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Apple Opens Door to Free iPad Content for Print Magazine Subscribers

great first step...

This is a great first step.

Next step is for publishers to set "digital-only" subscription rates at just below the paper subscription rates. Basically, discounting the cost of printing & mailing.

When that happens, they'll finally have a workable & sensible system.

I'm not sure why in the world this is taking so long to get right. It's so flipping obvious.

Same goes for newspapers...
 
jz1492 said:
.

- Trees everywhere get the worst part, as a large number of printed magazines go unread, needlessly.
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Until the paper subscription is unraveled from the iPad, you'll have to drop the paper versions at libraries, barbershops, dental offices... :rolleyes:

What about placing the actual delivery on vacation hold? When I placed WSJ on vacation hold, they gave me the option to either (1) extend my subscription by the same amount of time or (2) have it sent to a "needy" group, like school libraries. Maybe some magazines offer similar options.

Still, I agree. How about a fair price on a digital only magazine subscription. I had expected a new shelf in the iBooks app, but this terrific use of an iPad seems to be advancing glacially.
 
The reason for my digital subscriptions is because I don't want the clutter of physical magazines in my house. So this is kind of useless for me. I still find most of my subscriptions from Zineo to be reasonably priced if I do yearly subscriptions.
 
I would be happy to pay the US paper subscription price for a digital-only magazine.

I just did a quick comparison on the Conde Nast site for Details, GQ and Wired.

Paper subscriptions for 1 year in the US total $42.

In Canada, they would be $82 (Wired in US - $10/yr. Canada: $40/yr).

If I could pay $42 for digital-only subscriptions (which makes sense, since sending the digital versions over the Internet should cost no more to Canada than anywhere else in the world), I'd jump at it.
 
Full of Win said:
Awesome, I really was worried Carry would not get the dream weeding she has always wanted.
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Hopefully, it was Carrie's husband who did the weeding. Otherwise, this would be perfect fodder for the iPad version of National Inquirer.

I just hope this will eventually cover all magazines. I subscribe to several print versions and would like to use the iPad version, as well....but not if I have to pay anything extra for it.
 
NomadicTy said:
Why should the iPad version be the same as the newsstand price? They don't have to pay for transport and paper anymore....
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I also agree with you. This is like e-books. They save a lot of moneys. Also, don't forget the added percentage they gain, same they don't pay to newsstands. And, finally, I love to borrow, or lend others, newspapers and books. I don't think this is possible with e-books or e/i-magazines.
Unless you don't lend the ipad too...
 
NomadicTy said:
Why should the iPad version be the same as the newsstand price? They don't have to pay for transport and paper anymore....
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Because you're not paying for the media type, you're paying for the content.

The printing and logistics of newspapers and magazines make a tiny, tiny percentage of the price, which will now be taken up by development and server costs. Simples. This also applies to books and newspapers.
 
LAS.mac said:
I also agree with you. This is like e-books. They save a lot of moneys. Also, don't forget the added percentage they gain, same they don't pay to newsstands. And, finally, I love to borrow, or lend others, newspapers and books. I don't think this is possible with e-books or e/i-magazines.
Unless you don't lend the ipad too...
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Nope, they don't save a "lot of moneys", they save some costs which make up a tiny percentage of overheads, and other costs are now incurred. A similar price is justified. It's the content, not the method of distribution that you're paying for.
 
NomadicTy said:
Why should the iPad version be the same as the newsstand price? They don't have to pay for transport and paper anymore....
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what has the price a good cost to make got to do with the price you sell it at, if initially there is a mass of people that wil pay for the convenience of electronic delievery then intially the publishers will cream it..
 
godslabrat said:
This is EXACTLY why I won't easily buy into digital-only products. If I'm paying the same as I would for a physical copy, I WANT the physical copy. If you want to give me a digital version too, thank you very much. But, if you're only selling me the digital version, it had better be substantially cheaper.
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I heard a lot of people say this about CDs for music when the iTunes store launched. CDs are now available at the same price as their digital counterparts from many suppliers, and yet people still stick with the downloadable versions, with an ever growing percentage of music sales being digital - it's about the immediacy, the convenience, the ease of the transaction from your living room.

It's the content, not the method of delivery that is being purchased. (Sorry, I sound like a broken record - for those that remember vinyl(!))
 
kbmb said:
Just downloaded this as my wife subscribes to People. All I have to say is WOW. They did an excellent job on this app. It's not just a digital copy of the magazine. There are interactive sections, videos, additional images, clicks to current content. The navigation is really good within the app.

Color me impressed, as so far what I've seen from Zinio is just a digital reprint of the paper version.

-Kevin
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At least for National Geographic, which I'm subscribed to via Zinio, is is not only a digital reprint, but it has added value of videos, web links, etc.
 
vastoholic said:
The reason for my digital subscriptions is because I don't want the clutter of physical magazines in my house. So this is kind of useless for me. I still find most of my subscriptions from Zinio to be reasonably priced if I do yearly subscriptions.
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I agree. This is the sole reason I went to Zinio. I have to many magazines around the house. I have a lot of graphic type magazines and I keep them form reference. I bought a digital subscription and I asked the group if I could buy the back issues or if they could give me some issues during the time of my subscriptions. Two of them have been most helpful and actually gave me all of the issues I have subscribed to in digital format. All of those magazines found there way to my recycling center!

I love this idea!!!!
 
Forgot to say.

This is a very important first step and a great breakthrough. I hope many other publishers follow soon and we don't have the massive international lag suffered by Itunes store adoption, it was unbearable for many outside the US waiting for half decent content to become available. Apple got the flack for this delay, but it's pretty obvious the delay was from the content producers, not Apple. Here's hoping books, magazines and other content for the iPad and whatever the new iTV becomes are quickly available internationally and from all major producers of content.
 
Magazines

This is really great. I recently subscribed to a magazine at the rate of 12 issues for $10. They also had an app but when I checked it was only useable if I paid $4.95 per issue. I was unhappy and they blamed it on Apple. Now have to see what happens.
 
nelmat said:
Because you're not paying for the media type, you're paying for the content.

The printing and logistics of newspapers and magazines make a tiny, tiny percentage of the price, which will now be taken up by development and server costs. Simples. This also applies to books and newspapers.
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These costs (printing & mailing) are small compared to the total cost of content production, but they are not "tiny tiny". It simply costs less in net to produce a digital product. It should cost a little less to buy them. Whether that's a discount of 5% or 15% or whatever, it ought to be reflected in the digital subscription cost.
 
Enough.

I dont want an app for every magazine. I want one app for all magazines, or at the very least...one app for each publisher.

I mean, there's a bookstore with a wide variety of books, yet magazines are going down a different path...why?
 
I really have nothing to say about Apple, or the iPad, or magazine subscriptions.

But DAMMIT I love Carrie Underwood!!!
 
That's the way it should be with all digital content (as far as books and magazines go) I just dropped $40 on a book. I was at work and thought to myself it would have been nice to have an eBook version that I could throw on my iPad and read during lunch. I don't want to lug the book all over the place just in case I get to read it. But I always have my iPad with me.

I checked the price on the eBook and it was damn-near the same price as the hard cover.

I think the eBook should come with the hard copy for free. It's not like it cost anything. I mean, they got my money already, how can these publishers justify $40 for the hardcopy, and $28 for the pdf?
 
I personaly never saw the appeal of an ipad, but now that I think of it this alone and books would make one worth it.
 
Sawdustman said:
This is really great. I recently subscribed to a magazine at the rate of 12 issues for $10. They also had an app but when I checked it was only useable if I paid $4.95 per issue. I was unhappy and they blamed it on Apple. Now have to see what happens.
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Are you talking of Wired? That's amazing. 10 USD for 1-year subscription; 4.99 USD for 1-number digital delivery. And that's Apple fault? C'mon...
 
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