Flicks for free

Published on July 30, 2007

DJs, actors, actresses and a host of other celebrities flocked to Siam Paragon last week for the launch of M Scene, a free monthly entertainment and lifestyle magazine from Traffic Corner Publishing.

But while the name is new, M Scene is in fact a remake of Tick-A-Seat, which closed early last year having kept film fans updated for the previous three years. The new version comes with a fresh design and a wider scope.

"M Scene isn't just about movies - it also covers lifestyle issues to appeal to a wider readership," says Traffic Corner's chairman Suraphong Triamchanchai in an interview with The Nation.

Among cinephiles who turned up at last week's launch were Akamsiri "Jakakan" Suwansuk, Tiyada "Jaew" Tiyawongsakul, Kanchanita "Ant" Ruangsurat, Nathanan "Top" Chantraviroj, Thakoon "Pop" Karnthip, Karnnik "Nicky" Thongpiem, Khemarat "Ong" Soonthornon, DJs from A-Time and actors from Xact.

"Actually, Tick-A-Seat was more of an experiment with a free publication and we were only printing 100,000 copies a month. We stopped because while it was going well on the membership side, advertising revenue was no different from retail magazines," Suraphong continues.

For the new free glossy Suraphong has again joined up with Anavach Ongvasith, cinema manager for Major Cineplex Group, but this time on different terms. With Tick-A-Seat, Traffic Corner acted as publisher and Major was just the distributor. Now, each has a fifty-fifty share.

"It makes sense to combine our capabilities," says Suraphong.

"Major takes greater responsibility for the marketing and making the magazine known to potential members, as it already issues the M Card to cinema-goers."

M Scene, which is handed out to the public every second Thursday of the month, packs in 50 colour pages and features 16 main columns. There's a cover story, movie reviews, "M-Focus" - which takes readers behind the scenes - as well as articles on music, books, health and shopping.

"I want the cover to reflect both the change in content and the spirit of cooperation," he says of the decision to change the name.

"It's also a matter of marketing. The new name helps us to hand it out at McDonald's," he jokes.

"Also, Tick-A-Seat was kind of indie whereas M Scene is much more mainstream."

The first issue, with a print run of 200,000 copies, features a cover story on "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix".

"We're already making a profit on this first issue," reports Suraphong with a happy smile.

"Production costs of the redesigned magazine are lower too - just Bt15 per issue - because we're printing in greater bulk. Free magazines can survive with a revenue of Bt3 million a month from advertising."

Suraphong says M Scene is not aimed at digitally savvy whiz kids but rather at professionals, who mainly use the Internet for work.

"I've got no idea how to download songs onto my iPod, I have to ask my kids to help," he says.

"But I guess we'll be putting a magazine on our website as our next step."

How does he see the future of free magazines?

"It's definitely a global trend," he replies.

"But the newspaper business isn't very different whether you're selling or giving it away free. The capital going into a daily newspaper is Bt20 but it sells for only Bt8. And you only earn Bt5 after deducting the distribution costs.

"That's why we're still handing out our free newspaper, Today Express, on BTS Skytrain."

Kitchana Lersakvanitchakul

The Nation