According to Rolling Stone:

• Most newspapers and magazines are shrinking size
• Magazine stands are getting smaller

The world’s biggest music magazine is shrinking its size. According to a post at NYTimes.com, a new and smaller format of the popular music magazine will start circulating in October of 2008. Jann Wenner, founder, editor and publisher of the 41 year old magazine, says that from 189, 000, the single copy sales of Rolling Stone magazine dropped to 132,000 in 2007.

The drop in sales was less of a readership issue but more of a marketing concern. Most newspapers and magazines have already shrunk its sizes to a new standard, usually at 8 x 11 inches. This signaled bookstores, newspaper and magazine stands to change its racks to smaller sizes. Since the Rolling Stone magazines are relatively larger, they are shelved in higher eye levels, stacked underneath shelves, or folded in between racks, making visibility lesser and lesser.

Despite, the decrease in size, Rolling Stone is improving its magazine binding. The smaller format will be glued and not stapled. There will be glossier, sleeker and heavier pages than ever.

Rolling Stone maybe shrinking its size but it remains to be one of the most widely read and influential music magazines in the world. What is left for those who own the large format Rolling Stone are memories and nostalgia. Rolling Stone will never be the same again.