Technology has had an incredible impact on the magazine industry . More and more print magazines are either going out of business or increasing their prices due to the lack of interest from their consumers. The younger generations use social media as a means to receive most of their information, which is why print magazines are dying out. If you can see everything for free why would you spend money to get the same information?
Why is technology and social media affecting the magazine industry, and is it a good thing?
As I previously mentioned, more and more print magazines are either increasing their prices or simply going out of business. This change in the industry is largely a result of the social media influencer age we live in. Bloggers and instagram models have an incredible amount of influence on their followers. The influence they have used to be the influence magazine editors and journalists had. Magazines like Vogue, Harpers’ Bazaar, etc… used to be on the forefront of the latests trends, they dictated what would stick and what everyone should be wearing. Nowadays influencers decide this, whatever your favourite influencer is wearing is what your going to want to wear, or at least a cheaper version of it. Fashion week was just a week ago, and a large percentage of the people sitting in the front row were influencers. Anyone who knows anything about runway shows knows that the front row is reserved for the most important people in fashion, and those individuals used to only be fashion journalists or the elite of the fashion industry. This changed because designers and marketers realized that social media influencers have a greater impact on their consumers, due to the fact that they’re relatable and their personalities.
Another reason why the print industry is dying through the fault of the rise of social media and technology, is the cost. Magazines are an unnecessary purchase and consumers only bought them or continue to buy them, because they value the information inside and they know they most-likely won’t be able to find that information anywhere else. Bloggers and magazines have eliminated this cost by publishing their editorials and articles online for free, so those who haven’t jumped on the trend have lost their business. If you can watch an instagram live story on a runway while it’s happening, why would you pay to read about it months later? Modern technology creates a level of accessibility that is incredibly necessary to the growth of the fashion industry, due to the fact that our society as a whole appreciates having as much access to information as possible.
Print magazines in my opinion are a great collectors item and a purchase I would make if I were either a fan of the magazine itself or if were interested in a large percentage of the articles within the magazine. Otherwise it’s not something I think about buying, because I know I have access to everything I want to know about my favourite brands, trends and the latest runway shows through the internet. Editorial magazines such as ‘Sporty and Rich’ and ‘032C’ are exceptions and are successful because they recognize the interests of the youth of the fashion industry, and base the release of their magazines on exclusivity. The editorial’s featured in these magazines are also often promoted on social media because off the aesthetic through their consumers, which is a great promotional tool.
Unless you’re a large company like Vogue, who has multiple branches around the world, a cult following and a large amount of credibility and influence on the fashion industry, then I suggest that magazine companies incorporate social media and technology as a means of either promoting or publishing their articles. They could also find success by creating anticipation and exclusivity by producing a smaller quantity of physical magazines.
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