A Digital Renaissance: The Power Of Independent Magazines

It may seem like a paradox that independent publishing is reaching its peak in an era where traditional prints have shifted their presence online in order to survive against the decreased demand of magazines.

Although many of these independent magazines never get past the first issue, since the publishing industry is obviously set up to favour big publishers who can rely on advertising rather than copy sales for revenue. Independent titles, on the other hand, usually don’t hold this possibility–therefore bound to rarely reach the breakeven point. Recently, there has been a growing interest amongst a global niche market for this newly found medium that is as diverse for its subject matter as it is for the production techniques, turning a simple self-published paper into something more of a collectible, a little piece of creativity to leaf through.

What sets the craft of independent magazines apart from mainstream ones is the design of the pages; the care and attention put in combining word and images in a way that isn’t allowed elsewhere. A sure antidote to clickbait and search engine optimization.

With an infinite range of possible topics to cover, these zines have become a literal phenomenon so that anyone who wants to disconnect from the never-ending scroll of information online will be able to find a publication covering a topic that speaks directly to them.

© Dazed, bi-monthly British style magazine founded in 1991, published by Dazed Media, an independent publishing group that also owns AnOther Magazine. 

© Dazed, bi-monthly British style magazine founded in 1991, published by Dazed Media, an independent publishing group that also owns AnOther Magazine

So, how do you even start printing without relying on a publishing company? Fortunately, independent magazines don’t need the financial means of a large-scale organization to launch their first number, thanks to developments in digital printing which don’t hold high barriers to entry the industry. Along with that, their social media presence also plays a huge role in expanding their visibility on the market. Social media has made the world much smaller, allowing independent magazines to reach a broader platform, recruiting new readers and possible collaborators.

There are several ways for independent magazines to make profit once they’ve reached a certain level of exposure like using branded content or organizing events, which makes people buy into the brand even more as they feel part of it. Magazines can be powerful tools for other businesses too.  A number of magazines, including Double, Inventory and Tank, have founded creative agencies, while Dazed founded its own publishing group.

One of their strongest advantages is that they focus on a specific interest group rather than competing in a sea of similar publications, so the following created usually feels more connected and familiar with the magazine, therefore forming a stronger bond.

In fact, these very magazines are owned and crafted by the same people they try to attract: founders, editors and art directors that share the same interest and a similar creative vision.

However, no matter what publication the readers choose to spend their time on, the real attractions are the highly editorial attitude and design values these publications hold.

Image via ItsNiceThat

Image via ItsNiceThat

In recent years, there has been an increasing awareness of graphic design elements and typography that could be explained by the market entry of young creatives who have been experimenting and working with graphic design outside of an academic space since a young age, thanks to the access of professional programs easily acquirable on the web, starting from those offered by Adobe Creative Cloud. 

These types of designs fueled by one’s creative vision rather than editorial and publishing policies, have allowed to bypass the commercial uniformity of the corporate world.

While readers browse social media in order to satisfy their need of inspiration, why do people decide to return to print rather than creating an online publication? Digital overload. Our feeds have been increasingly filled with unread posts, pictures of our friends, news outlets to keep us updated, moodboards and everything getting lost in the stream of a homepage that has become overwhelming to even look at.

Nothing beats the possibility of touching a material object such as a magazine, having a paper with a beginning and an end that doesn’t end up with correlated articles to read next, one after another. And another. And another. A page that never ends.

NO ONE’S EVER SNIFFED AN IPAD, HAVE THEY?
— Marvin Scott Jarrett

Magazines are filled with nostalgia, a feeling that is triggered by simply smelling the chemicals coming from the ink and paper. It hits you at a subconscious level unattainable with digital content.

It’s true that print is no longer the fastest and cheapest way to communicate ever since digitalization and its claim to be more sustainable, but that leaves space for a different approach to it.

Selection of magazines available on Stack.

Selection of magazines available on Stack.

Due to their content and attention for aesthetic, independent magazines cannot be simply identified as just magazines, instead they stand somewhere between a club and an art book, or they could even take the place of coffee table books.

It goes without saying that the creators of independent magazines haven’t rejected digital technology at all. The preference of print isn’t to be seen as a refusal of digital platforms and such, in fact independent magazines rely heavily on them for all their essential activities starting from marketing strategies, promotion, feedback and even distribution. Print and digital aren’t two opposing camps, rather what publishers are highlighting is that they are strictly interrelated and can benefit one from the other. Independent magazines have had to possibility to thrive even financially while maintaining their integrity thanks to their online presence.

An example of a platform that has been expanding the word of independent magazines is Stack, a magazine club launched in 2008 that helps people to discover the world of independent publishing with subscriptions offering the delivery of different independent prints every month right at your door.

Stack’s mission in picking different magazines every month allows these prints to reach bigger audiences in a way that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise. 

Print has been adapting and evolving to new technologies and circumstances, it was the first to question its own future and by doing so, independent magazines also assured themselves a place there.

LIFE & CULTURESusanna Zhao