BRM November issue

[westerner]

I notice in the Oct issue editorial that the next issue quote " will have a fresh new look". Does this mean, coupled with their staggering subsciption offer of £150-00 worth of goods, that they are struggling.

 

I hope the quality of paper improves so that the pix are not so dark. As a subsriber already I hope that they succed in bumping up thier numbers if that is what its all in aid off.

[coachmann]

Does this mean, coupled with their staggering subsciption offer of £150-00 worth of goods, that they are struggling.

 

At present, model railway magazines are all things to all people, which means just a few pages are of interest in each issue depending on ones interests. Are any struggling? Who knows.

 

One would think a magazine devoted to D&E would be extremely popular 40 years after the end of steam, but this proved to be not the case a few years ago. So what happens? Such material is then shoved into the existing magazines and the non- D&E modeller has to put up with stuff that is out of era and not of the slightest interest. Ergo, readers lose patience and magazines lose customers.

 

We've been here before and there isn't a simple answer as no magazine will risk going 100% 'modern image' now. However, it might be worth a model railway magazine risking going 100% British steam, so giving it a unique selling point.

 

Just random thoughts....

[Edwin_m]

Didn't Hornby magazine start out as 100% British steam, then start doing other things?

[coachmann]

Didn't Hornby magazine start out as 100% British steam, then start doing other things?

That was the perception I had of this magazine. It grew very quickly so steam was obviously doing it no harm! I look forward to seeing the new look of BRM.

[westerner]

The implication in the editorial,did not seem to imply a move to more D&E or solely steam, but rather a re-vamp of style and presentation.

 

I do appreciate, as one who looks at all the mags that most of the time each mag will only have a certain amount of immediate interest to one, and therefore one chooses to buy the mag with the most interest in any one month, unless of course one is a subscriber. It is then that one occasionally comes back to an article which initially had little interest only to find that it could be very useful.

[neal]

I think these things are cyclical, and personally I consider that BRM is better than it has been for many a year. Without substantiation it is foolish to suggest that a particular brand/publisher is in trouble. Rebranding and realignment is key to survival in a changing market/economy and I look forward to see what any new format may present.

 

Compared to BRM other magazines are sometimes rather 'thin' and printed on poorer quality paper. However, as discussed at the launch of Hornby Magazine I fear we near saturation point. The current economic unpleasantness means that many will buy one or two mags rather than four or five, and it could be timely for some publishers to consider consolidation.

 

N

[bike2steam]

New look or not, the same rule applies, more than 25% non-steam articles I dont buy - helps to save money.

[grahame]

We've been here before and there isn't a simple answer as no magazine will risk going 100% 'modern image' now. However, it might be worth a model railway magazine risking going 100% British steam, so giving it a unique selling point.

 

Presumably it swings both ways - none of the biggie mags have so far risked going 100% steam but then none ever risked switching to 100% D&E; BRMs effort was a completely new separate venture. Hornby mag got the closest at start-up but have significantly gone the other way and increased their D&E coverage - presumably to retain and attract custom - and Model Rail seem to have equalled out. Somehow it looks like a risk too great to take. So it looks like the kettles are off the boil for now.

 

G.