-By Lucia Moses

For the third time in recent years, Rolling Stone is testing a smaller, glossier version of the iconic, oversized music magazine.

For the test, first reported by The New York Observer, the magazine sent a shrunken-down version of the July 10-24 double issue to subscribers, advertisers and newsstand operators. The test issue, which like the regular newsstand issue features presumed presidential nominee Barack Obama on the cover, includes a letter from founder, editor and publisher Jann Wenner directing recipients to an online survey to provide their reaction.

A spokeswoman for the magazine declined to provide further details of the test, citing the competitive nature of the information.
 
The test comes at a time when publishers are facing soaring paper costs and declining ad pages; year to date through the July 10-24 issue, Rolling Stone’s ad pages plummeted 24.5 percent to 552, per the Mediaweek Monitor. The spokeswoman said that if Rolling Stone goes ahead with the trim size cut, any money saved would be reinvested in the magazine by adding more editorial pages.
 
It’s not the first time Wenner has tested such a change: in 2001 and about a year ago, magazine ad buyers were shown a perfect-bound, conventional-sized, glossy version of the music title. Buyers reacted negatively to the 2001 test, saying a conventional-looking Rolling Stone would lose its distinctiveness with advertisers.