What happened to the Electronic Magazines?

[SeanB]

Don't forget with print the most common method of distribution is via the "sale or return" method, so your print run of say 20 000 copies goes out on the 15th of the month to the distributor network, is on the shelf till the end of the next month ( for a monthly mag, longer for things that are quarterly or every 2 months) and then you get either a return of unsold copies, or a statement of scrapped copies around a month later, along with the sales figures for the ones sold, and the money for them less shipping costs and invoicing costs. Thus your income is generally 3 months behind the sale, and you can lose up to half the sale to returns.

Even worse for international sales, where you can have a 3 month shipping delay for the issue, and then another 3 months in the foreign country before you get even a statement of sale. Subscribers are slightly more lucky, you at least have a good idea of the number of sales, and while you do have to package them individually ( and if you are lucky you also choose a posting country to get a cheap rate, which is why your Elektor magazine is postmarked Schipol Airport, even if it was printed in the UK) and label them, plus sort per country as well, you at least have the money either 3, 6, 12 or 24 months in advance, in most cases non refundable as well.

The PDF versions is generally the best option for international sales, no cost above your server cost for the website, and slightly more for a CDN that handles the subscriber login and tracking the downloads per user to reduce piracy, often by either watermarking the PDF file itself, or using a (barf!) flash player on line. For a publisher with large numbers of international customers this is a very big customer base, and having no dead tree editions is a big cost cutter, as international magazine post, though cheap for the mass, is not a low cost item when you are driving a 10 ton truck to the post office a few times for different destination cut off points.

[Specmaster]

Don't forget with print the most common method of distribution is via the "sale or return" method, so your print run of say 20 000 copies goes out on the 15th of the month to the distributor network, is on the shelf till the end of the next month ( for a monthly mag, longer for things that are quarterly or every 2 months) and then you get either a return of unsold copies, or a statement of scrapped copies around a month later, along with the sales figures for the ones sold, and the money for them less shipping costs and invoicing costs. Thus your income is generally 3 months behind the sale, and you can lose up to half the sale to returns.

Even worse for international sales, where you can have a 3 month shipping delay for the issue, and then another 3 months in the foreign country before you get even a statement of sale. Subscribers are slightly more lucky, you at least have a good idea of the number of sales, and while you do have to package them individually ( and if you are lucky you also choose a posting country to get a cheap rate, which is why your Elektor magazine is postmarked Schipol Airport, even if it was printed in the UK) and label them, plus sort per country as well, you at least have the money either 3, 6, 12 or 24 months in advance, in most cases non refundable as well.

The PDF versions is generally the best option for international sales, no cost above your server cost for the website, and slightly more for a CDN that handles the subscriber login and tracking the downloads per user to reduce piracy, often by either watermarking the PDF file itself, or using a (barf!) flash player on line. For a publisher with large numbers of international customers this is a very big customer base, and having no dead tree editions is a big cost cutter, as international magazine post, though cheap for the mass, is not a low cost item when you are driving a 10 ton truck to the post office a few times for different destination cut off points.

All these points are good ones, hence a pdf version makes good sense, no delivery, no returns etc.

[W2NAP]

There are really only two mainstream platforms anymore, Windows and Mac.

You mean Android and Windows, right?

https://techcrunch.com/2017/04/03/statcounter-android-windows/

what is this windows you speak of good sir? I use linux (fedora) I thought you GNU?

Anyways. only mag i get is QST from ARRL and that is just cause I am a ARRL member, for the most part I ain't really read mags in years, just find stuff online.

[Specmaster]

There are really only two mainstream platforms anymore, Windows and Mac.

You mean Android and Windows, right?

https://techcrunch.com/2017/04/03/statcounter-android-windows/

what is this windows you speak of good sir? I use linux (fedora) I thought you GNU?

Anyways. only mag i get is QST from ARRL and that is just cause I am a ARRL member, for the most part I ain't really read mags in years, just find stuff online.

As I understand it the whole idea of a PDF was that it was readable on any platform so a document only has to be created once and can be read across multiple platforms to enable things like magazines to made available at minimal cost to people otherwise they would have to make a version for each operating system and that would just add extra unwanted costs and burden on the publishers trying to get the copies ready for launch simultaneously across all platforms, a real nightmare.

[Mr. Scram]

Don't forget with print the most common method of distribution is via the "sale or return" method, so your print run of say 20 000 copies goes out on the 15th of the month to the distributor network, is on the shelf till the end of the next month ( for a monthly mag, longer for things that are quarterly or every 2 months) and then you get either a return of unsold copies, or a statement of scrapped copies around a month later, along with the sales figures for the ones sold, and the money for them less shipping costs and invoicing costs. Thus your income is generally 3 months behind the sale, and you can lose up to half the sale to returns.

Even worse for international sales, where you can have a 3 month shipping delay for the issue, and then another 3 months in the foreign country before you get even a statement of sale. Subscribers are slightly more lucky, you at least have a good idea of the number of sales, and while you do have to package them individually ( and if you are lucky you also choose a posting country to get a cheap rate, which is why your Elektor magazine is postmarked Schipol Airport, even if it was printed in the UK) and label them, plus sort per country as well, you at least have the money either 3, 6, 12 or 24 months in advance, in most cases non refundable as well.

The PDF versions is generally the best option for international sales, no cost above your server cost for the website, and slightly more for a CDN that handles the subscriber login and tracking the downloads per user to reduce piracy, often by either watermarking the PDF file itself, or using a (barf!) flash player on line. For a publisher with large numbers of international customers this is a very big customer base, and having no dead tree editions is a big cost cutter, as international magazine post, though cheap for the mass, is not a low cost item when you are driving a 10 ton truck to the post office a few times for different destination cut off points.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating and very few, effectively none of the traditional magazines seem to make the transition without taking a huge beating. It seems to be a lot more complicated than this.

[Specmaster]

Don't forget with print the most common method of distribution is via the "sale or return" method, so your print run of say 20 000 copies goes out on the 15th of the month to the distributor network, is on the shelf till the end of the next month ( for a monthly mag, longer for things that are quarterly or every 2 months) and then you get either a return of unsold copies, or a statement of scrapped copies around a month later, along with the sales figures for the ones sold, and the money for them less shipping costs and invoicing costs. Thus your income is generally 3 months behind the sale, and you can lose up to half the sale to returns.

Even worse for international sales, where you can have a 3 month shipping delay for the issue, and then another 3 months in the foreign country before you get even a statement of sale. Subscribers are slightly more lucky, you at least have a good idea of the number of sales, and while you do have to package them individually ( and if you are lucky you also choose a posting country to get a cheap rate, which is why your Elektor magazine is postmarked Schipol Airport, even if it was printed in the UK) and label them, plus sort per country as well, you at least have the money either 3, 6, 12 or 24 months in advance, in most cases non refundable as well.

The PDF versions is generally the best option for international sales, no cost above your server cost for the website, and slightly more for a CDN that handles the subscriber login and tracking the downloads per user to reduce piracy, often by either watermarking the PDF file itself, or using a (barf!) flash player on line. For a publisher with large numbers of international customers this is a very big customer base, and having no dead tree editions is a big cost cutter, as international magazine post, though cheap for the mass, is not a low cost item when you are driving a 10 ton truck to the post office a few times for different destination cut off points.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating and very few, effectively none of the traditional magazines seem to make the transition without taking a huge beating. It seems to be a lot more complicated than this.

I think the biggest problem maybe the way it has been handled, it probably needs to be done gradually by offering both versions for a while and making the PDF one so attractive price wise that you get a lot of existing subscribers switch at their next renewal date and then at a later date you announce withdrawal of the paper version and I would suspect that the majority would just accept the change and pocket the savings. What would be lost is the impulse purchase as there would be no physical presence sitting the retailers shelf to entice people.

Perhaps publishers should get together and run some website together and get the name banded about so anyone looking for a magazine automatically goes to that site and all online magazines of what ever discipline or publisher, are there for all to see what's available and have contact / subscription links on the site. Do it right and the site would be well known and the site of choice for magazines in the same way as Google and Bing are for search engines.

[nctnico]

The PDF versions is generally the best option for international sales, no cost above your server cost for the website, and slightly more for a CDN that handles the subscriber login and tracking the downloads per user to reduce piracy, often by either watermarking the PDF file itself, or using a (barf!) flash player on line. For a publisher with large numbers of international customers this is a very big customer base, and having no dead tree editions is a big cost cutter, as international magazine post, though cheap for the mass, is not a low cost item when you are driving a 10 ton truck to the post office a few times for different destination cut off points.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating and very few, effectively none of the traditional magazines seem to make the transition without taking a huge beating. It seems to be a lot more complicated than this.

IMHO one of the biggest problems is that traditional media companies think too much in old technology and want to keep control. Internet has changed all that and customers have way more control than they used to have. For example: in 1995 I started downloading music in MP3 format from internet and since then it has become easier and easier AND FREE! Only recently the music distributors seem to have gotten their heads around that proprietary formats and playback hardware are not going to work. So finally after more than 20 years you can pay and download MP3s from them in an easy way without any copyright protection.

[ferdieCX]

I tried subscribing to a pdf only magazine for a while, it was ok but I found I didn't enjoy it nearly as much as flipping through a real magazine. I was hoping someone would make a magazine-sized color e-ink reader but that doesn't seem to be happening.

I am also waiting for an A4 sized e-ink reader. Reading a long PDF in the computer screen is a pain in the neck, it is a lot more difficult to concentrate on it. The tablets, with their usually glossy and quite small screens are not much better. In the meantime, I just copy the PDFs to mi old iBook with 14 inch mate screen, sit down in a couch and put it on my lap in vertical position, like a real book.

[james_s]

There are really only two mainstream platforms anymore, Windows and Mac.

You mean Android and Windows, right?

https://techcrunch.com/2017/04/03/statcounter-android-windows/

what is this windows you speak of good sir? I use linux (fedora) I thought you GNU?

Anyways. only mag i get is QST from ARRL and that is just cause I am a ARRL member, for the most part I ain't really read mags in years, just find stuff online.

I'm well aware of Linux, it's on my primary machine at work and I have several Linux boxes at home as well but let's be realistic here, on the consumer desktop/laptop Linux penetration is negligible. Android is a mobile platform, not desktop. There are two mainstream platforms, Windows and Mac, with Windows holding a nearly 90% market share, that's simply a fact.

[Cerebus]

There are really only two mainstream platforms anymore, Windows and Mac.

You mean Android and Windows, right?

https://techcrunch.com/2017/04/03/statcounter-android-windows/

what is this windows you speak of good sir? I use linux (fedora) I thought you GNU?

Anyways. only mag i get is QST from ARRL and that is just cause I am a ARRL member, for the most part I ain't really read mags in years, just find stuff online.

I'm well aware of Linux, it's on my primary machine at work and I have several Linux boxes at home as well but let's be realistic here, on the consumer desktop/laptop Linux penetration is negligible. Android is a mobile platform, not desktop. There are two mainstream platforms, Windows and Mac, with Windows holding a nearly 90% market share, that's simply a fact.

Please children, can we not get into playground 'my platform can beat your platform up' arguments here - there are already 2000 odd threads that have descended into that morass, let's not make this another one. The truth is that your platforms are all down the pub together, moaning to each other that their users have no respect nowadays, listen to music that all sounds the same and all need a haircut and a proper suit.

[Cerebus]

Somewhere we need to throw into the mix that publisher's ad revenues are declining too. That much is obvious from the shrinking number of print advertising pages.

[Specmaster]

Somewhere we need to throw into the mix that publisher's ad revenues are declining too. That much is obvious from the shrinking number of print advertising pages.

Very true, the more we look the more complex gets 

[Specmaster]

There are really only two mainstream platforms anymore, Windows and Mac.

You mean Android and Windows, right?

https://techcrunch.com/2017/04/03/statcounter-android-windows/

what is this windows you speak of good sir? I use linux (fedora) I thought you GNU?

Anyways. only mag i get is QST from ARRL and that is just cause I am a ARRL member, for the most part I ain't really read mags in years, just find stuff online.

There are at least 3 other PDF readers available for Linux see here https://www.linux.com/news/3-alternatives-adobe-pdf-reader-linux

[nctnico]

There are at least 3 other PDF readers available for Linux see here https://www.linux.com/news/3-alternatives-adobe-pdf-reader-linux

Side note: Unfortunately none of the alternative PDF readers I tried allowed to disable font & image anti-aliasing and thus are completely useless to me and others having problems focussing on anti-aliased text.

[floobydust]

I can't help but compare the magazine industry to the music industry.

Physical media (CD's) costs- it was supposed to be cheaper going digital.
Gone is the distributor's fat and overhead, no brick-and-mortar stores stocking CD's and DVD's, zero media cost aside from a website (i.e. iTunes or Spotify).

The graph shows old media's decline, although vinyl is making a small comeback.

But piracy has thrived and torrents with PDF's or ePub etc. lower sales. 
I've only used one or two secure PDF readers, specialty viewers for secure documents. Right now, a PDF magazine is freely available for all to read, if you have the file.

graph with adjusted numbers from: http://theunderstatement.com/post/3362645556/the-real-death-of-the-music-industry

[iampoor]

I can't help but compare the magazine industry to the music industry.

True. Its also why bands had so much money and effort poured into the "singles" on the CD. Ultimately if you liked the single, you would purchase the CD, and then hopefully like the other 9-12 tracks. I think magazines face a similar problem, just like the music industry, there is less space for filler content. 

[james_s]

I have zero sympathy for the RIAA. They spent decades screwing over everyone they could, then when digital came along instead of adapting they fought it tooth and nail, refusing to set up a legal avenue for digital distribution and once piracy became the norm they still refused digital that wasn't hobbled by draconian DRM. Then they started extorting money from customers threatening to sue anyone who may have downloaded anything if they didn't settle out of court, that being cheaper than trying to prove one's innocence. Prior to that there was the ridiculous hyperbola over people recording music off the radio with cassette decks. Personally I hope that industry does die, music will survive, it's been around since the dawn of humanity. The only time I buy new music anymore is when I can buy it directly from the artists, otherwise I buy used vinyl or CDs.

[ferdieCX]

Hi, speaking about Magazines, I would like to ask for some help from the people in Australia.
Do you know if the AWA Tech. Rev. is available somewhere on-line ?
I am trying to find an article from the A.W.A. Technical Review Vol. 6 Issue 4, March 1944,  page 193
Rudd, J.B. "Theory and Design of radio-frequency transformers" 

[CatalinaWOW]

This thread seems to blame economics for the demise of electronics magazines, although there is disagreement about the details.  I think content is an equally big issue, which failed horribly in the US.  I have been a subscriber to many of the electronics/computer magazines here in the US, and continue to hold a subscription to the sole survivor - Nuts and Volts.  They all have deserved to die.  I keep the Nuts and Volts subscription going out of loyalty to the medium, nothing else.

Content has been victim many things.  Many of the simple projects which were bread and butter to these magazines in the 50's, 60's and 70's like intermittent windshield washer timers, light dimmers and the like are now available dirt cheap in a nice package.   Easy to obtain components are getting smaller and require specialized equipment to work with.  Legal liability has killed off the most of the Tesla coils, electromagnetic guns and solid state welder type projects.  But most importantly, there don't seem to be many good ideas or authors out there.

Leading to bizarre stuff.  Radio Electronics magazine was publishing New Age foo foo stuff prior to their demise.  Nuts and Volts has published articles on how to blink an LED on every microcomputer in every language there is.  I open Nuts and Volts and finish scanning/reading in just a few minutes.  Nothing of interest.

You could reduce the publishing costs to zero and this stuff would have trouble surviving.

[james_s]

Leading to bizarre stuff.  Radio Electronics magazine was publishing New Age foo foo stuff prior to their demise.  Nuts and Volts has published articles on how to blink an LED on every microcomputer in every language there is.  I open Nuts and Volts and finish scanning/reading in just a few minutes.  Nothing of interest.

You could reduce the publishing costs to zero and this stuff would have trouble surviving.

I don't recall the new age stuff in Radio Electronics, is there an example that comes to mind? I have years of that magazine I subscribed to up until their demise, been a while since I've looked at the later ones.

Much of the reason for the last point is that virtually all of that same content is already available online. Very few projects in Nuts & Volts are unique, with almost any of them I can easily find a similar project documented on some random web page. I too have noticed that it takes me about 5 minutes to read an entire issue, the most recent one is so thin I almost tossed it into the recycle bin with the rest of the junkmail flyers until I got a better look and realized it was a magazine.

[cdev]

Journalism globally generally needs some new business models !

The Web is a hugely positive thing - not the villian many frame it as, but its original promise is being frustrated in a lot of different ways.

[Convolution]

I've worked as a school teacher. The issue with electronics at schools (particularly in Australia) is students are passive consumers rather than active "makers". This occurs in electronics, computing and software.

The only electronics I've taught has been with the Raspberry Pi and robotics.

One very accomplished student, who is now studying electronic engineering, had no real electronics knowledge, did not have a soldering iron. But he is a whiz at advanced maths, which he needed to get him into a top university.

I have been interested in electronics since age six. You don't see this interest in schools.

[Specmaster]

I've worked as a school teacher. The issue with electronics at schools (particularly in Australia) is students are passive consumers rather than active "makers". This occurs in electronics, computing and software.

The only electronics I've taught has been with the Raspberry Pi and robotics.

One very accomplished student, who is now studying electronic engineering, had no real electronics knowledge, did not have a soldering iron. But he is a whiz at advanced maths, which he needed to get him into a top university.

I have been interested in electronics since age six. You don't see this interest in schools.

In a roundabout way you have almost proved my point, What is there is there to stimulate peoples interest in electronics, no real magazines to speak of, those that are still hanging on lack anything of real interest as has been mentioned and what there is plenty of, and indeed you have taught it as well, is micro controllers such as Raspberry Pi and Arduinos, where are the electronics engineers that we need going to come from in years to come? We need people with skills to both repair electronics beyond just swapping out modules, and we also need those with the design skills to keep the momentum rolling forwards.

[CatalinaWOW]

Leading to bizarre stuff.  Radio Electronics magazine was publishing New Age foo foo stuff prior to their demise.  Nuts and Volts has published articles on how to blink an LED on every microcomputer in every language there is.  I open Nuts and Volts and finish scanning/reading in just a few minutes.  Nothing of interest.

You could reduce the publishing costs to zero and this stuff would have trouble surviving.

I don't recall the new age stuff in Radio Electronics, is there an example that comes to mind? I have years of that magazine I subscribed to up until their demise, been a while since I've looked at the later ones.

Much of the reason for the last point is that virtually all of that same content is already available online. Very few projects in Nuts & Volts are unique, with almost any of them I can easily find a similar project documented on some random web page. I too have noticed that it takes me about 5 minutes to read an entire issue, the most recent one is so thin I almost tossed it into the recycle bin with the rest of the junkmail flyers until I got a better look and realized it was a magazine.

Articles on pyramid power and the possibility that the Egyptian pyramids were actually giant transmitters.  I wrote the editors on this - they apologized and commented that they were short on material.

[vk6zgo]

"Electronics Australia" decided the way to go was to dump all the Technical stuff & become "an Electronics lifestyle magazine".
That lasted one issue & the mag folded!

I actually bought that issue, & all it really contained was the same stuff you could pick up free at any of the large white goods/ computer/ HI-FI stores.