Lad's Mags in Decline, Female Glossies Next ?

Tough Times for British Mags: ABC circulation figures just in
Ten years ago, when Loaded was at its peak, it was selling 600,000 copies a month, and this week the ABC's revealed they are just selling 120,492. FHM, MAXIM mags are in decline too, even the new boys on the blocks Nuts and Zoo seem to be in a tailspin (I always associate these titles with the 90's, you know Oasis, drinking stunts, gross injury photos and toilet reads), nothing wrong with that, but I wonder if guys have moved on from this?

Overall, it appears as though the British magazine market seems to have stagnated, even with delivery of new titles, especially in the celebrity market, there is little growth or promising news. Only Grazia seems to be going strong, validating my theory that they do get straight to the nitty-gritty of what women like to read and in a beautifully designed format (proving those five-same-cover stories seem to work). They are selling an incredible 700,000 a month. Also one my fav mag's Psychologies has grown to selling 130,101 a month.

The titles that seem the most vulnerable are the woman's monthlies. For example, New Woman, which is a brand I already find quite confusing (it goes for mostly British female, quite c-list famous women as cover stories) has dropped from 231,785 to 126,805 in sales. Apparently ELLE, Vogue, Harpers Bazaar sell the same. What about posh-mag Tatler, well looking on the ABC's it sells 90,125 a month. Empire my film mag of choice for many many years: 179,373.

What does this all mean for the future of mags? Well I think they will be having to think more about their online sites, and making it more interactive. When you got Perez and Pinkisthenewblog posting every ten mins new celeb photos and woman goss sites like dailymail.co.uk/thesunonline - why buy the mags and papers? I also read on my mobile the news every morning and headlines, so I am sure we are moving to more digital type info and photos. I am not sure how they can stay relevant and valuable reads, when their pull is meant to be about revelatory celebrity, fashion, relationships stories, online delivers it much faster, and it all seems old hat by time it goes to print. The print versions do rely on exclusives, great pics and really original features. Hmm, thinking hats on... I don't want an empty newsagent and just OK mag selling (still with Jordan and Peter) for next 20 years!