Post contributed by Nicholas Belitz -
Magazines ON-Demand
There is a new way to read your favorite magazines. A new service was launched in the first week of April, this service is called Next Issue Media. There is a new app available to Android users running Honeycomb, the iPad version is still in the works according to tech news site Gizmodo. The app is free, but it requires a subscription that ranges from $10 t0 $15 depending on whether the readers want access to weekly magazines or just want monthly magazines. There are 35 titles available now including “Popular Mechanics” and “Car and Driver”. There are more titles that are expected to become available in the coming weeks. The subscription includes unlimited access to as many magazines as users want.
BJB - This is more than an app, but a new marketing strategy - instead of paying for individual issues or magazine subscriptions, subscribers would pay a monthly fee for access to a range of magazines offered by a number of different publishers. The move from sales to bundled access is new to the magazine industry as well as magazine readers. It's an interesting extension of the rights-locker / Cloud approach and coming at a time when print magazines are exploring their digital options. Still, for now, the app is available only on one operating system, and it's not the one that dominates the tablet market - so it's potential as a transformative application seems limited at this point.
Magazines ON-Demand
There is a new way to read your favorite magazines. A new service was launched in the first week of April, this service is called Next Issue Media. There is a new app available to Android users running Honeycomb, the iPad version is still in the works according to tech news site Gizmodo. The app is free, but it requires a subscription that ranges from $10 t0 $15 depending on whether the readers want access to weekly magazines or just want monthly magazines. There are 35 titles available now including “Popular Mechanics” and “Car and Driver”. There are more titles that are expected to become available in the coming weeks. The subscription includes unlimited access to as many magazines as users want.
"You download the Next Issue Media reader once, and all the magazines will be presented there in single format," Morgan Guenther, CEO of Next Issue Media said. "We think we'll have a compelling proposition."Source: Major Publishing Consortium Ready to Launch "Hulu for Magazines," Gizmodo
BJB - This is more than an app, but a new marketing strategy - instead of paying for individual issues or magazine subscriptions, subscribers would pay a monthly fee for access to a range of magazines offered by a number of different publishers. The move from sales to bundled access is new to the magazine industry as well as magazine readers. It's an interesting extension of the rights-locker / Cloud approach and coming at a time when print magazines are exploring their digital options. Still, for now, the app is available only on one operating system, and it's not the one that dominates the tablet market - so it's potential as a transformative application seems limited at this point.