SF Signal: Fantasy & Science Fiction Magazine Extends to MySpace

Fantasy & Science Fiction Magazine Extends to MySpace

Fantasy & Science Fiction Magazine now has a presence on MySpace.

This is interesting. I'm guessing this an attempt to drum up their readership which, sadly, has been declining for all SF/F magazines over the last few years. (So says Locus Magazine.) Getting some face time on mySpace, then, can't be all bad. I suspect this is the doing of F&SF editor John Joseph Adams a.k.a. The Slush God, whose blog, The Slush God Speaketh, is a frequently visited site and newsfeed. (Among other venues, he also writes for the SciFi Channel's SciFi Wire.)

[Link via David Barr Kirtley's LiveJournal]

It's become sort of a SF pro's magical shibboleth, the pro magazine's subbs are declining. YES, that's true. However, all subscription magazines have had 50%+ decline is paid subscriptions. A notable example, in the late 70s and early 80s Playboy magazine had like 2-3 million paid subcribers, now they've got like 1/2 million subscribers. AFAIK, one magazine has had some immunity from this trend, and that's Sports Illustrated.

Posted by Allan Rosewarne on Sunday March 19, 2006 at 11:23 PM

Undoubtedly because of the Swimsuit Issue. Trouble there is, our own Pete probably buys half the ones in print!

Seriously though, thanks for the perspective. I'm only going by the comments I saw in a recent Locus Magazine. It helps to remember that the phenomenon is not unique to SF. There are many more competitors for our entertainment dollar today than just a few years ago.

Posted by John on Sunday March 19, 2006 at 11:30 PM