• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, February 5, 2010

Hoping to boost their appeal to consumers forced to cut back during a severe economic downturn, big magazine publishers lowered their subscription prices substantially in 2009 -- but did not see increased demand for subscriptions, according to Jack Hanrahan, print vet who publishes CircMatters.

CircMatters, a magazine industry newsletter, surveyed subscription data from the Audit Bureau of Circulations for 344 magazines from the first half of 2002 and the first half of 2009. The analysis revealed that the average subscription price per issue fell about 7% over this period, from $1.70 to $1.58, with bigger magazines -- that is, magazines that sold more than 100,000 subscriptions in a six-month period -- lowering their sub price at roughly twice the rate of smaller magazines (10.5% versus 5.4%).

Of the 344 titles surveyed, 222 (65%) had a lower subscription price in 2009 than 2002. However, lowering subscription prices generally did not lead to higher sales -- in fact, it was often correlated with lower sales.

Hanrahan's survey found that of the 222 titles that lowered subscription prices, 164 (75%) also saw individual subscription sales fall, with more than half suffering losses of 20% or more in subscription sales between the first half of 2002 and the first half of 2009.

This "disturbing" data prompted a warning from Hanrahan that "the health of single copy sales may not be the only area of concern for the industry." He is especially concerned about a related development, with more magazine publishers seeking to boost circulation through sponsored subscriptions. "The recipient pays nothing for a subscription because the publisher is paid by the sponsor," and about which "we know little... in terms of reader quality and engagement."