• by Erik Sass , September 12, 2007

The two best-known magazines for gay readers, Out and The Advocate, suffered big drops in ad pages and newsstand sales during the first half of the year--making 2007 the second year of double-digit declines for the titles.

During the first six months of 2007, the Advocate's ad pages plummeted 41.9%, to 251--while Out is down 20.4% to 272, compared to the same period of 2006, according to the Publishers Information Bureau. These disappointing results follow a rough 2006, when The Advocate's total ad pages fell 17.1% and Out 12.2%, compared to 2005.

These downturns are especially noteworthy because overall ad spending on gay media is booming.

According to the most recent edition of the Gay Press Report, produced by Prime Access Inc. and Rivendell Media, ad spending in gay and lesbian publications reached $223.5 million in 2006--a 205% increase from 1996. Observers trace this increase to a new understanding among advertisers that appearing in gay media can build intense customer loyalty. Indeed, the Gay Press Report notes that "as a group, gay and lesbian consumers hold greater brand loyalty than do their straight counterparts." Overall, gays and lesbians dispose of about $641 billion in spending power.

So why are the two most recognizable publications suffering?

Rivendell and Prime Access track a number of different kinds of publications, in addition to national magazines. They found big increases in spending for local newspapers (24.7%) and resource guides (116.7%). Both publications appeal to local advertisers that want to reach this niche community. Out and The Advocate may also be losing ground to other national magazines like Genre and Instinct, which tend to be somewhat racier. The Gay Press Report pegs ad pages in gay national magazines growing 91.6% since 2005.

Of course, the magazines also face competition from the Internet. Gays and lesbians are early adopters of online media, including social network-style sites on the Internet. Nobody knows this better than the publisher of The Advocate and Out--PlanetOut, an Internet company that bought LPI Media, the mags' original publisher, in 2006. PlanetOut operates a number of popular Web sites, including PlanetOut.com, Gay.Com, and Kleptomaniac.com. So far, online success doesn't seem to be translating to print.