US magazine industry sees signs of recovery

By Katherine Levy, mediaweek.co.uk, Wednesday, 27 April 2011 11:10AM

The magazine industry in the United States has seen a burst of new launches on the newsstand in the first quarter of 2011, according to reports.

Plum Magazine: US magazine launched in March

During the period, 54 new magazine titles were launched, including Plum Miami, Gourmet Italian Kitchen and Harmony Magazine, double the 25 launched in the first quarter of 2010.

Regional interest, food and women's titles were the most popular categories for magazine publishers to launch into.

Twenty-five magazines folded during the quarter, the same as in Q1 2010.

The net total of magazines in circulation in the US increased by 22.

Reports claim the crafts category saw the biggest losses in 2011's first quarter, with titles including Access Direct TV, Continental and Parade HealthyStyle axed.

Fipp, the global magazine trade body, reported that the UK saw 106 cross-border magazine launches in the 12 months to September 2010, according to its World Magazine Trends 2010-2011.

News of the reinvigoration of the American magazine industry comes as the UK gears up for the annual magazine conference held by the PPA, the Professional Publishers Association, on Wednesday 4 May.

Feargal Sharkey, chief executive of UK Music, will be the speaker for the event's 'Inspiration' opening session.

This article was first published on mediaweek.co.uk