Electronic Circulation Figures?

[pdurrant]

I subscribe to Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact and Asimov's Science Fiction and The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.

They publish annual circulation figures for print copies, but not for electronic copies.

Does anyone know whether such figures are publicly available?

I have figures for the print version, which are included (usually) in the January issue. They show a drop in print circulation of about 50% over the past ten years, from about 42,000 to 21,000 for Analog, 30,000 to 15,000 for Asimov's. I don't have recent figures for F&SF, but since they dropped to six 'double' issues a while back, I doubt that the news is good there either. (They were only 19,000 in 2005)

I'm hoping that electronic versions have been growing in circulation to make the numbers. Otherwise I fear these venerable magazines don't have long.

[fjtorres]

I wouldn't expect them to last too much longer.
(Maybe a decade.)
eBooks have created a paying market for short fiction the magazines can't match and the declining circulation reduces the incentive for authors to accept those terms just for exposure, so I expect that over time submissions will wither away, even from tradpub authors. (Witness Bujold's recent novella being selfpubbed: none of the magazines could match even her first week of sales alone.)

The economics aren't in their favor on the author side.

On the reader side the incentive for newcomers to buy into the magazines is pretty low--they don't make it easy to buy digital, they haven't even embraced the web like other magazines, there is a growing number of bargain-priced bundles and anthologies, and the competition for "eyeball time" is fierce. And ebook subscription services loom ever more threatening.

In a way it is surprising they've hung on as long as they have. Subscriber loyalty/inertia, I suppose.

[bgalbrecht]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

On the reader side the incentive for newcomers to buy into the magazines is pretty low--they don't make it easy to buy digital, they haven't even embraced the web like other magazines, there is a growing number of bargain-priced bundles and anthologies, and the competition for "eyeball time" is fierce. And ebook subscription services loom ever more threatening.

I stopped reading The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction when they dropped Fictionwise for a Kindle device only edition and I don't have a Kindle. They've since opened it up to android and IOS kindle apps, but I can't read it on my phone because the kindle app takes up over 1 GB on my phone and I don't have enough space free for it. Every other SF/fantasy magazine is far less restrictive with their ebook editions. I'm an outlier, but I feel that they dropped me and even if I can eventually read their magazine on one of my devices, I'll never resubscribe.

[jhowell]

There are also online-only magazines, like Clarkesworld.

[meeera]

Originally Posted by jhowell

There are also online-only magazines, like Clarkesworld.

I second Clarkesworld, as well as Uncanny, Strange Horizons, and Lightspeed. Venturing outside of the US-dominated market, you could also look at Aurealis, Capricious, and Omenana. For a brand new magazine, try Mothership Zeta.

[cromag]

I subscribe to the ebook editions of Analog and Asimov's as well. I don't know of any source for online circulation figures, but it can't be good. I subscribe at B&N -- it's my last connection to B&N -- and I'm only still subscribing because I can get around the roadblocks they've thrown at me. If B&N gets too hard to deal with (or, goes under) I suspect I'll have to drop them -- the other sources have even bigger problems.

The editorial in the most recent (January, 2016) issue asks readers to contact them via email with ideas, advice, feedback, etc. -- I was seriously thinking of taking them up on their offer.

In the meantime, I do read Clarkesworld and some of the other online magazines.

[Fbone]

Are these figures per issue or yearly totals?

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by Fbone

Are these figures per issue or yearly totals?

Per issue.

[fjtorres]

They publish ten issues a year.
A one year subscription is $35 so those 22000 subscribers generate about $77k per issue.

They pay about 8 cents a word and feature two longer stories and 5 shorts in the latest issue. A rough estimate of about 100k words means they pay out $8000 for the stories and a typical 7k story will bring in $600 or thereabouts. A longer one might bring in $2000.

Their current publisher is the aptly-named PENNY PUBLICATIONS.

Ouch.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by meeera

I second Clarkesworld, as well as Uncanny, Strange Horizons, and Lightspeed. Venturing outside of the US-dominated market, you could also look at Aurealis, Capricious, and Omenana. For a brand new magazine, try Mothership Zeta.

Don't forget Beneath Ceaseless Skies. More of a "fantasy"-only magazine, but still...

I used to subscribe, but just like physical magazines on my coffee-table, they tend to start "piling up" on my devices unread.

I buy them (emagazines) piecemeal now--whenever something in an issue catches my eye.

[Fbone]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

They publish ten issues a year.
A one year subscription is $35 so those 22000 subscribers generate about $77k per issue.

We have to add in digital sales and advertising. There probably isn't much overhead to publish these magazines. Hopefully, they could hang on for some time yet.

[Fbone]

Originally Posted by meeera

I second Clarkesworld, as well as Uncanny, Strange Horizons, and Lightspeed. Venturing outside of the US-dominated market, you could also look at Aurealis, Capricious, and Omenana. For a brand new magazine, try Mothership Zeta.

Maybe that the problem. There are too many sci-fi and fantasy magazines diluting the audience.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by Fbone

Maybe that the problem. There are too many sci-fi and fantasy magazines diluting the audience.

I think it's more the fact that readers can now very easily buy the short-stories/novellas of their favorite authors à la carte. Magazines and anthologies used to be the only way genre short-story aficionados could get their fix. There's a lot more options now-a-days. Just like I no longer have to buy a newspaper just to read the couple of articles I'd be interested in. Hell ... lots of genre authors release short-stories for free between their novels to keep interest high.

Any magazine that's primarily focused on curating stories that have already seen "print" (with a never-before-released story or two thrown in for good measure) will probably be the first to go. Genre magazines running submission-based, first-print short stuff will probably last a while longer, but eventually ... retail à la carte and direct-releases from authors will likely get them all. The stories will all still be available, though. The genre short-story market (especially SFF) is surging. Isn't that the important thing?

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

. The genre short-story market (especially SFF) is surging. Isn't that the important thing?

It should be.
Another point is that author income from short stories is also surging. Through discrete sales and subscription services.
Subscription services are made to order for that.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by Fbone

We have to add in digital sales and advertising. There probably isn't much overhead to publish these magazines. Hopefully, they could hang on for some time yet.

Some time, yes.
I said as much.
But the advertising revenue depends on circulation just as much as submissions do. Drop low enough and submitting stories or ads may not be worth it.

Any edition depends on content they can afford; first world rights at 8 cents a word may not be viable unto eternity. The issue isn't print vs digital but the emergence of alternate channels.