According to inside sources, a group of magazine publishers are planning the construction of a joint online newsstand. Such magazines include Time Inc. and Conde Nast, and the magazines will be created in different digital formats.
Though no official deals have been signed, it is rumored that Time, Conde Nast, Meredith, and Hearst will all be equity partners in the new company, which will run the online newsstand, and has been called the "iTunes for magazines."
The hope is that these publishing houses will be able to obtain some control over digital readers, since most of their print circulations are struggling in sales.
The point is that this new magazine company would make it easy to buy print and electronic copies of magazines like Sports Illustrated, Esquire, The New Yorker, and Better Home and Gardens from just one website. With this, you will be able to view the magazine on iPhones, BlackBerrys, ebook readers, and other platforms.
I am not very surprised that now magazine publishers are looking to expand to the digital marketplace; they're not dumb. While I think that this is a very interesting concept and definitely has promise of being successful, I don't like it. I know it sounds cliche and oldfashioned, but I truly enjoy flipping through the pages of my magazine, just like I prefer to turn the pages of my newspaper. I guess for people who are on the go, this will be a more convenient option, but I think I will always prefer to stop at a stand and buy a magazine to read on the train on my way to work.
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About time they did something like this. In truth, I've grown to enjoy reading articles online for free, but I understand that the media needs an income source that isn't from the goverment. Maybe this could somehow bring back a magazine that I use to read until it stopped production in the US. I hope!
ReplyDeleteWow what will they think of next? This is a good idea, especially for those companies who are trying to stay afloat as far as revenue goes. I think that everything is going to be completely digital soon, no more print, which will be crazy if something happens to sattelites/electricity and everything crashes.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great idea, I believe. I am surprised that this has not come about at an earlier time. Magazine sales are struggling and it only makes since to have a newstand online. I believe they would be able to boost sales doing this, as long as you have to pay to view the magazines.
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