Starting a magazine in Swaziland

Starting any business venture in Swaziland involves going through numerous legal and official processes that can be very taxing if you are totally unprepared. Starting a magazine in Swaziland can be particularly frustrating because there are no fixed guides to assist one in establishing such a venture. You have to ask around from other established magazine owners and people in the industry. And so it was that I had a tough time attempting to get my company's magazine off the ground.

The most important thing to be aware of before starting a magazine, are the legal requirements. These are specified in the Books and Newspapers Act No.20 of 1963 . It is advisable to get a lawyer to interpret this document and cite to you the relevant sections as per your business idea. It may be added though that the registration requirements within this law, do not all apply to you if you are starting the magazine as a service under a previously registered company. The objects of registration of the company will determine which sections apply to your business idea. The highlights of the Act are mainly the steps for registering your business which involves obtaining a trading license, proof of financial capability to sustain the business in the form of available finance or surety and specific requirements for on the content and distribution of the magazine.

Covering the legal ground first is so important because should you be caught publishing or working towards publishing without registration, you will be prosecuted, states the Act. This automatically means you will have wasted both time and much-needed money as the gathered news or your first issue will grow stale (become outdated) whilst your case is being tried - a process that can take from one week to months, and even years.

For more information on the legalities involved in magazine publishing in Swaziland, visit the office of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), Swaziland chapter or consult with lawyers involved in company registration or trademark protection.

Beyond the legalities, there are some few official processes to cover.

Firstly, you need to obtain what is called an ISSN or International Standard Serial Number . The ISSN is an eight-digit number which identifies periodical publications. It is usually legibly printed on the upper right hand corner of the cover page or above the barcode in the bottom left-hand corner. Note that the ISSN does not guarantee copyright or prevent other magazines from assuming a similar or the same name or content as yours, rather it ensures that your publication is identifiable from other magazines. The ISSN also makes it easier to obtain a barcode which enables you to distribute your magazine in big supermarkets in Swaziland like Pik n Pay and Shoprite, which require barcodes for all the products they supply.

So how do you obtain an ISSN for your magazine?

The ISSN application process is centralized, the world over, in Paris , France - this is where the numbers are issued. There are however ISSN centres per country through which individual applications are made and forwarded to Paris . The ISSN centre in Swaziland is the University of Swaziland , Kwaluseni campus. There, you visit the University Librarian's office where you will be given instructions on how to proceed with your application. Normally, what is required is for you to write a letter of application for the ISSN. This letter must contain the following details:

The title of your magazine
The (proposed) date of first publication of the magazine
Frequency of publication
Name of the publishing company
Place of publication
Attach a copy of the cover page of the first issue of the magazine

This letter is submitted to the University Librarian's office. Thereafter expect a response - with the ISSN - in approximately two weeks.

2.With your ISSN, you can now proceed to apply for a barcode. This application is made to the Consumer Goods Council of South Africa (CGSA) via email. They are able to convert your ISSN into the 13-digit barcode.

To fully understand the purpose of the barcode and other options to obtaining it, visit the following webpage: www.gs1za.org.

Essentially, this is what to expect in starting your magazine. With each step, especially the registration steps stipulated in the Books and Newspaper's Act, be careful to do a thorough job as this will ensure that you do not meet unnecessary hurdles in the future which may be costly to your business. Otherwise, basics such as having defining your target market, tailoring content to meet their needs and devising an effective marketing strategy to make your magazine competitive need not be mentioned.

© 2007 all rights reserved. This article may be republished online as is. Get more interesting Swazi articles from infoshopswaziland.com For print publication, please contact info@knotell.co.sz info@knotell.co.sz

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