Why Fewer Zines?

The arrival and accessibility of the internet, among other things, led to a profound and lasting decline in zine production. But this decline hit different fandoms at different speeds. Older fandoms with many years of zine production, such as K/S, The Professionals and others maintained zine production longer. Different fandoms tried different strategies throughout the late 90s and early 2000s to accommodate fans who were acting out more of their fannish life online.
==Pre-Internet==
Even before the world wide web, fans noticed a drop-off in number of new zines. 
* there were a number of complaints by fans in early 1985 in the pages of the Starsky and Hutch letterzine Between Friends about the lack of zines published.
* from a 1988 issue of On the Double, there was complaint from a writer/fan about lack of submissions to zines: "I hear complaints from all over fandom that zines aren't getting enough submissions."
From a 1987 issue of Comlink where a fan blames the microcomputer and electronic bulletin boards, among other things: 
* there is a long essay by Nikki White on the decline of zines and other fannish goods in Star Trek Action Group #94, see that page
*the June 1991 Southern Enclave, a Star Wars letterzine which published many LoCs, encouraged fellow fans to make more zines to take up the slack in offerings.
==Why Fewer Zines? Was It Just the Internet?== 
The rise of the Internet is often cited as the reason print zines had declined in number; in essence, why shell out money for something that one can get for free? 
One fan's thoughts: 
In 2001, a fan created a zine and felt she had to explain what a fanzine even was to her audience: 
In 2002, a fan wrote: 
From a fan in 2007: 
==Fewer Zines: Other Mitigating Factors==
While the Internet is certainly a player in the decline in the number of zines, fans have suggested other reasons as well.
One interesting thing: Fans' perception of "fewer zines" is relative; fans have been complaining about the decline in zines since media fanzines were first created. 
===High Cost of Zines===
A comment in 1979: A fan cites the high cost of zines as a possible reason for a decline. she writes: 
A comment in 1983: A fan says: 
===Disinterest/Hostility Towards the Past===
In 1999, the print zine story Freedom is Standing in the Light was posted as part of Foresmutters Project. While many fans were appreciative, some were not:
From a fan in 2004: 
===Online and Authorial Control===
A fan in 2002 liked the control writing online gave authors:
A fan in 2017 said: 
===Refusal to Be Edited, Laziness, Instant Gratification===
Some fans cited writer's refusal to have their fanfiction edited, and that many fans preferred the instant gratification of online publication. 
From fans in 2004: 
===Lack of Communication from Editors===
A comment in 1985: There were some fans who felt that lack of communication from some zine editors didn't encourage writers and led to fewer zines: 
A fan in 1991 complained: 
===The Decline of the Letters of Comment (LOC)===
A comment in 1988: Jacqueline Lichtenberg blames the decline of the LoC. She has a long letter in On the Double commenting on rejected fan fic, LoCs and the difference between letterzines, review zines and LoCs: 
A comment in 1991 from Maggie Nowakowska: 
===Proliferation of Professional Fannish Goods===
A comment in 1988: A fan suggests the proliferation of professional fannish goods has had an impact on zine production and sales. 
A comment in 1998: A fan blames the many pro books: 
===Declining Quality===
A comment in 1988: A fan suggests that it is declining quality that doesn't bode well for zines. 
In 1996, Joan Verba talked about this supposed decline in Boldly Writing: 
From a fan in 2004: 
===High Cost of Zines Combined with Declining Quality===
A comment in 1989: A fan suggests the declining quality combined with increased prices of zines: 
A comment in 2013: 
A comment in 2013: 
===The Fracturing of Fandom===
A comment in 1989: A fan blames the fracturing of fandom and the availability of too many choices: 
A comment in 1990: A fan writes that she has seen a vast decline and writes that there: 
===Increased Production Expectations for Zines===
A comment in 1991: A fan comments that increased production expectations are partly to blame: 
===Readability Issues===
A comment in 2011: A fan cited clumsy binding and cite other readability issues with printed zines: 
===Too Many Zines, Too Many Choices===
A comment in 1991: One fan feels that there are too many zines, and in that sense, this means the herd needs to be culled:
 
===Aging Fan Population===
A comment in 1991: A fan speculates that there are fewer zines because of an aging fan population: 
===Lack of Physical Space===
A comment in 2013 from a fan who cites lack of physical space: 
===Increased Expectations for Print Zines===
From a fan in 1998: 
===Proliferation of Photocopy Machines===
From 1993: The increasing ease and availability of copy machines caused some zine publishers to question the viability of the craft. Fans who, in the past, were dependent on the ability of others to produce zines could now run out to the local Kinkos and make their own copies. This, in turn, reduced the need for originals, and sent costs up for publishers. From one of the many Open Letters that year: 
==="The Professionals" Fandom and Sharing===
A comment in 1995: A fan blames, among a number of other things, The Professionals fandom: 
===Government Meddling=== 
A comment in 1995: A fan in Australia cites government meddling and The Viacom Crackdown: 
===The Print Zine as Elitist===
A fan in 2002 wrote: 
: Another fan replied: 
===Lack of Visibility===
A comment in 1993: 
A comment in 1996: There were apparently fewer zines ads submitted to adzines and letterzines: 
A fan in 2001 commented about not knowing where to find zine submission requests, or zines, for that matter: 
From a fan in 2004: 
From a zined in 2004: 
===The Bad Economy===
A comment in 1996: The editorial in Full Circle notes a decline in zine sales, both at MediaWest and in general, and she blames the bad economy. 
 
A comment in 1997: A fan blames the Internet for cutting in on fanzines sales by offering "free fiction," but also making fanfiction more visable to the threat that is Viacom: 
 
===Television Itself===
A comment in 1998: A fan blames television which is ironic, considering the original medium of Star Trek and the VCR: 
===Feeding Frenzy===
A comment in 1998: A fan suggests that the decline of printed zine fiction is due to the voracious appetite of fan fic readers: 
===The Internet, Diversity, and Boredom===
A fan in 1999 suggests that the Internet brought more diversity, showcasing that print zines, at least in the Kirk/Spock fandom, had gotten boring: 
===The Internet and Online Communication Makes Fans Lazy, Stupid and/or Non-Observant===
===Art vs Fic===
A fan in 2017 pointed out that fans' tastes were changing:
 
===Bad Editors===
One zine publisher, Randy Landers, blames the internet and a bad editor: 
===Bad Marketing in a Changing World===
From a fan in 1994: 
From 2017:
===For Fun, or For Business?===
From 2017:
===Changing Cultural Fannish Norms===
For some 2009 discussion, see , scroll to the bottom of the page for comments.
 
A fan in 2004 cited a lack of shared history and her lack of interest: 
From a 2015 discussion regarding changing fannish culture, selling fanworks for a "profit," the value of the print zine, and status: 
===A 1999-2000 Conversation===
These are some remarks given to a survey administered to zine librarians, and published, in "Zine Guide: The Ultimate Independent Press Resource Guide" #3 in January 2000:
==Some Conclusions==
In conclusion, the decline in the number of print zine created was due to a many factors. Fanzines that were continuously kept in print competed against new releases. As zines began to have less and less art, fans were less willing to continue to pay the same price for zines that were “walls of text.” And, as fandom moved away from central fandoms in the 1980s, the market for a specific, less popular fandom would invariably be smaller. Morgan Dawn's personal notes, accessed March 3, 2012.
==References==
Category:Zine Fandom
Category:Discussion