Vibe's Janet Cover vs XXL's Tupac Cover

Last month, on the Hip-Hop Advertising email group, I started a discussion that compared the covers of various rap magazines using Google Trends, the site that charts search term popularity.

From my outsider perspective, it seemed like cover subjects are chosen based on the editor's intuition, rather than hard metrics. The only numbers it seems they rely on are record sales, which are a terrible way to judge if an artist can sell a magazine, word to Outkast. The rest is guesswork.

I figured a tool like Google Trends could help predict which magazine would sell well, if we compare current interest  through searches. This whole process is far from scientific, because well, I'm no scientist. 

The round up looked like this:

• Vibe: Outkast
• XXL: Jay-Z
• The Source: Ice Cube

To my surprise, Ice Cube was coming in strong with search interest, while Outkast was not.

Let's compare cover subjects this month from the same mags, minus The Source, who decided to run an article on hip-hop violence (more thoughts on that later).

• Vibe: Janet Jackson
• XXL: Tupac

• A = "Janet Jackson"
• B = "Tupac"

Wow. A decade dead rapper generates more search interest than a gorgeous R&B singer!

Now I understand why Elliot and the crew at XXL honor Tupac every year. The world is still hungry for news about the man.

If I made the decisions about mag covers, I would have  done a double this month - Flavor Flav and his women on one, and Rev Run and his family on the other. I don't even have to run the numbers on that one to know it would sell.

Comments

[A former reader]

Your blog used to be decent, but now it sucks balls.

Goodbye.

[Hashim]

your mother.

[Donnell Bell]

Damn,

Why can't people have a dialogue? We don't have to agree on everything. If someone says something you don't like, tell 'em why at least, and honor a rebuttle.

One,
Donnell

[almu]

TUPAC T BEST!!!!!!!!!!!!I'M FROM SPAIN

[Monique]

I got to say Janet. Look at her she looking great. Has a fione man in her life. New album coming out on September 26 I heard some of the track on Bet. I have to check out Oprah show on the 25th of September because Janet going to be on it. I'm going to tape the show.

[Analogue]

Word Hashim

Interesting concept but I might just raise a couple of questions.

Are the people who are searching on Google the same type of people who are buying rap magazines? And are they searching for the same stuff as they're buying in the same proportions? I guess the answer is broadly yes - demographic for both will be skewed towards young and male and probably people's interests do tend to be the same across media... but I wouldn't assume so without more info.

And there might also be negative correlation - if I'm equally interested in two topics/ artists and know that there'll be a good free source of information for one of them online, I'm likely to Google that one and only pay out for paper copy on the other.