BRM Price Increase

[55020]

0.77% according to http://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share

 

 

Similar numbers quoted here:    https://www.statista.com/statistics/218089/global-market-share-of-windows-7/

[RedgateModels]

0.77% according to http://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share

To be fair, going on the nerdy image of Linux most of the 0.77% will be into toy trains

[Andy Y]

Don't hold your breath ~ I haven't seen any mention of Linux being offered by BRM/Warners in any of their publications or by the moderators on this forum.

 

If only they talked to their website IT staff, they may well find that their website is actually hosted on a LINUX SERVER !!

No need to shout, I have run sites on Linux servers for years including this gaff. However, it's not a priority for any business to create apps for Linux due to comparatively few users and unnecessary dev costs compared to further developing for popular platforms.

 

Pocketmags runs through major browsers so are you telling me that you cannot read anything through Pocketmags?

[acoake]

I purchased the digital edition in addition to the paper subscription, for 2 years in order to be able to read them at any time on my laptop, which runs Windows 7 Professional. Then PocketMags changed the s/w and I can now no longer read what I have paid for. (I'm aware that I can still read them on-line, but that doesn't help when the Internet is not available.) The result - I stopped my digital subscription! That also applied to Backtrack, which I changed from paper to digital. Most other emags I get support older versions of Windows (and I seem to remember reading some time ago that a large number of Windows users were still on Windows 7), so why not Pocketmags? MREMAG is supplying their emag in a format which is supported on Windows 7, so I can download that and read it whenever I want. Perhaps Warners need to look more closely at their digital suppliers.

 

As for 3D, while I admire the technology used, I find the results too crude. 2D photos taken by Andy York and Tony Wright appear far better in my view.

[Mikkel]

"Dad, what's a CD? What' a DVD? What's a PDF?" 

 

 

 

I gather it's short for "pirates downloaded free".

 

(Other definitions are also available … .)

 

 

Huw.

 

Nice one Huw.

 

But to clarify my point a little: The question was hypothetical as my son is 21 now (good grief, where did the time go?!), so he grew up with CDs and DVDs. But he certainly does not use them anymore, nor do most people my age (around 50) over here. PDFs are still relevant in a work context for me (although increasingly less so), but again for my son it is a rather altmodisch thing. He simply does everything "live", online, all the time.

 

In other words: I appreciate that printed mags have various advantages, so by all means let's keep them around for a while yet. But when it comes to digital content, aren't things like DVDs and PDFs outdated formats already - or very soon to be? 

 

I enjoy the new type of online newspaper articles which mix different media as you scroll down - without overdoing it. The NYT example below is a fairly simple example - never mind the topic, but a layout or kitbuild could be presented like that. Could BRM do such pages? I'd pay for it  

 

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/02/24/travel/underground-railroad-slavery-harriet-tubman-byway-maryland.html

Edited August 20, 2018 by Mikkel

[Robin2]

Pocketmags runs through major browsers so are you telling me that you cannot read anything through Pocketmags?

A browser version is no good because you have to be online to read the mag. And I have only so many gigabytes per month on my internet service. And I'm not always at a location with a good broadband signal. I don't mind downloading it all once, but not everytime I want to read it.

 

Also, what happens to my online digital BRMs if BRM closes down? If I have downloaded the copies that won't matter.

 

...R

 

PS ...is the proportion of the population using Linux much different to the proportion playing with trains? And keep in mind that Android is a variant of Linux as also is the MAC operating system.

[ruggedpeak]

Given that other content based businesses give away material for free and still generate revenues, the magazine industry (not just BRM) needs to get with the times. Every music artist has their music videos on Youtube, which you can download and share easily, yet they are still making money.

 

Why aren't stripped down PDF's available after say 18 months - who needs out of date show announcements or adverts? Remove them and sell the content that people want by reusing it. And how many customers will wait 18 months for the mag and stop buying magazines? Not many. The overall revenue picture, despite the risks of PDF's, could be much greater and drive new customers to BRM.

[Crantock]

Well thanks to the Warners team for allowing this discussion.  Having read through I have just bought a one off Digital edition of September.  Some observations:

 

The buy process offered all 94 editions of BRM for £60 so back issues are on.

 

I thoroughly enjoyed the digital.  The picture quality was excellent.  I suspect it was a lack of glare as compared to a mag and being closer.  I used a lenova Yoga laptop in tablet mode.  I don't think I have got more out of a single edition.  May well subscribe.  For me as a 21st century flat dweller, cutting down on waste and binning is important so digital is attractive.

 

However, whether it is digital or print, if you are buying sight unseen - all digital and bagged print - then the goodwill and reputation needs to get you past the price barrier.  I think that Digital at the reduced price may do it but print at £5 would not.  How you introduce a new buyer to digital may be a challenge.  Picking up prit is easy.

 

The other digital mag I buy is Railway Herald.  I don't think either that or BRM have quite got it digitally.  The last Railway Herald seems to have only one advert link (and thats back issues) and one embedded video.  Similarly the video within BRM is not that smooth to operate and less than a handful of linked ads.  It was disappointing that the Digial version did not have 2D versions of the Pendon pics.  

 

Whether to buy BRM or Railway Modeller is a separate Q.  But one thing RM leads on is the show listing. That's no longer enough - whilst UKModelshops exits -  and I think BRM digital is the way forward for me.

 

Oh and on Digital you get Phil Parker showing you how to fold metal and the quote "I am sure you all have your own vices...."

 

30 min video to watch..

Edited August 20, 2018 by Crantock

[john new]

As a current subscriber (because of an original joining offer) I've felt BRM is going downhill lately but I can't put my finger on why. That said, one factor, across the board not just in BRM, is the trend that everything has to be super scale, fragile and expensive!  What ever happened to robust and reliable?

 

I certainly don't want to go digital, paper copies are much easier to read and you can rip pages out for long term storage. BRM is fortunately one of the mags that is A4 so anything you want to keep can be ring-bindered - a positive over Rly Mod for example. I have several DVD's to catch up on, an annoying format you can't shove in a bag and watch on the bus or quickly grab for a five minute browse. 

 

Only inertia is keeping me from ringing the cancellation line. 

 

PS And it is not that I am an IT luddite, I was an early adopter back in the 1980s, chaired a National IT user group in the early days, was a user rep' on a major IT software platform through the 1990s until I retired in 2008  and still use IT heavily every day on SLS business, it is just that in this instance I don't feel digital improves on traditional.

Edited August 21, 2018 by john new

[Phil Parker]

As a current subscriber (because of an original joining offer) I've felt BRM is going downhill lately but I can't put my finger on why. That said, one factor, across the board not just in BRM, is the trend that everything has to be super scale, fragile and expensive!  What ever happened to robust and reliable.

 

 

Modellers voted with their wallets and bought more "super scale, fragile and expensive" than "robust and reliable" - in this respect, magazines reflect the market rather than leading it (or trying to) in any direction. 

 

Having said that, the practical parts still aim to be achievable by a wide variety of modellers, something I feel we have all focussed on a lot more over the last decade. There's a lot less assumption that readers will have specialised skills or equipment, mainly because this appears to be the situation now. 

[Phil Parker]

Given that other content based businesses give away material for free and still generate revenues, the magazine industry (not just BRM) needs to get with the times. Every music artist has their music videos on Youtube, which you can download and share easily, yet they are still making money.

 

Why aren't stripped down PDF's available after say 18 months - who needs out of date show announcements or adverts? Remove them and sell the content that people want by reusing it. And how many customers will wait 18 months for the mag and stop buying magazines? Not many. The overall revenue picture, despite the risks of PDF's, could be much greater and drive new customers to BRM.

 

I was recently talking to a well-known illustrator who has his own YouTube channel as part of his "portfolio" career. He (as of today) has 193,000 subscribers, so I was curious to know if his regular videos generate any meaningful income - answer - no. Print sales and talks pay the mortgage and put food on the table.

 

Now if you have a lot of subscribers - Taylor Swift 30 million, Ed Sheeran 34 million - then making a very tiny bit of money out of each still brings in reasonable income. I wonder how The Shires, with 46,000 subscribers do.

 

This doesn't mean that there isn't an advantage to posting on YouTube. For a while, the money made in music has been from ticket sales for gigs and merchandise, both things not easily shared electronically (yes, you can see a gig, but it's not like being there and there are no bragging rights for "I saw Taylor on my phone" compared to being in the crowd). We don't have a parallel for this in model railways. Yes, we have shows, but while you might pay £77 to stand at the back of an Ed Sheeran gig, imagine the moans if anyone tried that for an exhibition. That said, there is only one ES and you can't wait a week and see him appear at a village hall in the next town as you can with a layout. The YouTube stuff just supports those sales - as it does for illustrator contact.

 

"how many customers will wait 18 months for the mag and stop buying magazines? Not many"

 

There are loads of people perfectly happy to read old modelling magazines. I see it at my local club every week. You see sales of second-hand mags for pennies from your local club stand at a show. If we promised you a set of Black Country Blues photos and said one would be free but 5 years old and the other brand new but cost you a pound, which would you go for? The layout hasn't changed in the period and neither has the camera gear much (I suppose we could do the later in 3D!). The old content is just as relevant as the new. Apart from show listings (1 page) and news stories (4 pages), there isn't much that dates quickly in a model magazine. Over breakfast, I read an article in Model Boats where the writer was building something he'd been inspired by in a 1980s magazine he picked up from the clubhouse for free while waiting to sail. 

 

We do, of course, do deals on digital back numbers. The old content does have a value, but as I and others have said several times on this thread, PDF isn't the solution. You sell one, it gets posted online and everyone gets it for free. You will probably argue it should be done for "exposure", but you can't use "exposure" to pay a bill at Tesco, they want money. And people who only want stuff for free aren't much use in this respect. 

 

So you'll be surprised to know that the publishing industries ARE trying to "get with the times" but in a way that doesn't just mean doing a load of work and not bringing in any income. It's not as easy as you think - if it is, you can earn millions as a consultant to the heavyweight publications currently haemorrhaging money (all the UK national papers for a start, the Guardian £19m last year).

 

As far as BRM goes, we've got loads of ideas being worked on to look at different models and you'll know about them when we have firmed them up. Watch this space.

[Phil Parker]

Nice one Huw.

 

But to clarify my point a little: The question was hypothetical as my son is 21 now (good grief, where did the time go?!), so he grew up with CDs and DVDs. But he certainly does not use them anymore, nor do most people my age (around 50) over here. PDFs are still relevant in a work context for me (although increasingly less so), but again for my son it is a rather altmodisch thing. He simply does everything "live", online, all the time.

 

In other words: I appreciate that printed mags have various advantages, so by all means let's keep them around for a while yet. But when it comes to digital content, aren't things like DVDs and PDFs outdated formats already - or very soon to be? 

 

I enjoy the new type of online newspaper articles which mix different media as you scroll down - without overdoing it. The NYT example below is a fairly simple example - never mind the topic, but a layout or kitbuild could be presented like that. Could BRM do such pages? I'd pay for it  

 

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/02/24/travel/underground-railroad-slavery-harriet-tubman-byway-maryland.html

 

That is a good looking article, but if you count up the people in the credits, I see 10 different staff members involved, at least 4 of whom went on the 3-day trip. The budget for that would be greater than any single issue of BRM, actually, the budgets for the map graphics alone would be a big chunk of our monthly spend, and for that, you get under 2000 words, 10 photos and a bit of drone footage. We give you more than that for a major layout article - and yet people still accuse us of "dumbing down" because there isn't enough to read!

 

Of course, when you are the New York Times, budgets are bit different and so is your market. I don't know how they make the finances work on this sort of thing, there aren't any adverts.

 

That said, we are pushing the boundaries all the time in the digital world. Many articles come bundled with extra photos and video now. None of the staff writers are purely writers anymore, we are getting our heads around a wider range of skills.

[Robin2]

There is a lot of common sense in what Phil says in Reply #136. Maybe we are all looking into the wrong end of the telescope?

 

Don't we need to ask ourselves if there is any added value in having an online version of the magazine? Maybe there should be some additional online material that is available to subscribers for the paper mag - but not a complete (or even near-complete) digital copy of the mag.

 

And then this Forum, and all the free stuff available on it, can act as an advertisement for the paper mag.

 

...R

[Phil Parker]

There is a lot of common sense in what Phil says in Reply #136. Maybe we are all looking into the wrong end of the telescope?

 

Don't we need to ask ourselves if there is any added value in having an online version of the magazine? Maybe there should be some additional online material that is available to subscribers for the paper mag - but not a complete (or even near-complete) digital copy of the mag.

 

And then this Forum, and all the free stuff available on it, can act as an advertisement for the paper mag.

 

...R

 

It's the 21st Century. The question to ask is "is there any value to a paper version of the magazine"?

 

By the time you take out ALL the costs involved in getting a physical copy from the designer's computer to the shelves of a newsagent, obviously each digital version makes more money per copy... (Lights blue touchpaper and retires to a safe distance)

[Howard Smith]

It's the 21st Century. The question to ask is "is there any value to a paper version of the magazine"?

 

By the time you take out ALL the costs involved in getting a physical copy from the designer's computer to the shelves of a newsagent, obviously each digital version makes more money per copy... (Lights blue touchpaper and retires to a safe distance)

 

This is true and something many don't realise. We have to sell approx. seven paper copies to generate the same profit as one digital sale. The market for both is still there (for now), but there's a significant shift in the industry...

[john new]

Modellers voted with their wallets and bought more "super scale, fragile and expensive" than "robust and reliable" - in this respect, magazines reflect the market rather than leading it (or trying to) in any direction. 

 

Having said that, the practical parts still aim to be achievable by a wide variety of modellers, something I feel we have all focussed on a lot more over the last decade. There's a lot less assumption that readers will have specialised skills or equipment, mainly because this appears to be the situation now. 

 

Whilst I have been in the hobby long enough to understand all that, from the pioneering MRJ onwards, the downside for modellers like me who have to pack everything completely away between sessions is modern stuff breaks too easily with the slightest error of packing or handling. There is at least one other RMweb thread about this issue so I won't comment further to take the posts off topic. 

Edited August 21, 2018 by john new

[Cmax]

Talking about the merits of Paper v Digital, would the digital version survive without the printed magazine, and more importantly how long would Rmweb survive in its present format, without having to have a subscription ?

 

Do Warmers have just a digital version of any magazine ? or if duel media, any that outsell the printed copy, I understand this is commercial information, this is a very interesting discussion.

 

Gary

[Free At Last]

What happens with the unsold digital copies, are there many left over?

[Stubby47]

I can see a future where there are no actual physical models anymore, everything is just digitally built in computers.   

 

Exhibitions are held via internet meetings, FaceExhibit is the new app. This will, of course, remove the problems with hygiene and rucksacks, one can 'visit' any exhibition from the safety of one's own home.

 

Train Simulator 2020 anyone ?

[Robin2]

This is true and something many don't realise. We have to sell approx. seven paper copies to generate the same profit as one digital sale. The market for both is still there (for now), but there's a significant shift in the industry...

What do you mean by "the industry" - magazine publishing in general or just model railway magazine publishing. The comments in Reply #136 were about the latter.

 

It seems like the existence of the digital edition is giving the impression that the paper edition is not sufficiently profitable.  If you were not selling digital copies then you would not know that you needed to sell 7 paper copies to match the profit. Is this yet another case of "just because we can does not mean that we should".

 

Isn't there a great risk that the digital edition will kill off the paper edition and then pirates will kill off the digital edition and then the journalist team will be unemployed. It's not so easy to pirate a paper magazine. All that will be left is RMWeb which, apparently, is not covering its costs.

 

Hopefully MRJ will continue

 

...R

Edited August 21, 2018 by Robin2

[caradoc]

It's the 21st Century. The question to ask is "is there any value to a paper version of the magazine"?

 

By the time you take out ALL the costs involved in getting a physical copy from the designer's computer to the shelves of a newsagent, obviously each digital version makes more money per copy... (Lights blue touchpaper and retires to a safe distance)

 

There is value for those customers who prefer a paper rather than digital version ! Others have expressed that preference here and I agree with them; While I am quite happy to carry out certain functions electronically, I have not, and do not intend to, subscribe to any digital magazine. Perhaps there is a vicious circle, with fewer people buying paper magazines resulting in the price having to increase, causing even fewer people to buy the paper version. I hope not, preferring to be able to see what is in a magazine in the shop before deciding whether to buy it, but maybe the future is 100% digital ?

[RedgateModels]

There is value for those customers who prefer a paper rather than digital version ! Others have expressed that preference here and I agree with them; While I am quite happy to carry out certain functions electronically, I have not, and do not intend to, subscribe to any digital magazine. Perhaps there is a vicious circle, with fewer people buying paper magazines resulting in the price having to increase, causing even fewer people to buy the paper version. I hope not, preferring to be able to see what is in a magazine in the shop before deciding whether to buy it, but maybe the future is 100% digital ?

 

Currently yes there is sufficient demand for the paper version to continue to produce it and I expect this to continue for some time. BRM is right though to be working now towards what is probably the ultimate conclusion of 100% digital medium. Cost is not necessarily the driver for people switching from digital either. Some of us actually like the convenience of not having to find a copy in the newsagents or have a paper copy crammed through the letterbox by an errant postman LOL. Storage as has been intimated already is also a driving factor. 

 

As I do just about everything on my phone now I have a nice 4 1/2" screen it makes sense for me to view BRM on it too. a 64Gb SD card holds all my downloaded issues and can be backed up onto PC should the phone get lost etc. 

 

I quite understand that there is a LOT of folks out there who still love paper and this will continue for a number of years, but I feel that the swing to reading on electronic devices will continue.

[Phil Parker]

 

It seems like the existence of the digital edition is giving the impression that the paper edition is not sufficiently profitable.  If you were not selling digital copies then you would not know that you needed to sell 7 paper copies to match the profit. Is this yet another case of "just because we can does not mean that we should".

 

 

No, the digital edition exists because this is the 21st Century and some people prefer their magazines delivered this way. Others like the extras that paper can't offer. Our job is to try and provide what people want - something that would be a lot easier if everyone wanted the same thing!

 

 

Isn't there a great risk that the digital edition will kill off the paper edition and then pirates will kill off the digital edition and then the journalist team will be unemployed. It's not so easy to pirate a paper magazine. All that will be left is RMWeb which, apparently, is not covering its costs.

 

And the risk is ours - we are the one who will be out of a job, so as you might understand, this concentrates our minds a bit. It certainly keeps heads out of the sand.

 

Hopefully MRJ will continue

 

 

 

And I am sure you will continue to enjoy using their forum :-)

 

[Howard Smith]

What do you mean by "the industry" - magazine publishing in general or just model railway magazine publishing. The comments in Reply #136 were about the latter.

 

The magazine publishing industry on newstands is inter-linked. Supermarkets

 

It seems like the existence of the digital edition is giving the impression that the paper edition is not sufficiently profitable.  If you were not selling digital copies then you would not know that you needed to sell 7 paper copies to match the profit. Is this yet another case of "just because we can does not mean that we should".

 

Isn't there a great risk that the digital edition will kill off the paper edition and then pirates will kill off the digital edition and then the journalist team will be unemployed. It's not so easy to pirate a paper magazine. All that will be left is RMWeb which, apparently, is not covering its costs.

 

The industry as in 'magazine industry'. Railway modelling magazines aren't on a little island safe from what occurs in the publishing industry. Paper costs, distribution and newstand costs never get smaller each year - three things to which the digital edition isn't subjected (though Pocketmags, our digital platform providers aren't free). Nobody is suggesting that the paper version will be dropped, but last month we had our best-ever selling digital issue of BRM - proof that it's not a craze. We've been offering digital editions for several years and it hasn't impacted greatly on print editions - we're still printing! Let's not speculate on doom and gloom - for now, there's room for both, side-by-side... 

[Robin2]

Thinking some more after my Reply #145 I think it was motivated by the idea (which I forgot to mention) that in the 21st century if one was starting an electronic "magazine" about railway modelling it would look nothing like the digital edition of the paper version of BRM.

 

For a start it would probably emerge daily rather than monthly, and it would be a great deal more interactive.

 

I like paper magazines (and paper books) and I also spend a good bit of time on the internet - but not reading magazines or books.

 

My overall concern is that the concept of the digital edition will lead to a complete loss of identity for the paper magazine without morphing into a realistic electronic alternative.

 

RMWeb itself is probably more like what I envisage a modern online model railway "thing" to be. Maybe Warners should charge an annual sub to use RMWeb? (And, yes, I do know that that would just drive users to some other free alternative).

 

 

And I don't agree with Howard that the industry is the whole magazine industry. To my mind the "model railway magazine industry" is a sufficient niche to be considered on its own merits. There is a great danger that BRM folk (and RM folk) feel they must do something just because "Care For Your Baby" does it. As Phil said earlier, there is a timelessness about railway modelling that does not arise in many other sectors.

 

...R