2000 Production salary survey - Statistical Data Included

Production salaries are climbing rapidly again, after having slowed last year. Art directors are the exception, however: Their salaries dropped.

After granting only modest salary increases in 1999, magazine publishers are once again showing production pros the money, according to FOLIO:'s 2000 production salary survey. The average pay for production directors rose 9.2 percent, to $70,586, in 2000. For production managers, the increase was even greater--10.7 percent, to an average of $48,232. For production managers on consumer titles, the hike was a whopping 20.5 percent.

In contrast, average salaries for art directors fell 1.3 percent, to $50,312. For art directors at consumer magazines, the drop was a steep 9.5 percent, to $51,748.

The 2000 results mark a continuation of a five-year trend that has seen compound annual growth of 5.8 percent for production directors, 7 percent for production managers, and 5 percent for art directors. Some feel that growth reflects supply and demand.

"I think there's a huge demand for every position in the industry," says Kathleen Schmatz, group publisher, Babcox Publications. "The pool of available experienced talent is just moderate."

Traditionally, production directors and art directors on the business side have seen their salaries lag behind their consumer counterparts. But that gulf narrowed significantly in 2000. Thanks to a 15.1 percent jump in pay for production directors at business titles, consumer production directors (at $70,664) and trade production directors (at $70,500) are now about even in average salary. Similarly, the 9.5 percent dip for art directors at consumer titles, plus a modest 1.2 percent gain for those on the trade side, means b-to-b ($49,168) is catching up to consumer ($51,748).

Production managers, on the other hand, have traditionally been paid better at trade books. But consumer salaries ($49,651) overtook b-to-b ($46,708) in 2000, driven by the enormous 20.5 percent jump for those at consumer titles.

Where change is slow

Although women in production outnumber men by a 3-2 ratio, they are paid less on the whole. Males outearned females by an average of $11,000 at the production-director level, by $3,000 on the production-manager level, and by $10,000 on the art-director level. The good news for women: The salary gap closed sharply for production managers--in 1999, the salary difference was $9,000, compared with $3,000 this year--and somewhat less dramatically for art directors (a 1999 gap of $12,000, compared with $10,000 this year).

"I think production has pretty much always been a boys' club; it's only in the last seven to 10 years that it's started to open up to women," says Tammy Rolle, production director at Ebony for the past 15 years. "The funny thing is, I think it's more female-oriented. To be a production director, you need to like to do puzzles, but people who need to do them from A to Z shouldn't be in production--there's always something to interrupt you."

On the whole, production workers say they are taking on more responsibility. Some art directors, for instance, cite Web design and Web management as part of their growing list of responsibilities.

Production Directors

(May be called vice president of production or director of manufacturing.) Negotiates printing contracts and other vendor relationships; establishes production schedules. Oversees one or more production managers. Responsible for technical matters, internal production coordination and quality control.

Lowest salary reported

$160,000

$30,000

After slowing down in 1999, salaries for production directors continued a trend of strong growth in 2000. Buoyed by a 15.1 percent increase in pay for trade directors, average salaries grew by 9.2 percent in 2000. Salaries for production directors at consumer titles, however, grew by less than 2 percent for the second straight year after jumping 9 percent in 1998.

Highest salary reported

AVERAGE BASE SALARIES FOR THE LAST FIVE YEARS

1996

Average $53,226

Business $50,605

Consumer $57,345

1997

Average $58,075 (+9.1%)

Business $54,979 (+8.6%)

Consumer $62,939 (+9.8%)

1998

Average $62,610 (+7.8%)

Business $58,671 (+6.7%)

Consumer $68,621 (+9.0%)

1999

Average $64,667 (+3.3%)

Business $61,252 (+4.4%)

Consumer $69,752 (+1.6%)

2000

Average $70,586 (+9.2%)

Business $70,500 (+15.1%)

Consumer $70,664 (+1.3%)

                           AVERAGE SALARIES FOR
                           PRODUCTION DIRECTORS
                                Average  Average
                       Average Business Consumer
By age
39 or younger          $67,389  $67,441  $67,319
40 or older            $72,095  $71,986  $72,173
Responsible for
1-2 magazines          $69,044  $70,498  $68,110
More than 2 magazines  $71,239  $69,357  $73,328
By number of full-time
employees supervised
0-2                    $62,388  $57,333  $66,379
3 or more              $74,409  $76,030  $72,853
By circulation
Under 100,000          $60,589  $64,890  $51,938
Over 100,000           $77,849  $78,653  $77,446
By frequency
Weekly/blweekly        $73,844        *        *
Monthly                $69,843  $71,647  $68,172
Other                  $70,542        *  $69,266
By total pages
published annually
Less than 1,000 pages  $63,243        *  $63,272
1,000 pages or more    $73,012  $72,102  $74,029
(*.)NOT ENOUGH INFORMATION SUPPLIED TO REPORT RESULTS.

Production Managers

Directly responsible for daily production operations of one or more titles, including publication page make-up, quality control and maintenance of production schedules. Is liaison with printing plant and service bureaus. In addition, may oversee traffic of advertising and editorial materials.

Lowest salary reported

$23,500

$94,000

Highest salary reported

Salaries for production managers had an average compounded annual growth of 6.5 percent over the past four years. However, after slowing to 4.6 percent growth in 1999, salaries rebounded to double-digit growth in 2000 for the second time in three years.

AVERAGE BASE SALARIES FOR THE LAST FIVE YEARS

1996

Average $34,343

Business $35,244

Consumer $32,937

1997

Average $37,481 (+9.1%)

Business $38,590 (+9.5%)

Consumer $35,699 (+8.4%)

1998

Average $41,631 (+11.1%)

Business $43,162 (+11.8%)

Consumer $38,835 (+8.9%)

1999

Average $43,562 (+4.6%)

Business $44,912 (+4.1%)

Consumer $41,191 (+6.1%)

2000

Average $48,232 (+10.7%)

Business $46,708 (+4.0%)

Consumer $49,651 (+20.5%)

                             AVERAGE SALARIES
                          FOR PRODUCTION MANAGERS
                                           Average  Average
                                  Average Business Consumer
By age
39 or younger                     $46,116  $44,941  $47,018
40 or older                       $51,057  $48,954  $53,409
Responsible for
1-2 magazines                     $46,200  $42,202  $49,572
More than 2 magazines             $52,155  $54,329        *
By number of full-time
employees supervised
0-2                               $47,248  $43,102  $50,608
3 or more                         $51,676  $54,379        *
By circulation
Under 100,000                     $42,412  $45,162        *
Over 100,000                      $54,627        *  $56,189
By frequency
Weekly/biweekly                   $52,185        *        *
Monthly                           $47,896  $46,670  $48,978
Other                             $47,364        *        *
By total pages published annually
Less than 1,000 pages             $45,689  $46,434        *
1,000 pages or more               $49,467  $46,866  $51,637
(*.)NOT ENOUGH INFORMATION SUPPLIED TO REPORT RESULTS.

Art Directors

Oversees the execution of all editorial art and design work for the magazine. Oversees art department. Responsible for assigning photography and illustration.

Lowest salary reported $20,500 $140,000

Highest salary reported

Art directors at consumer magazines saw their salary take a 9.5 percent nosedive this year, after increasing 16.2 percent last year. Nonetheless, they are still earning more than their peers at business titles, as has been the case for the past five years.

AVERAGE BASE SALARIES FOR THE LAST FIVE YEARS

1998

Average $39,499

Business $37,608

Consumer $44,382

1997

Average $43,374 (+9.8%)

Business $41,774 (+11.0%)

Consumer $47,491 (+7.1%)

1998

Average $48,590 (+7A%)

Business $45,342 (+8.5%)

Consumer $49,188 (+3.6%)

1999

Average $50,956 (+9.4%)

Business $48,577 (+7.1%)

Consumer $57,149 (+16.2%)

2000

Average $50,312 (-1.3%)

Business $49,168 (+1.2%)

Consumer $51,748 (-9.5%)

                    Average salaries for art directors
                                           Average  Average
                                  Average Business Consumer
By age
39 or younger                     $45,540  $44,302  $47,158
40 or older                       $57,939  $57,317        *
Responsible for
1-2 magazines                     $50,644  $47,305  $55,239
More than 2 magazines             $49,662        *        *
By number of full-time
employees supervised
0-2                               $47,725  $48,166  $46,893
3 or more                         $61,152        *        *
By circulation
Under 100,000                     $42,715  $46,012        *
Over 100,000                      $62,173        *  $64,929
By frequency
Weekly/biweekly                         *        *        *
Monthly                           $49,783  $49,707  $49,910
Other                             $50,262        *        *
By total pages published annually
Less than 1,000 pages             $48,089  $43,315        *
1,000 pages or more               $51,664  $53,074  $50,030
(*.)NOT ENOUGH INFORMATION SUPPLIED TO REPORT RESULTS.
                          Production/Art Dossier
                 Production Profile: Stats Tell the Story
                                    Average  Average
                           Average Business Consumer
Production Director
Age                             43       42       44
Years worked in production      17     16.5     17.4
Years with present company    10.5     10.6     10.3
Years in current position      5.4      5.3      5.5
No. of magazines worked on       5        7        4
No. of people supervised         6        6        5
Production Manager
Age                             38       40       37
Years in production           11.9     13.4     10.5
Years with present company     8.1       10      6.4
Years in current position      4.6      5.7      3.7
No. of magazines worked on       3        2        3
No. of people supervised         2        3        2
Art Director
Age                             38       38       38
Years in production           13.9     14.8     12.7
Years with present company     7.8      8.4      7.0
Years in current position      5.5      6.0      4.8
No. of magazines worked on       3        3        4
No. of people supervised         3        2        3

A profile of production pros shows that they are in their late thirties to early forties; have a lot of experience doing their jobs--from 10 to 17 years; and that they work hard, being responsible for as many as seven magazines and supervising as many as six people.

                      Staying Put Doesn't Always Pay
                             Average  Average
                    Average Business Consumer
Production Director
Less than 5 years   $69,579  $71,378  $68,212
More than 5 years   $71,235  $68,977  $73,598
Production Manager
Less than 5 years   $46,691  $42,659  $49,542
More than 5 years   $50,169  $50,383        *
Art Director
Less than 5 years   $46,970  $44,511  $49,480
More than 5 years   $54,571  $53,988        *
(*.)NOT ENOUGH INFORMATION SUPPLIED TO REPORT RESULTS.

Art directors have the most to gain by staying with their current jobs. Those who have been in their present position five years or more earn 16 percent more than those with less than five years under their belts. For production managers, the average increase is 7.4 percent, while for production directors it is just 2.4 percent.

                        AVERAGE SALARIES BY REGION
              PRODUCTION PRODUCTION      ART
                DIRECTOR    MANAGER DIRECTOR
NEW YORK CITY    $85,337    $56,384        *
NORTHEAST        $78,655    $54,590  $56,853
SOUTH            $64,232          *  $48,359
NORTH CENTRAL    $61,508    $42,183        *
WEST             $69,259          *  $48,192
(*.)NOT ENOUGH INFORMATION SUPPLIED TO REPORT RESULTS.

New York City and the Northeast are still the places to go to get the highest salaries. But for those disaffected by the East Coast, the West offers a decent second choice.

                     Gender Pay Disparity Remains Wide
                              Average  Average
                     Average Business Consumer
Production directors
Female               $66,591  $65,476  $67,618
Male                 $77,393  $79,305  $75,125
Production managers
Female               $47,140  $43,895  $50,234
Male                 $50,522        *        *
Art directors
Female               $45,310  $43,979        *
Male                 $55,173  $55,483  $54,869
(*.)NOT ENOUGH INFORMATION SUPPLIED TO REPORT RESULTS.

Although 61 percent of the people in production are women, their salaries lag behind men's salaries by significant degrees. Male production directors earn an average 16 percent more than women, and male art directors earn 22 percent more. Only productions managers approach parity--but men still outearn women in this category by a significant 7 percent.

                    male female
Production director  37%    63%
Production manager   32%    68%
Production director  51%    49%

Methodology

On February 4, 2000, FOLIO: mailed questionnaires for its 16th annual production salary survey to 2,153 professionals selected on an nth name basis from the FOLIO: database. A follow-up mailing was sent on February 17, 2000. as a reminder for respondents to participate. A total of 367 usable surveys were returned, resulting in an 18 percent response rate. Data was collected between February and March 2000, and analyzed by Intertec Publishing Planning and Research Department. The main objective was to Investigate salaries among production and art professionals in the publishing industry, and analyze trends in compensation relative to previous studies. Of the 2,153 respondents, the breakdown is as follows: production directors: 653; production managers: 750; and art directors: 750. Results have been weighted to reflect the following industry makeup: consumer magazines with under 100,000 circulation: 16.5 percent; consumer magazines with more than 100,000 circulation: 33.5 percent; business magazines with under 100,000 circulation: 33.5 percent; and business magazines with more than 100,000 circulation: 16.5 percent Results based on fewer than 20 respondents are not reported in the article, as they are not a valid sampling. These results are designated by an asterisk in the charts.

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