Market for magazine licences defies the recession

The recession was not kind to the Middle East's media industry. Advertising revenues fell, magazines folded, and there were a lot of arguments about unpaid bills.

While things have eased a little now, there was one area of the industry that seemed to escape untouched: during the last few years, the appetite for international magazine licences has remained strong.

Over the last 12 months, we've seen launches of Middle East editions of titles such as Cosmopolitan, Rolling Stone, Variety, National Geographic and Forbes. That is on top of existing titles such as Time Out Dubai, Esquire Middle East and a local version of Hello.

The latest international title to come to the Middle East is Fortune, through an agreement between the publishers Time Inc. and AWI Company. The business magazine will initially launch in UAE and Kuwait, followed by "an additional five local editions scheduled for release in 2012 that will cover the GCC and Levant".

It is encouraging that there have been launches of such titles, especially during the recession. One theory is that, in tough times, advertisers prefer established brand names. And, given the often high licence fees, the survival of these magazines will depend on that.