We’re saved!

Lots of coverage today for ‘tablet editor-in-chief’ Mike Goldsmith of Future’s announcement that they made $1 million in just over 3 months of launching all 65 of their magazines on Apple’s Newsstand. The key figures are:

• 75,000 subscriptions gained
• 40 percent of orders are for subscriptions
• 9.3 million free container apps downloads
• 8.5 million free issues
• 4.3 million opt-ins for push messages

This has led to general rejoicing all round.

Obviously, it’s unlike me to be curmudgeonly, but let’s have a wee look at these numbers.

• First off – $1million of revenue in 104 days gives us around $3.5 million over a full year. That’s £2.25 million against Future’s revenue last year of £141 million.
• 75,000 subscriptions against 9.3 million downloads is under 1% conversion. If subs are 40% of sales, then the total must be around 200,000, which nudges just over 2% conversion.
• $1 million is just over $15,000 per title on average
• If the total sales are around 200,000, then the average sale value must be around $5 (which, actually, isn’t bad).

Two more points:

Many of the 75,000 subs are short-term and cost only £0.69 regularly, so Goldsmith cautions that subscriber count could go down as well as up and not all subscribers are high-value. [So where is the average $5 value coming from?]

All but three of Future’s iPad titles – T3, Guitarist Deluxe and Tap! – are page-turner magazine replicas. But Goldsmith said: “ If I did a T3 on every one of future’s 65 titles, I’d bankrupt the company. ”

And one quote that we can all agree with:

 “Print circulations are declining – we are not going to get them back up – iPad is helping. The genie is out of the bottle, so we need to embrace it.”

Abandon Ship

Given the breeze blowing in the Channel it’s somehow appropriate that Fast Ferry International has dropped anchor for the final time.

In this case – and in this case only – you are allowed to talk about a ‘perfect storm’.

Dead Moggies

And another specialist car magazine fails the MOT of viability as Minor Monthly Magazine closes the door and hands over the keys.

Lights Go Out

Short Circuit, a magazine devoted to stock car and hot rod racing has crossed the finish line. The publisher writes:

“sales are no longer sufficient to keep the printed version of the magazine going. I have made several cut-backs over the last few seasons to match the falling sales … and to make any further cutbacks in either content, quality or colour would see even less sales so it’s time to draw a line…after all it’s only fair to our loyal advertisers, and equally our long-standing (and long suffering!) contributors who have stood by us …. Publishing the magazine for 24 of the 35 years, it wasn’t just a job, or a hobby – it was a way of life.”

Early Bath

The Baptist Times is to close after 156 years of weekly print publication, writes Roy Greenslade, as is its website.

Goodnight All

IHS have announced the closure of Jane’s Police Review after 118 years of publishing.

In fact it’s not just the magazine that is getting retired:

the company … will be stopping publication of all the Police Review products …  including the magazine, website, police handbooks and the Gala Awards

Don’t have nightmares, do sleep well.

Pre-Packed Away

As suspected last week when it was discovered that Kick magazine had played its full 90 minutes, Attic Brand Media has gone into administration.

Titles that are likely to be closed are Kick, Kick Extra, Kraze Club and Merlin.
Appropriately for the publisher of a magazine about a legendary wizard, a company will emerge, phoenix-like, from the ashes of Attic to continue publishing National Geographic Kids.

A wonderful result all round! – except for creditors, contributors and most of the former staff of Attic of course.

Sick as a Parrot

Media Week reports that Kick magazine has been shown the red card by Attic Brand Media.

A possibly interesting sentence from the article about Attic itself:

The company’s main landlines have not been answered … since Wednesday (2 November).

Lack of Care

And another RBI print title discovers that the world is a cold and friendless place as it is announced that Community Care is to close.

Publishing director Trevor Parker said: “The upheaval in the public sector has seen advertisers question the value of print advertising [and] print recruitment revenues falling by 86 per cent in the last five years”

Early Retirement

Tweet

It’s proving to be a hard winter for pensions titles. Following on from the FT’s axing of Pensions Management, today’s post brings a copy of an email from Nick Rapley, MD of Incisive:

After much consideration we have decided to discontinue publishing Global Pensions and ETFM. [Exchange Trade Funds Magazine - but you knew that already didn't you.]

There are various cyclical and structural challenges at play which combined make the continuation of these brands untenable.

If any of you live next door to a pensions magazine, it might be worth popping round to check if they’re okay.

[Thanks to John for the lead on this]