IT’S NO SECRET that magazine publishing in Atlantic Canada is a tough business—but boy, do we get support. Eight years in, our readership growth and subscription renewals are still strong; newsstand owners all across the region seem to go out of their way to give us prominent placement; and the Canada Post folks on the ground deliver your subscription copies with both speed and efficiency. 

There are some wrinkles on the horizon, though. Canada Post (the corporation, not the workers) has signaled its intent to cease supporting Canadian magazines through the Publications Assistance Program while continuing to raise Canadian magazine delivery costs at a rate far in excess of inflation (while providing lower delivery costs to American magazines than it did 12 years ago—go figure).

The Government of Canada has supported the magazine industry in delivering its product to Canadians since before Confederation.

There’s a reason for this. About 50 US magazines each individually make more revenue in a year than the largest Canadian publisher—and each of four individual US publishers is bigger than the entire Canadian magazine industry. Approximately 95 per cent of the magazine rack space in Canada is dominated (purchased) by these huge American publishers to the great detriment of domestic magazines.

And those huge American publishers enjoy massive cost efficiencies that present them with a clear advantage in dumping product into Canada. Just to print each copy of Saltscapes costs more than one dollar. Oprah can ship her magazines to Canada for pennies a copy.

But through their magazine subscription purchases, Canadians have given a very clear message that they want Canadian content. Consumption of Canadian magazines by Canadians has doubled from 20 to 40 per cent in the past 30 years. When Canada Post’s support for Canadian magazines is withdrawn, that rare advantage for Canadian magazines will be lost.

You might also be interested to know that Canadian magazines lead the way in terms of providing Canadian content to Canadians. The various media reach Canadians at the following levels:

Magazines, 41 per cent; television, 32 per cent; books, 30 per cent; music, 16 per cent; films, 3 per cent.
Yet the Canadian government annually invests more than $300 million in tax credits in Canadian films, $100 million in private television broadcasters, and almost $1 billion in the CBC.

Canadian magazines, we would argue, don't always receive the respect they are due.

~ Linda & Jim Gourlay
e-mail: gourlays@saltscapes.com
 

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