U.S. magazine startups steady in 2008

Some good news comes from Samir Husni, the "Mr Magazine" of the University of Mississippi whose tally of magazine startups shows that slightly more new magazines were launched in the U.S. in 2008 than in 2007.

Our final tally of new magazine launches reveal that in 2008 a total of 715 new magazines were launched compared with 713 in 2007. Of note is that this number exceeds all predictions (including mine) that the number of new launches in 2008 will be down. Of more interest is the number of new launches 20 years ago totaled 491 new magazines. Of course, for those of us with short memories, there was no internet in 1988.

While the number of magazines published with a 4x frequency or more continues to witness declines in the last few years, the number of annuals and specials are on an increase. Publishers are finding solace in all those book-a-zines in which the cover price ranges from $9.95 to $14.95. Even the annuals have taken a back seat to all those specials that have no frequency commitment (lovingly referred to in our industry as one-shots).

He also provides a chart showing the trends of magazine launches of various frequencies over the past 20 years: