Magazine Sales are Dead - How to fix em!

[JAGO]

Magazine sales are dead . . . Years ago I mentioned to Shawn Perine that they should re-issue all Muscle Builder & Power mags from 72 to 79. Re-issue them exactly as they were, include current ads with current products the adds formatted to blend in to the continuity of the format ( in the editorial section, tell readers the old add no longer are relevant howeve,r are there for issue integrity. ) Picture Redcon1 ( and other ) ads in a 70's format . . . don't overwhelm the mag with too many adds in print . . . put them at the end with discount codes if used from that issues add. You'd have 84 issues which would SELL OUT BIG TIME.

J

[funk51]

and those of us from the 60's would like to see these reprinted.

[stuntmovie]

I think that this is one hell of a great idea even though it would not help the current magazine publishers.

There is tons of more interest in the good old days of bodybuilding than there even was in them good old days!

I think it was this here internet that brought this monumental bodybuilding interest to the front and made it more popular that anyone previously thought/antiipated.

BUT ...... Good thinking, JACO!

[The Keto Kid]

The only way for these company's to make money again is to charge a membership fee for their content, just like the magazines before the internet, people had to buy the magazines to see photos from a show, training and nutrition info, and contest placings. Instead they just give it out for free, MD, Rx, Flex, etc.. if they charged a monthly membership of lets say $5-10, to unlimited access to all video content, contest coverage, articles, forums, etc...this is the only way. But they just put it out there for free.

[BSN]

Many old original magazines are selling quite cheaply on the internet. Only a few MB with Arnold on the cover have a higher price

[Powerlift66]

JAGO, old school historians/collectors like Funk and I would love it I'm sure.
New age twinks? Not so much, they just love their YouTube druggie heroes, trolling Blaha, etc.

Your thought is right on point though, a great idea if the BB world wasn't so retarded and lame.

[BB]

The new kids mostly don't care about about the oldtimers enough to pay for them at the rate they'd probably charge. Also most folks don't want a physical magazine, let alone 100s of them floating around the house, so you'd maybe have to go PDF style, but then that raises another problem with piracy. Almost every fitness ebook winds up getting knocked off sooner or later, and magazines are some of the quickest it happens too.

Best way to handle it is to have an intern (or an old schmoe) scan them in, then offer the PDFs at a buck or two. They should do something with all that old material, but I doubt they will.

[BSN]

Some contests from early 70s Muscle Builder mag. are printed on color and porous pages making it difficult to scan at a good resolution. I never understood why they chose to publish articles with photos from IFBB competitions ( including Mr Olympia) on that kind of paper

[JAGO]

The new kids mostly don't care about about the oldtimers enough to pay for them at the rate they'd probably charge. Also most folks don't want a physical magazine, let alone 100s of them floating around the house, so you'd maybe have to go PDF style, but then that raises another problem with piracy. Almost every fitness ebook winds up getting knocked off sooner or later, and magazines are some of the quickest it happens too.

Best way to handle it is to have an intern (or an old schmoe) scan them in, then offer the PDFs at a buck or two. They should do something with all that old material, but I doubt they will.

Yes, but do you think that with the advent of classic and physique contests, it may cater to that crowd? Or would a transition to that format be a magazine itself?

J

[Simple Simon]

Some contests from early 70s Muscle Builder mag. are printed on color and porous pages making it difficult to scan at a good resolution. I never understood why they chose to publish articles with photos from IFBB competitions ( including Mr Olympia) on that kind of paper

and difficult to wipe off the jizz...

[BB]

Yes, but do you think that with the advent of classic and physique contests, it may cater to that crowd? Or would a transition to that format be a magazine itself?

J

The classic and physique guys should probably have their own section of an existing magazine. They should work it like the old yellow Ironman. Regular bodybuilding a few pages, classic and physique a few pages, PL/WL/Strongman a few, and finally the women's stuff. That was one of the nice things about Ironman back then, it had something for everyone.

Reprinting (by scanning) the old stuff should be like when the magazines had back issue services, only this time if they ran it right, it could a lot quicker. I recently had to buy a few back issues of an old magazine. It was flawless, took maybe 2 minutes tops. This was a smaller magazine too, with a circulation of about 40,000 people. I can't see why they can't stick an intern on it. I was only half joking about the schmoe angle too. I bet you could get one to do it for minimum wage, a set of the mags, and a pat on the back.

[Mr Anabolic]

It's due to all the techie snowflakes.. who have way too many other distractions.  Most kids now days couldn't care a less about developing large muscles.  They care much more about the newest iphone, social media and/or the latest internet based video game.

[Powerlift66]

and difficult to wipe off the jizz...

Jeff, LMAO 

Truth...

[tres_taco_combo]

the best place to buy porn mags as a kid was the pawn shop.

gross, cheap, cash only, they didnt card.

i prolly got hep B cuz of it

[TRIX]

i use to buy the musclemag magazines, it was less gay, because you had the girls on the cover and multipage spread of agirl in the middle

buying a mag like MD with a guy flexing was awkward....

so i stopped

would only buy if an old lady was serving the counter lol


vs

[funk51]

Many old original magazines are selling quite cheaply on the internet. Only a few MB with Arnold on the cover have a higher price

                             depends what you call cheap go on ebay and check prices on any mags from the 60's in good shape. particularly iron man mag. it's also nice to have the first issues of mags.

[Pet shop boys]

Magazine sales are dead . . . Years ago I mentioned to Shawn Perine that they should re-issue all Muscle Builder & Power mags from 72 to 79. Re-issue them exactly as they were, include current ads with current products the adds formatted to blend in to the continuity of the format ( in the editorial section, tell readers the old add no longer are relevant howeve,r are there for issue integrity. ) Picture Redcon1 ( and other ) ads in a 70's format . . . don't overwhelm the mag with too many adds in print . . . put them at the end with discount codes if used from that issues add. You'd have 84 issues which would SELL OUT BIG TIME.

J

Great idea ...the nostalgia factor will be huge !


WooSHHHHHH 

[Matt]

Magazine sales are dead . . . Years ago I mentioned to Shawn Perine that they should re-issue all Muscle Builder & Power mags from 72 to 79. Re-issue them exactly as they were, include current ads with current products the adds formatted to blend in to the continuity of the format ( in the editorial section, tell readers the old add no longer are relevant howeve,r are there for issue integrity. ) Picture Redcon1 ( and other ) ads in a 70's format . . . don't overwhelm the mag with too many adds in print . . . put them at the end with discount codes if used from that issues add. You'd have 84 issues which would SELL OUT BIG TIME.

J

I like this idea, but how big is the market for any magazine at all these days?  Is there anything at this point that will revive the industry?

[NotMrAverage]

My former boss that i wrote for in b&k sportsmag over has been stated "if you want to start a succesfull mag in 2017 it has to be very small ciche and cater to a specific audience. The idea of the threadstarter is actually a good one!

[BSN]

Many articles and pictures, especially with Arnold, have been republished in the Weider magazines for years. I'm looking forward to see rare, unpublished photos, from Weider's archives. Not the same photos reprinted hundreds of times

[Joe Pietaro]

I love the retro stuff myself and would be interested in those; excellent idea by the OP. But that would probably never happen in the place of current issues. Maybe as a reprint set, one-shot or hardcover.

But the contemporary mags like Flex and MD put out the same shit month-after-month and the excuse that print is dead doesn't wash when those titles are also offered digitally and they still are not doing well on that platform.

Bias aside, my magazine is completely different from the mainstream and while I can only afford a small print run, the digital editions get very impressive hits. So I know that good content is appreciated by the demographic.

[Mobil]

if mags ever made a comeback...my idea is this... get old retired pros...no ghost writing bs... they write how they speak(even if everything is misspelled and grammatical errors) and give detailed circumstances what they had endured as pros. plus openly talk about the drug usage. that will help bring mags back somewhat...just my opinion. that would gain my interest

[funk51]

i wonder how this 3 volume set sold  for bob kennedy..

[thatrandomguy#7]

every other magazine now has Arnold or some other guy from the 70s or 80s on the cover anyway. you old farts rushing out to purchase those?

young guys who thought they could end up looking like those guys are who bought the magazines back then.

Arnie and Lou aren't relevant and the new pros looks like shit and teens today would rather look like a UFC fighter than a pro BB

and young guys just are not buying magazines. articles and pics all over the internet, why bother? 

what you are proposing and Unnatural O's new book will have a certain niche audience but that's it. Like the music fanatic who has every B side, live recording, imported only from London club mix single of his favorite band. 99.9% could give two fucks. 

[ProudVirgin69]

Journalism as a whole is dying, Youtube and other social media is the way forward