Independent Publishing Alternatives

If a magazine is likely to have a narrow, specialist appeal it may be published by an independent publisher.

Sales will be lower, but so will overheads. The magazine producer can also focus on an area that would not be covered by major publishers.

For example, Shindig! is published by Volcano Publishing. The publishing company states that "Shindig! is the quarterly music magazine that overflows with vintage psychedelia, garage, folk rock, sunshine pop, freak rock, power pop, acid folk, progressive rock and myriad other strains of underexposed, near-forgotten pop music."

'Shindig! reaches an audience that loves their music and the culture associated with it. With its main focus on music, Shindig! also covers art, fashion, architecture, film and TV. According to the latest survey, 82% of Shindig! readers are in the ABC1 category. Men make up 83% of the readership and women 27%. With its dedicated subscribers and worldwide sales, Shindig! achieves a circulation of 26,000.'

If the magazine is published by an independent publishing house, it may mean that it won't be as well known or as popular as others similar to it. As an independent publisher may be a smaller specialised company, it may not have a big marketing budget, therefore the advertising budget would be small meaning the magazine would only reach a small audience, which is why when I create my own magazine, I would prefer to go to a better known publishing company.