Magazine dates question

By Nic Price on 15 November 2005 — 1 min read

Why do some magazine publishers bring out the January 2006 issue in November 2005?

So far, after a little searching, I’ve found this explanation from someone called Andy Walton in December 2000:

I see it as yet another form of the “the other guy does it, so I have to” marketing phenomenon. If you’re at a newsstand on November 25, why buy the outdated Nov. 23 Time when you can get the forward-looking Dec. 1 issue of Newsweek? Why buy the October Vogue when you can get the December Glamour at the same time at the same price?

Totally plausible, it would be good to hear what the publishers themselves have to say.

When and where did it start? Who followed who?

And does that mean that to “catch up” some publishers had to bring out two or three editions at once, or just skipped a couple hoping no-one would notice?

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  • Hi…Many thanks for the elucidation Nic. I think I can only see the marketing solution as making sense, as, having spent many idle moments in various baths and showers across London pondering this question, and trying to find a logical reason, I simply cannot see one.

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