“Nobody has completely solved that riddle. “Part of convincing people to pay will be to produce a product that’s meaningfully better than both the print and Web versions, at least for some reasons,” he says.
The magic price point for e-reader content may not come soon, according to McCracken. “But at the same time, we want to make sure that publishers are getting paid for the value that’s being delivered.” “In general, consumers expect digital to be less expensive,” he says. When asked about price points, Fuchsberg declined to provide specifics but says that they will probably reflect what consumers are expecting. Skiff is in support of a traditional subscription model, according to Fuchsberg, because it’s what consumers tend to prefer, but the company will also sell single copies and bundles that could include the print magazine. “So we think it’s important to optimize our service for various devices.” “We don’t want to force people to have to go onto their computer and into a browser to get new content,” Skiff president Gilbert Fuchsberg tells FOLIO. Going into 2011, publishers should have two more digital storefronts: Next Issue Media and Skiff. A monthly subscription to Fortune, for example, can be purchased for $1.49 a month on the Kindle, while The Nation costs the same on the nook. The subscription prices on these retailer newsstands, however, are more competitive than other digital newsstands.
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Both companies have created apps to make the content users download onto their devices accessible on PCs, Macs, Blackberrys and iPhones. Publishers can also sell their digital content on newsstands that Amazon and Barnes & Noble have created specifically for their devices-the Kindle and the nook. “It’s the best of both worlds because now we can focus on the loyalists through our own marketing and outreach efforts.” “Very soon, we’ll have our own branded app and then customers will be able to get to our digital edition right from ,” says Jeff Price, president and publisher of Sporting News, which also works with Zinio. Publishers are also producing their own apps. “They already have well-established publisher relationships and technologies, and far more people are going to want to read magazine-format publications on tablet-style devices than ever wanted to on PCs.” “If companies like Zinio, Nxtbook and Texterity play their cards right, e-readers should be the best things that ever happened to them,” says McCracken. Tablets and the iPad could be a boon for digital magazines. “There’s no inherent reason why readers should care about digital-distribution companies any more than they do about the ones that deliver print magazines to newsstands.” “Digital vendors removing themselves from branding makes a lot of sense,” says Technologizer founder Harry McCracken. It is currently working on providing print/digital bundle subscriptions that will be magazine-branded, not Texterity-branded. Texterity has no plans to align its current newsstand Coverleaf with its mobile and e-reader offerings, according to a company spokesperson. All of Nxtbook digital magazines are accessible on the Blackberry via the company’s Liberty platform. From there, customers are directed to the subscription page of that publisher’s Web site or are advised to purchase subscriptions via. Nxt-Stand is a portal where publishers can promote their digital content and readers can browse content for free. Lancaster, PA-based Nxtbook also has its own newsstand, but it isn’t actually used to sell digital subscriptions. “It connects our readers back to our homepage and also allows us the opportunity to sell ads online, which supplements our print edition.” “The microsite allows us to strengthen the Pharmacy Today brand and it makes us more searchable,” says Bill Succolosky, senior director, creative services, associate publisher, American Pharmacists Association. Tulsa, Oklahoma-based iMirus, for example, has been building microsites directly onto its clients’ Web sites where all of the digital subscription transactions take place. The majority of vendors, it seems, are taking the second approach.
Here’s a breakdown of what’s currently available as well as what’s to come.ĭigital edition vendors are currently taking two approaches when it comes to helping publishers sell their digital editions online: they’re either creating their own marketplaces or they’re creating magazine-branded storefronts and/or apps. From platforms created by digital edition vendors such as Zinio and Nxtbook, to newsstands directly related to devices created by Amazon and Barnes & Noble, publishers have multiple opportunities to position themselves in this new landscape. Magazine Publishers have quite a few choices when it comes to finding a newsstand in which to sell the digital, e-reader and mobile versions of their titles.
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