• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, April 19, 2010

Spring is bringing more signs of hope for the magazine business, with monthly magazines enjoying a 3.2% boost in total ad pages in May 2010 compared to the same month last year -- growing to 10,812, according to new figures from the Media Industry Newsletter.

This is the first real increase in many months, coming on the heels of a modest 0.04% decline in April. Overall, ad pages for the year-to-date are still down 1.9%, at 45,889.

The rising tide didn't lift all boats, however. Overall, 91 of the 154 monthly titles tracked by MIN (59%) saw ad pages increase in May. Of these, 28 (18% of the total) experienced single-digit percentage gains, 27 (17.5% of the total) grew 10%-19%, and the remainder (23% of the total) grew 20% or more.

However, 27 titles saw ad pages decline less than 10%, while 13 (8% of the total) suffered declines of 10%-19.9%, and the rest (23 titles, or 15% of the total) dropped 20% or more.

These "top-heavy" results -- with big percentage losses and gains both concentrated in a few dozen titles -- suggest the magazine business is experiencing another shakeout as the recovery begins. Unlike the broad recoveries that followed previous recessions, this rebound appears to be limited and specific, with certain categories, like beauty and fashion, leading the way, while others -- automotive and shelter -- still lag behind.

Still, the overall growth in May is a welcome sign that the long decline in magazine ad pages may finally be over. In the first quarter of 2010, the Publishers Information Bureau reported that total ad pages declined yet again with an overall drop of 9.4%, making it the ninth consecutive quarter of losses for the industry.