The success of Bloomberg Markets

Noah Davis of The Business Insider writes Wednesday about Bloomberg Markets, the business magazine from Bloomberg LP that caters to extremely high-end readers with an international focus with its coverage.

Davis writes, “Bloomberg Markets is distributed on an opt-in basis to owners of the machine that made New York’s mayor his first billion or three. They pay $20,000 per year for the privilege, and 95% of the 348,870 users — as of Tuesday afternoon — receive the magazine. (There is a growing effort to ramp up newsstand sales as well, with roughly 25,000 copies sold per month. The total rate base is 355,000 and expected to increase.)

“As advertising sales director for the Americas Chris Kurtz told the Wire in the Bloomberg Tower, ‘Nobody has this audience. These guys are rich. They don’t shop, they buy, and they run the world’s money.’

“His words contain some trademark salesman bravado… but he also raises a fair point. The magazine, distributed to 155 countries, sits in the offices of some of the world’s most important people. (And according to a survey, 85% of them read the April 2011 issue.)

“So no, do not be embarrassed if you have never heard of Bloomberg Markets.

“But here’s the rub: You should know Markets. Not because it caters to the rich and important, but because the publication consistently produces some of the best investigative journalism about the financial sector, an area where virtually everyone agrees we need more eyeballs.”