Magazines Do Not Have Bieber Fever

While young girls across the country swoon over the mop-headed pop sensation Justin Bieber, that enthusiasm doesn't seem to extend to magazine readers. Bieber's February Vanity Fair cover was a huge flop for the magazine, possibly yielding the weakest sales since Graydon Carter took the glossy over in 1992. While surprising, it makes a wee bit of sense that the Beebs may not strike a core with VF's core readership of upscale gossip-lovers. But here's the real shocker: Bieber's October cover for Teen Vogue was a flop as well, selling 12% below average and People's issue dedicated to the tween sensation sold at about 25% below average. Now that is surprising, dear friends. Vanity Fair's readers not caring is understandable but Teen Vogue and People seem readymade to promote the crooner. How one can be a cultural phenomenon like Justin and not cause frenzied panic at the newsstands is quite the conundrum, right. So what gives? A Vanity Fair spokesperson told WWD, "Who knew 12-year-olds didn't buy magazines?" Who knew, indeed.