In some ways, yes, magazines are dying out. With the rise of technology and digital download, the need for a physical copy is decreasing as years go on. With many people instantly finding out what they need via the internet. With the increased use of smartphones a magazine or newspaper can be easily read in just one tap of a finger along with this it becomes easier to multitask this with other activities in day to day living.
The number of magazines being made itself has dwindled. The purchase of women's weekly mags have dropped by 24% in 2015.
On the other hand Cosmopolitan has grown its circulation by 57% year on year however, this is believed to be the growing number of free pickup copies and dropping their price from £3.80 to just £1.00. This tactic of free copies has also been followed by esquire magazine and seems to have boosted sales.
£2 billion worth of magazines were published and are read at some point by 87% of the population.
Why would anyone pay for something you can get for free? Well, in reality, reading magazines online isn't necessarily free. They're more likely to ask you for a monthly subscription whereas when buying a magazine it can be a one off purchase because you like the cover.
Statistics from the last 6 months of 2015:(from http://www.pressgazette.co.uk)
These are the top 5 magazines in regards to sales in the UK
| Title | Total | Y/Y % change | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The National Trust Magazine | 2,165,142 | 3.1 | ||
Good Living (Asda), previously Asda Magazine | 2,042,940 | 3.5 | ||
| Tesco Magazine | 1,955,811 | 0.4 | ||
| TV Choice | 1,268,265 | 0.2 | ||
| What's on TV | 997,160 | -5.8 | ||
One reason the purchase of magazines has dwindled is the steep price of the actual magazine, some even climbing to £5.00 for a weekly mag. Which the majority simply cant afford to pay. Another thing that may put people off is the paper usage. Even if this is a pedantic reason, there's a large push on recycling and being environmentally friendly, consumers could be put off buy large amounts of paper that'll be thrown away after one use
Music magazine purchase has fell dramatically since 2013. Bauer's biggest magazine NME declined a massive 23% in the last 4 years. At their most popular they would sell 300,000 copies which has now dwindled to under 15,000. The same has happened for a lot of other music magazines:
Kerring! - down 13.7%
Metal hammer - down 11.3%
Mojo - down 4.7%
Classic rock - down 6.2%
We love pop - down 6.1%
Q - down 18%
However rock sound has increased by 2.2% since 2013
