List rental prices depressed by profusion of rentable e-mail addresses

Time was, magazines could rely on a nice chunk of change from renting out their subscriber lists, often to other magazines. Then things got a bit tighter as lists shrank because of privacy concerns and legislation requiring people to be given the opportunity to opt out, which they did. 

Now, apparently, the surge of available e-mail lists means that list prices are being pushed down, says a story from Audience Development. According to list marketing agency Worldata's 2013 list pricing, there has been a 26 per cent increase in the availability of rentable e-mail addresses in one year, while average pricing for consumer magazine lists have dropped 2% to about $91 a thousand names. Controlled and b2b lists have remained flat. Permission-based consumer e-mail lists now rent for $72/M, a 10% decrease since Winter 2012.