Approximately one out of ten new magazine ventures will ever be successful. A successful magazine will either create its own niche or somehow stand out from the rest, both seemingly impossible tasks. Thanks to the advent of the internet, not to mention these sad economic times, new magazines need to work harder to catch your eye. Despite such sobering news, they appear on newsstands fairly regularly. The past few months are no exception. The season of birth and rebirth has spawned its share of new titles, four of which have been placed under the microscope in order to predict their lasting power.

AUDREY, March/April issue
cover price - $3.95
subscription price - 10 for $14
cover story - Tamlyn Tomita: Get personal with Asian America's sweetheart
cover photo - Tamlyn being gorgeous as always, despite wearing an overgrown black tutu
pages - 98
pages of ads - 12
percentage of magazine comprised of ads - 12.24
layout - graphic design student project
letter from the hopeful editor - "As excited as we are about this launch, we know the road ahead won't be easy. As the publishing house behind KoreAm Journal, the nation's only English-language monthly magazine devoted to exploring the Korean American experience, our company is all too familiar with the ups and downs of publishing. With your help, we are confident that Audrey will also be a success. We will do our best to present the stories that interest you."
nudity? - aside from some bare arms and legs, of course not
things I learned - Beau Bridges likes to golf with Asians; Karin Anna Cheung, star of Better Luck Tomorrow, studied puppetry; the color of an herb in its natural state usually corresponds to the color of the organ it's meant to treat; Phillip W. Chung had a crush on Tamlyn Tomita; how to make lemon ginger ice cream with chocolate almond wontons
last article - The Many Splendored Facets of Beulah Quo
verdict? - Is an Asian-American women's magazine really necessary? I am Asian-American, yet my experiences are not so unique to Caucasian-Americans that I cannot read Marie Claire or Cosmo and relate. Audrey has much fewer ads than the others, a paltry amount compared to other women's magazines, and while I find that a welcome difference one has to wonder where most of their revenue will come from since their readership can't be terribly large. I didn't come away with much after reading Audrey, except perhaps the realization that Asian women are among the most beautiful in the world. Chances of survival? 40%

BANG, April issue
cover price - $3.99
subscription price - n/a
cover story - The Flaming Lips: If they don't turn you on, baby, you ain't got no switches
cover photo - the Lips in a pool, Wayne Coyne with a face full of blood
pages - 138
pages of ads - 33.5
percentage of magazine comprised of ads - 24.28
layout - think NME and Melody Maker (but without the annoying newsprint), visually it's heads and shoulders above the rest
letter from the hopeful editor - none, though a cast member from English sitcom "The Office" wished them good luck (they probably won't need it)
nudity? - topless members of the Lips; nude cartoon fellow with TNT in place of a body part in a sex ad; Joy Zipper's Tabitha Tindale in a sparkly bikini top; Har Mar Superstar in briefs; illustration of a nude t.A.T.u.
things I learned - that there are quite a few acts out there I've never heard of (The Warlocks, Harry, Buck 65, Joy Zipper, The Bloom Brothers, Devanda Banhart); The Strokes frequent Mars Bar in NYC; t.A.T.u.'s parents are proud of them (and why wouldn't they be?); Nina Persson of The Cardigans is now a brunette
last article - t.A.T.u.: All The Things They Said
verdict? - As if there weren't enough music magazines in the world. But BANG has the upper hand because it's English, and English magazines tend to be superior to ours. Visually captivating, with the acerbic, sarcastic tone typical of the more venerated music rags across the Atlantic (MOJO, Q) but covering more obscure acts. Folks who pride themselves in being the first to know and smirk at Rolling Stone, SPIN or AP will probably cherish this one. Chances of survival? 85%

RADAR, April issue
cover price - $3.50
subscription price - 10 for $15
cover story - Monsters Inc.: Meet the Scariest People in America
cover photo - J. Lo, looking very much like she's going to bitchslap someone
pages - 112
pages of ads - 33
percentage of magazine comprised of ads - 29.46
layout - intentionally like a graphic design student project-cum-tabloid
letter from the hopeful editor - "When I began my first job 15 years ago, magazines hummed with ideas and energy. But in the intervening years many magazines were subsumed by large conglomerates, and much of their irreverence and vitality was sapped from them. Vision and risk-taking were replaced by focus groups and stale editorial formulas. Being an editor no longer felt like much fun. [...] If nothing else, Radar is a rebuke to the conventional wisdom, and a testament to the power of persistence. We hope you have as much fun reading the magazine as we did putting it together. We'll see you again in a month."
nudity? - requisite advertising partial-nudity; screen shot of a towel-clad "Big Brother 2" cast member; unrevealing nude spread of Tiffany Limos; anorexic model doing a quick-change at a Christian Dior show; illustration of a nude Cameron Diaz (complete with startlingly fake breasts) as an unwrapped Mounds bar
things I learned - Madonna is writing children's books; Details magazine is in the closet; Stalin may have practiced genital origami; Robbie Williams, Justin Timberlake, Enrique Iglesias and NSYNC are big in Iraq; Barbie is banned in Russia; Google is banned in China; Grand Theft Auto is banned in Brazil; you can make sushi with Spam; you can find reality show has-beens at Belly in Hollywood; there is something called Kinko's rage; there is a presidential hopeful named Howard Dean; someone actually enjoys Kelly Clarkson's song (Prince Paul)
last article - Talking Heads: Ever wonder what Patty Hearst has going on upstairs? We submitted empty heads to the following four creative minds. [Patty Hearst, Jimmy Kimmel, Claus von Bulow, Louise Bourgeois] They filled in the blanks.
verdict? - The most entertaining and educational of the bunch. Anyone with an IQ below 100 might not get it. Has name contributors (Mim Udovitch, Tina Brown, Bret Easton Ellis). Chances of survival? hoping for 101%, but probably more like 75%

BIGSHOT, May issue
cover price - $3.99
subscription price - 4 for $10, plus a CD
cover story - Fischerspooner: NY State of Mind
cover photo - a close-up of Casey Spooner, as if he'd just seen a ghost...and then became one himself
pages - 88
pages of ads - 25
percentage of magazine comprised of ads - 28.41
layout - yet another graphic design student project
letter from the hopeful editor - "If you read the headlines, you know that the world is slowly unraveling, kind of like the closing episodes of a reality TV show. So what the hell am I doing starting a magazine during this period of political, social and economic unrest? I've asked myself this question a million times since I embarked on this emotional roller coaster with my staff."
nudity? - lingerie spread (what this has to do with music is beyond me); lingerie-clad temptress tempting Disco D; near-fully exposed breast in fashion spread; spread-eagle cartoon girl
things I learned - DJ Shemma is possibly the world's first blind superstar; rappers set trends; Motorola has a cell phone with a batter you can recharge via handcrank; Casey Spooner isn't afraid to spank another man in public, and he wants to fuck fame as well as be the next Madonna; Jody Watley is still around; Suge Knight may have planned Tupac and Biggie's murders
last article - Stayin' Alive: Legendary producer Nile Rodgers remembers the musical legacy of the Bee Gees' Maurice Gibb
verdict? - Yet another music magazine. How many is this now, 58? Unsurprisingly, this one doesn't really create a niche of its own or stand out. There are already successul magazines devoted to DJ culture and the dance scene. I assume that's what this magazine is about, though it's so devoid of focus (motorcycle stunt riders? city reviews?) I'm not sure. Chances of survival? 25%