Update on Digital Magazines

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Next Issue has become the Netflix of the magazine business. For $14.99 a month, a subscriber can access about 112 digital magazine titles. That means instead of carrying around 15 pounds of magazines that are next on my to-read list, I have them all neatly organized in my Next Issue app on my iPad.

Quite frankly, I am not sure why anyone buys print anymore. Eventually, no one will. Next Issue includes titles from Conde Nast, Hearst, Meredith, and Time Inc. The company is hoping to have 75,000 to 100,000 subscribers over the next few months. Next Issue’s biggest challenge is the same one most apps have. There are 900.000 apps in the Apple store. Too much competition, too much noise.

For that reason, Next Issue is launching a TV campaign in order to rise above the crowd. Two 30-second spots, one geared toward women and the other aimed at men, are running on Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, Lifetime, Bravo, Food Network, and AMC.

The big revelation from Next Issue this week is that it plans to start letting users search magazines for specific topics and to introduce a recommendation engine based on a subscriber’s interests.

That’s something you can’t do in print.

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Digital Magazines Debut Before Print

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I knew this day would come but I didn’t think this soon. Hearst Magazines just announced that its digital issues will now be available on iPads before the print ones are on newsstands or in the mail to subscribers.

This is huge news considering most magazine publishers were reluctant to go digital just a few years ago. It turns out that magazine readers love when new issues show up on their screens, they don’t have to carry around a lot of weight, and they are saving trees.

Let’s give a round of applause to Apple and Hearst for working together leading the way for a better reading experience.

Hearst titles include Seventeen, Esquire and Popular Mechanics.

Hearst says it is nearing a million online subscribers while also seeing a sharp increase in revenue.