Advanced Copy is the term I would use to obtaining a publication before its supposed release date. Many Londoners would be familiar with this experience. A decade ago, late on a Saturday night perhaps after a spot of dinner and the theatre you would seek out the pre-release copies of the Sunday Times being sold by select street vendors.
But then marketing departments brought this idea mainstream: On a retailers shelf if (in August) you are faced with 2 magazines; one dated August and the other dated September, you might be more likely to buy the September one, reasoning:
The September magazine is clearly more recent.
And so we are now in a ridiculous position that the copy date on the magazine is almost arbitrary! I just picked up the October 2009 issue of Winding Road Magazine, and it is the middle of August.
So my point is this: Those of us who cherish our magazines are moving to electronic not paper magazines. Distribution times are instantaneous, the original reason for future dating (that of distribution times) is no longer valid, and the second reason (marketing .. wow it must be really new) if null and void if everybody else is doing it also. So please publishers, when I read my nouvelle magazine in August, let's have it dated August!
PS: To get started with electronic magazines consider the PDF version of Winding Road, a good starting point for any Car enthusiast.
