty Grande and Nourish: Plant Based Living.
And while print advertising dropped by 30 percent in the second quarter as businesses pulled back from spending, the plunge was not nearly as disruptive for new mags, which are relying more on subscription sales than ad dollars.
“There is a new business model,” said Husni. “The new trend is high subscription and newsstand prices and very little advertising.”
Indeed, the average cover price of a new launch in 2020 was $7.99, compared to an average of under $5 for most established magazines. But the extra cost is also reflected in the changing look and feel of new titles, many of which now have “better stock paper and thicker covers,” Husni said.
“Many of them look and feel like a coffee-table book.”
To get tallied as a new launch, a magazine must have a plan to publish at least two issues in the course of a year.
Among publishers, Husni found Meredith the most active ctive with five new print nt launches, including Re- veal from Drew and Jonathan Scott, who star in the long-running HGTV reality show w “Property Brothers.” It t launched in January ry y with a 750,000 press run un and $9.99 cover price.
In April, Ayesha Curry, the wife of NBA star Stephen Curry, teamed up with Meredith to launch Sweet July, a food, home and lifestyle quarterly.
Also in April, Meredith unveiled Millie, a women’s financial quarterly, with Synchrony Financial as the sole sponsor. The mag was mailed to 1 million subscribers of Real Simple.
Meredith also got credit for a new title when its Rachael Ray Every Day monthly magazine was reflagged and relaunched as the quarterly Rachael Ray in Season.
Better Homes & Gardens also spun off a new title, Farmhouse at Heart. Condé Nast, under CEO Roger Lynch, was absent from the printlaunch market as it continues to add only digital offerings to its stable of magazines and Web sites. Husni counts only print launches. Hearst was also quiet on the launch front. Husni said he tallied only one new print title, R&T Crew, a kids spinoff from Road & Track. Bauer remains active in the women’s market, teaming with blogger and cookbook author Joy Wilson to launch quarterly Joy the Baker in November at a $12.99 cover price.
And Playgirl under new ownership returned to print for the first time since 2016.
Among the independents, Marvin Jarrett, a co-founder of edgy titles Ray Gun and Nylon, reemerged with a music mag titled Marvin. The quarterly debuted with Porsche as its sole advertiser and a $30 cover price, making it the most expensive launch of the year. Its oversized 13-by-19-inch format also made it the largest.