This may have been covered before but if so I can't find it.
Many monthly magazines publish their magazines well in advance of the month on the cover. Is it OK to put the date on the cover as the 'Release Date' even if it was published earlier?
The cover date on a magazine is actually the date it should come off sale, at least for nationally distributed magazines .. it's been that way in the UK for at least forty years.
Having said that we should still go with the cover date for database purposes.
I sometimes put in the notes the publication date is third thursday of the month preceeding ( or whatever ) one of the monthlies I have somewhere stated published on the first of the calendar month of date on the cover . I have never know the Nov issue for example to come off sale on 1st of month , normally sometime between 12 and 16 days after if not already sold out.
I should have worded my post more precisely .. the month in the cover date is the
month it should come off sale, I didn't mean it would be taken off sale on the 1st.