the pg polymer which can be used in the present invention is a polymer obtained by copolymerizing an alkenyl phenol and at least one monomer polymerizable therewith . specific examples of the alkenyl phenol include vinyl phenol , n - propenyl phenol , isopropenyl phenol , n - butenyl phenol and sec - butenyl phenol as monomers polymerizable with alkenyl phenol , there may generally be mentioned aromatic vinyl monomers and aliphatic vinyl monomers . the aromatic vinyl monomers include , for example , styrene , vinyl toluene , vinyl xylene , chlorostyrene , dichlorostyrene , α - methylstyrene and p - methylstyrene . the aliphatic vinyl monomers include , for example , acrylonitrile , methacrylonitrile , acrylic acid , methacrylic acid , acrylic esters such as methyl acrylate , ethyl acrylate , propyl acrylate , butyl acrylate , hexyl acrylate and hydroxyethyl acrylate , methacrylic esters such as methyl methacrylate , ethyl methacrylate , butyl methacrylate and hydroxyethyl methacrylate , acrylamide , methacrylamide , isoprene and butadiene . the pg polymer of the present invention can be prepared with ease by conventional polymerization such as radical polymerization , ionic polymerization and charge - transfer polymerization . in these polymerizations , such processes as emulsion polymerization , suspension polymerization and solution polymerization can be applied . the molecular weight of the pg polymer can readily be controlled , and is preferably in the range of 5 , 000 - 200 , 000 or more preferably in the range of 10 , 000 - 100 , 000 in practice . the pg polymer should contain at least 2 % by weight or preferably at least 5 % by weight of an alkenyl phenol . if the content is less than 2 % by weight , the effect of improving the dispersibility of the magnetic powder , one of the features of the present invention , is almost impossible to obtain . the pg polymer , can be prepared as a binary copolymer comprising an alkenyl phenol and one of the above - described polymerizable monomers , or as a multicomponent copolymer comprising at least one alkenyl phenol and at least two of the above - described polymerizable monomers . thus , a variety of combinations are possible depending on the purpose . a pg polymer which is in the form of a viscous liquid , semi - solid or solid can be obtained by an appropriate combination of an alkenyl phenol or alkenyl phenols and one or more of said monomers . the pg polymer thus obtained is a polymer comprising , in combination , a phenol group - containing portion which corresponds to a thermosetting resin and a thermoplastic or elastic portion derived from a copolymerizable vinyl monomer or monomers . the drawbacks described above can be remedied by containing the pg polymer in the binder . in other words , by containing the pg polymer in the binder , it becomes possible to improve the dispersibility of the magnetic powder and the abrasion resistance of the magnetic layer . further , the containing of the pg polymer in the binder enables generation of drop - out due to the presence of low molecular components to be prevented ; flexibility , owing to the inclusion of a thermoplastic or elastic portion in the molecule , to be imparted ; solubility in solvents of low - polarity to be improved ; and compatibility with conventional binders to be increased . as the magnetic powder in the magnetic layer , there may be used γ - fe 2 o 3 , fe 3 o 4 , co - doped oxides , oxides surface - treated with a cobalt compound , ferromagnetic cro 2 and iron , or a magnetic alloy powder , such as , iron - cobalt or iron - cobalt - nickel alone or in combination . in the present invention , conventional thermoplastic or thermosetting resins may be used with the pg polymer . in particular , thermosetting resins are so compatible with the pg polymer that the aforesaid disadvantages in the blend application with conventional thermoplastic resins can be overcome . conventional thermoplastic resins capable of being used with the pg polymer include vinyl chloride - vinyl acetate copolymers , vinyl chloride - vinylidene chloride copolymers , acrylic ester - acrylonitrile copolymers , vinylidene chloride - acrylonitrile copolymers , polyvinyl butyral resins , polyamide resins , polyester resins and cellulose derivatives , which may be used alone or in combination . specific examples of thermosetting resins capable of being used with the pg polymer include phenolic resins , thermosetting polyurethane resins , amino rsins , silicone resins and isocyanate prepolymer mixtures , which may be used alone or in combination . the content of the pg polymer in the whole binder is preferably in the range of 5 - 90 % by weight . if the content is less than 5 % by weight , it is almost impossible to improve the abrasion resistance . on the other hand , if the content is over 90 % by weight , running of the recording medium is liable to be unstable . the magnetic layer may contain , if desired , additives such as dispersing agents , lubricants , abrasives and antistatic agents . specific examples of dispersing agents include fatty acids having 12 - 18 carbon atoms such as capric acid , lauric acid , stearic acid , linolic acid and oleic acid , salts of these fatty acids with alkali metals or alkaline earth metals and lecithins . the dispersing agent may be added to the binder in an amount of 1 - 15 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the binder . useful lubricants for the above purpose include solid lubricants such as molybdenum disulfide , tungsten disulfide , silicone oils and fatty acid esters , which may be added to the binder in an amount of 0 . 1 - 15 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the binder . as abrasives , there may used silicon carbide , chromium oxide , alumina and corundum , each preferably having a particle diameter of less than 2 μm on average . useful antistatic agents for the above purpose include natural surfactants such as carbon black and saponin , nonionic surfactants derived from alkylene oxides or glycerol , cationic surfactants such as higher alkylamines , ammonium salts and heterocyclic compounds , anionic surfactants containing acidic radicals such as carboxylic acid , sulfonic acid , phosphoric acid , sulfuric acid ester and phosphoric acid ester , and amphoteric surfactnats such as amino acids , aminosulfonic acids , and sulfuric or phosphoric acid esters of aminoalcohols . these surfactants may be used alone or in combination . as the non - magnetic base material , there may be used polyesters such as polyethylene terephthalate and polyethylene 2 , 6 - naphthalate , polyolefins such as polypropylene , cellulose derivatives such as cellulose triacetate and cellulose diacetate , polycarbonates , polyamides and polyimides . in the practice of the magnetic recording medium according to the present invention , there are a variety of embodiments such as the application of top - coat to impart lubricating properties or of back - layer for antistatic purposes . the present invention is further illustrated by the following examples . it should be understood that these examples are given only for the purpose of illustration of the present invention and do not limit its scope . in the examples , all parts and percentages are by weight unless otherwise specified . one hundred parts of p - isopropenyl phenol , 130 parts of acrylonitrile , 770 parts of butyl acrylate and , as a solvent , 670 parts of ethyl acetate were fed into a reactor . six parts of azobisisobutyronitrile was added thereto in two fractions three hours apart as a polymerization initiator . the resulting mixture was subjected to polymerization for ten hours under the reflux of ethyl acetate . thereafter unreacted monomers and the solvent were removed to obtain 955 parts of a pg polymer ( hereinafter referred to as pg polymer a ). the content of p - isopropenyl phenol in the polymer was 10 %, measured by 13 c - nmr analysis . the average molecular weight of the polymer was about 19 , 000 . three hundred parts of p - isopropenyl phenol , 100 parts of acrylonitrile , 500 parts of butyl acrylate , 100 parts of butyl methacrylate and , as a solvent , 700 parts of methyl ethyl ketone were fed into a reactor . thereafter , 960 parts of a pg polymer ( referred to as pg polymer b ) was obtained in the same manner as in example 1 . the content of p - isopropenyl phenol in the polymer was 30 % and the average molecular weight of the polymer was about 22 , 000 . fifty parts of p - isopropenyl phenol , 50 parts of acrylonitrile , 900 parts of butyl acrylate and , as a solvent , 650 parts of methyl ethyl ketone were fed into a reactor . thereafter , 965 parts of a pg polymer ( called pg polymer c ) was obtained in the same manner as in example 1 . the polymer contained 5 % of p - isopropenyl phenol and had an average molecular weight of about 21 , 000 . ______________________________________co - coated γ - fe . sub . 2 o . sub . 3 ( major axis diameter 0 . 6 100 . m , partscoercive force hc 640 oe ) binder ( a mixture of 75 parts of pg polymer a 100 partsand 25 parts of a novolac - type phenolic resin ) lecithin 2 partscr . sub . 2 o . sub . 3 2 partscarbon black 2 partsfatty acid ester 1 partmethyl ethyl ketone - toluene - cyclohexanone 150 partsmixed solvent ( 1 + 1 + 1 ) ______________________________________ after kneading the foregoing starting materials in a ball mill for 18 hours in the proportions described above , 2 . 5 parts of an isocyanate compound ( trade name desmodur l ; a product of farbenfabriken bayer a . g .) was added thereto and the resulting mixture was subjected to high shear - rate dispersion for 35 minutes to obtain a magnetic paint . the paint was coated on a polyethylene terephthalate film having a thickness of 160 μm in such a manner that its thickness became 4 μm after drying . the resulting film was subjected to magnetic orientation and thereafter dried and wound . this was calendered and cut into tapes having a width of 0 . 5 inch ( 12 . 7 mm ) to obtain a magnetic tape ( hereafter called tape no . 1 ). the procedures of example 4 were repeated to obtain a magnetic tape , except that the binder was composed of a mixture of 70 parts of pg polymer b and 30 parts of a conventional thermosetting polyurethane resin . this tape was called tape no . 2 . the procedures of example 4 were repeated to obtain a magnetic tape , except that the binder was composed of a mixture comprising 35 parts of pg polymer c , 15 parts of a novolac - type phenolic resin and 50 parts of a vinyl chloride - vinyl acetate - vinyl alcohol copolymer ( a trade name vagh ; a product of union carbide corporation . this tape was called tape no . 3 . a magnetic tape was prepared in the same manner as in example 4 , except that the binder was composed of a mixture comprising 40 parts of pg polymer c , 20 parts of a novolac - type phenolic resin and 40 parts of a thermosetting polyurethane resin . this tape was called tape no . 4 . a magnetic tape was prepared in the same manner as in example 4 , except that the binder was composed of a mixture of 50 parts of pg polymer b and 50 parts of vagh . this tape was called tape no . 5 . a magnetic tape was prepared in the same manner as in example 4 , except that the binder was formed of a mixture comprising 55 parts of pg polymer a , 15 parts of a novolac - type phenolic resin and 30 parts of a thermosetting polyurethane resin . this tape was called tape no . 6 . a magnetic tape was obtained in the same manner as in example 4 except for using 100 parts of a novolac - type phenolic resin as the binder . this tape was called tape no . 7 . a magnetic tape was obtained in the same manner as in example 4 except that the binder was composed of 50 parts of a novolac - type phenolic resin and 50 parts of polyvinyl butyral . this tape was called tape no . 8 . a magnetic tape was prepared in the same manner as in example 4 , except that the binder was composed of 50 parts of a novolac - type phenolic resin and 50 parts of polyacrylonitrile . this tape was called tape no . 9 . the characteristics of these magnetic tapes are shown in table 1 . in table 1 , the surface gloss was determined by a glossmeter such that a light was reflected on the surface of the magnetic layer at an angle of incidence of 75 ° and the amount of reflection was measured . the falling - off of magnetic powder was determined by measuring the amount of powder adhering to the running parts of a home vtr after each tape was run for a one hundred hours and is shown as the amount compared with that of tape no . 1 as 1 . 0 . the durability still in minutes was determined by the time duration in which the performance of recording play - back was lowered to 80 % level as compared to its initial value in a home vtr . the degree of scratching of the magnetic layer was evaluated visually after the tape was run repeatedly one hundred times in a home vtr . table 1______________________________________tape surface gloss powder falling - durability still scratch - no . (%) off ( minutes ) ing______________________________________1 90 1 . 0 1100 o2 85 1 . 0 1200 o3 85 1 . 5 900 o4 75 2 . 0 1100 o5 80 1 . 0 1100 o6 80 1 . 5 1100 o7 70 1 . 5 400 x8 80 2 . 0 400 x9 65 2 . 5 800 o______________________________________