News: October 2011 Archives

Fast News for October 6, 2011

Fast News for October 6, 2011

SPD MEDIA MIX is our regular list of publication design, digital, and media news and updates. Please send your links and news items to SPD at mail@spd.org and we'll add them to the Mix. In other news today...

>> Spinning Down: After 26 years as the premier monthly magazine for alternative music, SPIN is going bimonthly. Starting in March 2012, SPIN's print edition will be published 6x/year, but in a larger format similar to its original size. Last March the magazine introduced an iPad app, SPIN Play, and it has also been developing various digital features like a remix app for its dance-themed October issue. Budget Travel recently announced a similarly reduced publishing schedule. We asked SPIN Creative Director Devin Pedzwater to tell us a little bit more about going bigger but less often:
We looked at our market very closely and determined that the SPIN brand needed to transition from a magazine to a multi-platform media company with a substantial print offering. People look to SPIN magazine for powerful stories and iconic photography. Frankly, our current format just doesn't deliver on that promise. At 9.5" x 12" with much better paper and more edit pages, we'll have the opportunity to REALLY show what we can do.

The successful launch of SPIN Play showed us that our audience responds well to a user-centric digital experience that's inline with the aesthetic of the magazine. We need to apply that thinking to the overall digital space. My creative dream team: Ian Robinson, Michelle Egiziano and Jennifer Edmondson, and I are working on ways to apply our visual storytelling methods to SPIN.com and SPIN Mobile.

We're fortunate to work for a company that believes in the power of print and the value of photography and design. I'm excited to show what the SPIN brand is capable of.
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Fast News for Ocotober 4, 2011

Fast News for Ocotober 4, 2011

SPD MEDIA MIX is our regular list of publication design, digital, and media news and updates. Please send your links and news items to SPD at mail@spd.org and we'll add them to the Mix.

>> Print Booming (A Little): According to Mr. Magazine, Q3 2011 saw the debut of at least 219 new magazine titles on the newsstand. A few well-known publishers are in the new mix, with National Geographic releasing Exploring History in mid-September. Worth publisher Sandow Media also debuted a new offering with Vegas/Rated in mid-August.

>> Shrinkage at Hearst: Harper's Bazaar had a rough first half of 2011. It was the only major fashion magazine to suffer a decrease in ad pages and experienced the biggest decline in newsstand sales. New plans have the mag increasing its trim size, but reducing its frequency (for the second time in two years), according to WWD. The magazine will also upgrade paper and cover stock.

>> Meanwhile, Back on the iPad: Flipboard CEO Mike McCue revealed that his app has hit 3.5 million downloads in just 14 months, and has gone from 250 million up to 550 million flips per month since the summer. The 3.5 million figure is impressive considering Apple has said that it will have sold a total of 35 million iPads in 18 months. McCue said that the peak hours for the app are between 8pm-10pm at night, and then first thing in the morning.

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