Has Online Put The Final Nail In The Coffin Of The Mens Magazine Market?

t has to be a worrying time for the magazine publishing industry. Although I don't share the digital belief that printed media will evaporate all together with the emergence of online and digital technologies it would be naive to think it isn't going to be effected negatively at all. Have a look at the stats below detailing the demise of mens magazines in the second half of 2006:

(Key: Magazine title: Jan-Jun figures -Jul-Dec figures)

FHM: 420,688 (down 25%) - 371,263 (down 26%)
Loaded: 185,268 (down 22%) - 162,554 (down 30%)
Maxim: 146,043 (down 35%) - 131,497 (down 29%)
Nuts: 304,785 (down 1%) - 295,002 (down 4%)
Zoo: 228,024 (down 12%) - 204,564 (down 21%)

(The percentage down is compared to the corresponding period in 2005)

Its easy to see why this sector of the magazine publishing market would be effected so dramatically by the rise of online. Its main readership of 15-30 male's discect the long established strong hold of the internets primary user group- who are more likely than most to seek out their entertainment in more convenient, cheaper and fresher forms.

The move towards weekly publication with the release of Nuts & Zoo from the publishers of FHM and Loaded was a step towards bridging the immediacy of the online medium. Content needs to be more current in the digital age, it can't sit on a coffee table for a month before its updated- blogging is a powerful example of this immediacy.

In reality though printed media can never recreate the immediacy of the internet and hence all the mens magazines have moved online, releasing massive amounts of content for free simultaneously or just after release in the printed format. This was a big step but obviously a neccesary one and it would be near impossible to mediate the free replication of magazine content in scanned form across the web. At least with online the publishers get the option of a secondary but highly lucrative advertising stream as well as a prime opportunity to upsell the printed version of the magazine and offer premium rate services.

Another spin on the immediacy problem has been tackled by Monkey magazine from the publishers of Maxim who produce a twice weekly online magazine distributed through an email marketing list. This innovative approach to selling digital advertising space with premium content on a free distribution model seems like a good solution but not for the whole industry as its a market which could too easily become saturated. There's only so much email marketing anyone can stand even when its fully opt-in. Monkey was the fastest growing mens magazine in the first quarter of 2007 so it would be surprising if the others didn't try and jump on the bandwagon.

Ultimately the problem with mens magazine's may not be the distribution but the content. While the naked women are as popular as ever the jokes, news, stories and gadgets tend to be old and are often sourced from online origins. Its hard to see a bright future for printed media which recreates the online experience and sells it back at a cost or gives it away online.