NS and NSR circulation

[Rossford Yard]

The two new N scale magazines arrived last night (a little honked off, having seen them in LHS for over a week, used to be subscribers got them first) Oh well.

I always look at the circulation numbers put out in the December issue of magazines.  Both are right at 5,000 distributed, about equally split between 2500 subscribers, and LHS sales.  I did this several years ago, and from memory, circulation circa 2005 or so was 11K each.  Haven't seen the MR list, but it seems they drop about 10K per year, last I looked it was about 120K subscribers.

I know print magazines are dying (saw yesterday there is now a water proof kindle you can read in the bathtub, which HAS to be the final kiss of death.

In any event, does this tell us anything about participation in N? If N scale is supposed to be 15-20%, and HO about 60%, you would expect circulation to be 25-33% of MR, or at 30-40K, unless our habits are way different.

Any possible explanations?

[casmmr]

I am in the minority in my RR club in subscribing to both NS & NSR.  The vast majority of our club members do not even purchase individual issues let alone subscribe to a mag.  One other member subscribes to NS and another subscribes to NSR.  2 or 3 subscribe to MR and that is that as they say.  The older members do not subscribe as they have cut down on what they have and are not building anything anymore.  The younger members just go out on the web, you tube and get all their info there.  later, Craig

[High Hood]

I believe N Scale is popular with younger modelers who prefer to learn things via the Internet, so that may contribute.

Though the Internet is helpful tool when it comes to modeling, I think there will always be a group of readers who will prefer print over something electronic. There's just something about having an actual printed copy that I personally like. I wish Model Railroad Hobbyist would offer a print version, even if it meant a higher price.

[mmagliaro]

The number of participants in a scale and the number of magazine subscribers are two quantities that are only tenuously connected at best.   Many people don't bother with magazines at all  With the advent of on-line material, it's impossible to predict how many N Scalers (or ANY scalers)  will use magazines or how much of a magazine's circulation should come from any one scale based on the % of participating modelers in that scale.  The proportions of readers in each scale isn't in any way connected to circulation.

About the only thing you can say is that probably 95% of the N magazine circulation comes from N Scalers, but even that is only a reasonable guess with no facts to back it up.

[MVW]

Max is right. Beyond that, what the numbers tell me is that publishing these mags is a labor of love. (Believe me, I know. I spent most of my career in publishing or activities related to it.) Anyway, if you love any of these publications, subscribe now. Because they simply won't last without you.

Jim

[Chris333]

My local newspaper was going down every year till about 4-5 years ago. It sorta stopped going down, we have been at ~20000 and held there.

I don't read the N scale mags. I used to look at MRH, but about 2 years ago I stopped even going to their site. It was just a pain going there and downloading. Then once downloaded I would look through it once. See nothing of interest and delete the pdf.

If you sent me 10 Kindles in the mail for free I wouldn't touch them.

Bought the Narrow Gauge Gazette DVD set and was really disappointed in it.

[C855B]

... I don't read the N scale mags. I used to look at MRH, but about 2 years ago I stopped even going to their site. It was just a pain going there and downloading. Then once downloaded I would look through it once. See nothing of interest and delete the pdf. ...

Conversely... I keep every PDF. Gosh - electronic storage on your own computer is so cheap it may as well be free. I, too, find little of interest in MRH generally, the articles are way too long (...cut to the chase, please...) and the editorial biases and advice make me cringe sometimes. However, every once in a great while they have something that I find useful. I flag the issue in the folder for future reference. And the ads can also be sources of info.

I subscribed to MR this year for the first time in decades, addressed to the layout building. It arrives, I spend 10-15 minutes leafing through it, and then it's thrown in a stack on my desk, usually not to be opened again. That's pretty sad. But there are some rare gems that make me not regret it, such as the recent article on 3D printing where the subject example was the exact station I was seeking to model. Thanks to MR I now have the 3D artwork files, with a couple of friends (one on TRW) working on what it will take to print at less cost than the article's author was able to do.

I really should subscribe to the N scale magazines to support them, and the folks here on the forum who contribute content. Maybe I'll be in that boat someday.

[muktown128]

I subscribe to MR, NS and NSR.  I'm not really sure why, except habit mostly.  I usually read the magazines once and put them on a pile in my train room.  I check RW daily and TB about once a week.  RW is where I get most of my info and news from.  I like the new product sections in NS and NSR where they post photos of the new releases.  I agree, most younger modelers are probably getting their info from the internet and don't bother with magazines.  I expect the circulation will continue to drop and may level off a bit if they are able to get new subscribers to replace the ones who don't renew.

Scott

[mmagliaro]

Model Railroader made a significant stride toward more craftsman-type, in-depth articles for a few years, so I resubscribed when I hadn't gotten it for years.  But over the past year, they drifted away from that, and I dumped them.

I have bounced around magazines over the years as I perceived them having enough articles of interest to me.  That's just another data point that shows you that readership in no way will tell you anything about scale preferences.

Right now, I am getting Railroad Model Craftsman and N Scale.  But in a year, who knows?

Speaking of RMC:
RMC's circulation numbers were in the high 20,000's the last time I checked, and they seem to be making a go of it at that level.   Meanwhile, Carstens couldn't make it with circulation rates in the 40,000's ?   With cheaper print quality?  Either Stephen and Cinthia Priest (White River Publications) work like slaves and don't make any money (which I hope is not true), or Carstens was wasting money like crazy.

[C855B]

... or Carstens was wasting money like crazy.

I suspect that was the problem. F'rinstance, how could he have kept Railfan alive for as long as he did? That was a flawed premise from the start. What product could you sell in advertising there? Tourist railroads? Scanner antennas? Camera lenses? The mind reels.

[OldEastRR]

MR has a new editor now. The former Classic Toy Trains editor who ran it before was somewhat stuck on "traditional" model railroading (whatever that was -- using car batteries as power packs?).
What we need is somebody to compile a "Best of the Year's Model Railroad Magazines" edition with the very best, most popular and useful articles from  the year's worth of each MR mag in one publication. Sort of like a Reader's Digest for model rails. (If you don't know what a "reader's Digest" is, well, ok).

[Catt]

I buy both mags,I have all but one issue of NSR (was in hospital) and N scale with most of the tree articles.I usually buy both with out checking the contents since sooner or later I will find something in either mag.

I also buy RMC and MR every month also.

[John]

I'm going to let both my Scale mags lapse after the subscriptions run out. @ 62, its time to start clearing out the house of magazines and think about downsizing to a more realistic model railroad hobby involvement.  Besides, my library gets MRMag electronically, so I can view it for free, and MRH has enough stuff to keep me interested

[Teditor]

As much as I enjoyed NS & NSR I found the cost over the top Down Under, postage is one of the main killers for us Aussies, the other is of course the poor $ exchange rate.
Ted (Teditor) Freeman
From the Land Down Under.

[Scottl]

Yes, this is the deal breaker for me too.  I wish NS would take off the artificial Canadian/International premium on the digital version. I don't have a local outlet for either NS or NSR, so I need to subscribe if I am to partake.

As for MR, I resubscribed after a long absence last year and recently renewed for two years.  I don't keep them but I do enjoy the read of all scales and the overall quality of the production. The most inspiring layouts tend to find their way to MR regardless of scale.  I also like the advertisements.