Meanwhile, Marco Arment's The Magazine proved its financial viability after one issue. Eventually one of the traditional publishing companies will figure this out, right?
The problem with that example is that it's a magazine targeted to a certain niche and he's just a one man show who can just grab a few writers, have them write, and then pay them royalties. It's a side project, and it works because of the very small amount of content and very few writers.
But then for that very same price, I just got Rolling Stone, Time, and a few others (for doing a customer satisfaction survey, it was my reward from a company). They have much more articles and writers. I get this sort of price at Zinio too, sometimes even like $3 per year.
If everyone was approached to pay that kind of pricing, then these publications wouldn't be able to exist, because it's not *JUST* about writing, it's about having a desk to sit at, a computer to type on, a notebook to write notes in, it's about having the money to send your employees out to do interviews, and to afford the insurance if something happens while people are out doing these interviews. Time has about 10,000 employees. Even if 20 million people subscribed digital only, it wouldn't be very profitable due to upkeep. And that is why most magazines not only cost a lot, but also have LOTS and LOTS of advertising.