A pioneer in the field of single copy distribution, Linda Ruth, president of PSCS Inc., has been one of a very few women working in the newsstands’ distribution channel of the magazine business.  She started in the 1980s when the single copy industry was comprised of at least eight major national distributors and almost 400 wholesalers and too many to count retailers.  Things have changed, and they changed a lot, to say the least.

I had the opportunity to chat with Linda about the many changes taking place in an important sector of the magazine industry, a sector that is rarely talked about, and we went down through memory lane, the present, and of course the future.  What is going on now, and what to expect in the future.  The role of print and bookazines in a digital world and the advice she gives to newcomers to the magazine world.

A very frank and down to earth discussion with a woman who has seen it all and is still at it, with the same spirit and passion she had when she first started.   At no loss of words, she tells you the status of the industry as it is without any sugar coating and she is quick to caution you that, “We’re in a situation now where we’re all on the same ship, all the distribution channel partners, and we don’t want it to sink, but we’ve really got to work together to keep that ship afloat. We can’t be fighting over the lifeboats.”

So please enjoy my conversation with Linda Ruth, president, PSCS Inc.  But first the soundbites…

On a major change in the single copy distribution business: When I got started, there were plenty of women in publishing, in editorial and even in subscription circulation, but very few in newsstand sales in magazines. That’s one thing that has changed to some extent.

On another major change in the distribution channel: We’re down to a small handful of companies, with one large company, Accelerate 360, dominating national distribution; wholesaling; data; retailer racking; and even have their own not-insubstantial publishing arm.

On a third major change in the distribution business:  Publishers used to have a lot more power in the distribution business. They could negotiate discounts; they could pick and choose what retailers got the display allowance. Now they feel powerless.

On the status of single copy sales today: We’re in a situation now where we’re all on the same ship, all the distribution channel partners, and we don’t want it to sink, but we’ve really got to work together to keep that ship afloat. We can’t be fighting over the lifeboats.

On new magazines arriving to the marketplace: Some of the most successful ones have gotten a good online start before they came to print, they started an online community, and they developed a really great level of interest in what they had to say.

On magazine categories that are doing well: The craft space is still doing well, and the mindfulness space. I have a new title in the architecture space, and it’s taking a little bit of a quirky, different angle on it, and I’m really optimistic about it.

On the current bookazine scene: It’s great. You get these publications with fewer issues, higher quality, higher price points. The reader gets something of real value and they’re paying for what they get. The publisher sells at higher efficiencies and is able to monetize circulation.

On young people working in this industry: As long as this business is seen as declining, we’re not going to attract a lot of young people to it. I would like to see that change.

On the power of print in a digital age: I mentioned the print publishers who’ve come to me from digital. And of course you have publishers that start in print and then migrate partially or totally to digital. That’s not always a complete disaster, but sometimes a publisher is not expecting the loss of authority that can come from that change.

And now for the lightly edited conversation with Linda Ruth, president, PSCS Inc:

Samir Husni: Hello, Linda, and thank you for chatting with me. We’ve known each other for years. There’s a lot of talk in the industry about magazines and the future of magazines, but very few talk about magazine distribution, whether on the subscription side or the newsstand. So my question to you, you’ve been in this business on the circulation side for many years.

Linda Ruth: That’s right, I got started in the 1980s working for BYTE, a McGraw Hill magazine, in Peterborough, New Hampshire.

Samir Husni: Over those years, what do you see as the major changes? ‘

Linda Ruth: When I got started, there were plenty of women in publishing, in editorial and even in subscription circulation, but very few in newsstand sales in magazines. That’s one thing that has changed to some extent.

Back then, there were roughly 400 wholesalers. Most of those wholesalers or even most of them were family-owned. Their companies were passed down from generation to generation.

They used to have conventions several times a year. And I remember talking to one of the women at a convention one evening, and she was expressing what it was like to be part of a wholesaler family. “We’re a group,” she told me, “a special group of people who have been involved with magazines as part of a family tradition. And in some ways it feels like we’re royalty.”

Of course that is very much changed. The independent retailers are mostly gone, the chain stores have taken over, and the wholesalers have vanished. We’re down to a small handful of companies, with one large company, Accelerate 360, dominating national distribution; wholesaling; data; retailer racking; and even have their own not-insubstantial publishing arm. This was a road down which we began marching decades ago, and it may have been unavoidable, but it leaves publishers in a place where they have no choices. Distribution costs rise and they don’t have any recourse. A publisher recently said to me, “I trust the people who are working there on our behalf, but as for their owners, the big money interests, it feels like they’re not working with us to keep us all in business. They’re just picking over the carcass of the newsstand industry.”

Samir Husni: So do you think the wholesalers changed from royalty to beggars?

Linda Ruth: Not beggars, because the power resides with them. That’s a third big change: publishers used to have a lot more power in the distribution business. They could negotiate discounts; they could pick and choose what retailers got the display allowance. Now they feel powerless. Every year they are being asked for more in terms of more fees, more discounts, more commissions; even promotions are being set up and billed back to them without their say-so. And while publishers in the past had money to burn (another change we could discuss—the parties alone back then!), many publishers today are running on a very tight margin. There isn’t a lot to play with, and every successive change makes them feel like they are moving closer to the brink of doom.

Samir Husni: What do you think can be done about that?

Linda Ruth: We’re in a situation now where we’re all on the same ship, all the distribution channel partners, and we don’t want it to sink, but we’ve really got to work together to keep that ship afloat. We can’t be fighting over the lifeboats. We’ve got to be doing what’s best for every member in this business. We have a lot of conversations about what the distributors need to stay in business; and from a publisher’s perspective it’s important to keep them in business. But it would be good to also ask the publisher, hey, what can we do to help you stay in business? We know that you’re creating the product, you’re paying your editors, you’re paying your printers, your shippers. How can we help keep you in business? And once those questions are asked, maybe we can find some answers that don’t endanger the entire supply chain.

Samir Husni: I agree, that’s one of the important things that we have to keep in mind. What about somebody who wants to start a new magazine today, and they come to you and said, Linda, I need your help. What would you tell them? Forget about it?

Linda Ruth: Not at all. Every year I have a few publishers who come to me and say, I want to start a print magazine. And some of them survive, and some thrive. I have a couple of really promising ones right now that I’m very excited about. I work with them to minimize the risk at the same time we’re developing a print audience.

Some of the most successful ones have gotten a good online start before they came to print, they started an online community, and they developed a really great level of interest in what they had to say. They’ll have a strong website, a strong list, good social media presence. They know they have a message that people want to hear. The messages tend to be fairly vertical nowadays, and that’s a good thing.

So I help them get a start in the bookstores and any appropriate specialty outlets.

That reduces their risk, because publishers nowadays are coming with very high quality publications, ones that cost a lot to put together in print, and they don’t want to blow out a couple of hundred thousand copies and take the risk that they won’t sell. Years ago you got a nice sales pop just for launching a magazine; the first issue would be higher than the subsequent two or three, and then you could build back to that launch level. That doesn’t happen anymore. You’ve got to get in there, find your space, find your category, and then build more organically. Where there is sufficient interest, there will always be room to grow.

Samir Husni: You mentioned you’re seeing more vertical new magazines, like they have to be in a vertical space. Is there any specific space you are seeing more than the others?

Linda Ruth: The craft space is still doing well, and the mindfulness space. I have a new title in the architecture space, and it’s taking a little bit of a quirky, different angle on it, and I’m really optimistic about it. And I have a couple of thought leader magazines. Historically, opinion hasn’t been the easiest category. But that’s changing a bit. There’s so much noise in the online communication channels, so much misinformation, disinformation, AI, that people are looking for more fact-based, reasoned views and opinions.

Samir Husni: You mentioned crafts, and you’ve represented some of the largest craft publishers, like Stampington, and you also represent the Old Farmer’s Almanac and their publications; so you work across a variety of categories. With all these existing clients, I mean, have your journeys with them been a walk in a rose garden?

Linda Ruth: Not always a walk in the rose garden, but for the most part, it’s been really satisfying. Working on a magazine, I won’t say it’s like raising a kid, because it’s not. But it has this element that you’re really putting something of yourself into it, and you’re creating something and growing something. You’re working with some of the most creative people there are, who want to reach out to like-minded readers, who take great pride in what they’re doing. Who are creating whole worlds for themselves and their readers. Who are, especially in today’s climate, very brave. It’s a privilege.

Samir Husni: You mentioned creating new worlds, and we have a world of bookazines that are out there. What is this doing to the magazine category?

Linda Ruth: It’s great. You get these publications with fewer issues, higher quality, higher price points. The reader gets something of real value and they’re paying for what they get. The publisher sells at higher efficiencies and is able to monetize circulation.

Samir Husni: And what do you think about the power of print in this digital age?

Linda Ruth: I mentioned the print publishers who’ve come to me from digital. And of course you have publishers that start in print and then migrate partially or totally to digital. That’s not always a complete disaster, but sometimes a publisher is not expecting the loss of authority that can come from that change. The loss of advertisers, the greater difficulty in getting samples, interviewees, and various kinds of contributions.

Samir Husni: Can you imagine a print magazine wholly made for advertising (MFA) only like what’s happening with Forbes.com?  

Linda Ruth: Actually, yes. Remember Computer Shopper?

Samir Husni: In your career, 40 plus years, can you name a particularly challenging time; and can you name a special moment or a pleasant surprise?

Linda Ruth: I can, and the two go hand in hand. In the 1990s, I was working for a big consultant and we were building a company together and he fired me. It felt like a huge betrayal. I didn’t know what to do, and I had always heard that after you’ve been fired, you were poison in this business and no one would have anything to do with you.

And I started getting calls, from client publishers, from wholesalers and national distributors and even a couple of retailers, and they said, Linda, we don’t know what happened with you, but you can count on us. One of my publishers told someone, “If Linda wants a job, she can come work for us. And if she wants to be a consultant, we’re going to be her first client.” A distributor hired me for a year’s worth of consulting. And a wholesaler group asked me to continue managing their retail program.

It was a wonderful, uplifting experience for me to have such an outpouring of support from all corners of the industry. It made me feel like this industry was home to me. And some of those people are gone now, but a lot of them are still here, and I have so much appreciation for them to this day.

Samir Husni: Is there a question I didn’t ask you and you’re dying to ask yourself and answer it?

Linda Ruth: I think the question would be, where is the next generation in this industry? Where is the next generation of people in magazine distribution, magazine sales and distribution? One of the reasons that I know so many people in this industry is we grew up in the industry together. Now they’re in charge of things. They’re running the national distributor and in high level positions at the wholesaler and at the retail chains. I do have younger people in their thirties who work in my office. But I am not seeing people in their generation for them to work with and talk to and learn side by side with. As long as this business is seen as declining, we’re not going to attract a lot of young people to it. I would like to see that change.

Samir Husni: I don’t want to take a lot of your time, but my typical last two questions is, if I come uninvited one evening to your house without a notice, what would I catch you doing? Reading a book, watching TV, cooking?

Linda Ruth: All of the above, or maybe playing a video game, up until about nine o’clock. I like to front load my days, so although you are always welcome, you don’t want to show up too late, Samir.  

Samir Husni: And what keeps Linda up at night these days?

Linda Ruth: Not much–I sleep really well.  

Well, I really appreciate you taking the time and. I’m so pleased that I got this opportunity. It’s always great to spend a little time with you, Samir.

Samir Husni: Thank you.