Digital Magazines

Kindle and Nook head ereader sales

2011-11-23T22:00:00.001Z

That's according to The State Of The App, a report by McPheters & Company comprised from its iMonitor database of information about 4,000 news and magazine apps.
That makes Nook Newsstand and Zinio the second most popular platform for publishers after iOS (not including the web). And Nook added the most publishers between May and August.
Where does that leave Android apps? Still languishing. only 21 percent of U.S. magazine publishers are currently distributing through Android apps, according to McPheters.
However, it may be true to say that other platforms like Nook and Zinio are more likely to play host to replica page-turners than dedicated interactive app editions, as iPad editions are.
"Unfortunately, the majority of magazine apps are still minimally enhanced PDF replicas, and it seems as if the advent of the iOS Newsstand - and perhaps the Kindle Fire - may be contributing to an increasing trend in this direction," according to the McPheters report. "The publications available on the Fire are likely to skew heavily towards replicas."
McPheters founder Rebecca McPheters tells paidContent: "Since mid-October, we have seen a spate of replicas from publishers like Hearst and Time Inc. that had previously published mostly high-quality apps that take full advantage of the iPad's capabilities."

Amazon on Fire

2011-11-14T22:50:00.001Z

Amazon have announced thatthe new Kindle Fire will include a “Newsstand” selling subscriptions and issues of 400 digital magazines and newspapers. Most of the major publishers on the magazine side will be represented in the Newsstand: Conde Nast, Hearst., National Geographic, Meredith, Wenner, Reader’s Digest, etc. Early customers will get a special promotion from Conde Nast, a three month free trial subscription to its 17 titles.

Conde Nast Digital Sales Increase

2011-11-09T11:27:00.001Z

Conde Nast is the latest magazine publisher to be boosted by Newsstand, the new feature in iOS 5 that lets you buy and read magazines. Since Newsstand was launched on the iPad, several Conde Nast titles have seen sales soar.

According to Electronista , subscriptions to magazines like The New Yorker and GQ have skyrocketed by a whopping 268 percent in the two weeks since Newsstand launched with iOS 5. Single-issue sales have also benefitted, making a 142 percent jump.

Conde Nast executive vice president of marketing Monica Ray told Electronista that Newsstand’s design has helped. Placing the app on the home screen has given “focused attention” to Newsstand and made it simpler for people to access magazines. This exposure seems to be invaluable for magazine publishers, most of whom have struggled to get people to read their products on the iPad.

Ray said Conde is “very optimistic that [it] will see a consistently higher level of growth going forward than [it] did prior to [Newsstand’s] introduction.”

Magazines Flex Their Apps -- But Will They Make Any Money From Them?

2011-08-22T14:13:00.000+01:00

Interesting article on digital magazines and tablet versions

How Conde Nast create iPad Apps

2011-07-07T11:23:00.000+01:00

As the man tasked with giving new life to magazines on new platforms for Condé Nast, Scott Dadich says there are some things, old-school things, that don't change whether you're dealing with print or tablets.

HP to Launch Digital App Magazine

2011-06-27T10:21:00.001+01:00

In an effort to differentiate its upcoming TouchPad tablet from competitors like the iPad and Android tablets, HP today announced that it would launch a digital magazine to accompany the device, made to showcase apps for the operating system, webOS 3.0.

HP describes the magazine, called HP Pivot, as an "entertaining and informative editorial resource for discovering webOS 3.0 applications." Besides reviews of apps, HP Pivot will profile top developers, HP said in a press release. The editorial will include original content from journalists associated with various publications, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Vanity Fair, Fast Company, New York magazine, Harper's Bazaar, Tattler and more, an HP spokesman told PCMag.

Condé leapfrogs Hearst in iPad digital mag derby

2011-05-06T13:43:00.001+01:00

Condé will actually beat rival Hearst in the iPad subscription derby. Hearst said yesterday it was going to start selling subscriptions and single copies of Esquire, O: the Oprah Magazine and Popular Mechanics via the iPad effective with the July issues, available sometime next month.

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/conde_leapfrogs_hearst_in_ipad_digital_bgkiHuL47Frm9mB4y2V3RI#ixzz1LZmDuUcR

E Book sales soar - are magazines set to follow ?

2011-05-03T08:00:00.003+01:00

Sales of digital books are soaring in the UK, figures from the Publishers Association show.

The association said that in 2010 sales of e-books and audio book downloads in the "general titles" category, which includes novels and consumer titles, shot up from £4m to £16m.

Academic and professional books still dominated overall digital sales, which reached £180m last year.

Apple to produce magazine app for iPad ?

2011-03-18T15:52:00.001Z

Apple might be making it a little easier to build a magazine on the iPad via a new publishing template with Xcode, its developer environment and toolkit.
According to a Gadget Daily News report, Apple is planning to release a template that will "create a familiar, consistent user interface" and "facilitate in-app purchases for subscriptions and back issues."

Apple is already halfway there. Last month, the company unveiled a long-awaited subscription model for App Store publications.

Read more

Current digital magazines - epic fail !!

2011-02-04T14:20:00.002Z

A nice piece today from the New York Times, talking about the race between print and digital magazines.

The writer notes that in the time it took him to drive to the shops to buy the latest issue of Wired, the digital version still hadn't downloaded to his iPad...

His conclusion ? That current digital products are still based on an old business model and are too big and bulky

iPad magazines need a new blue print

2011-01-31T13:58:00.003Z

TechCrunch have a new view on how the transition from print to pad is going - and guess what ? Ain't good news for publishers

The customized magazine model hits paydirt

2011-01-02T19:11:00.001Z

Interesting piece on how MyGazines has revived its business model

UK publishers should be damned for their iPad applications

2010-12-20T11:21:00.000Z

The best magazine I have ever read was The Face, but even if it was still published I probably wouldn't buy an iPad app and it would appear that most magazine readers have a similar opinion about other existing titles.

For all the furore about the iPad being the saviour of magazines and the future for paid journalism, the market is pitifully small in the UK.* (*see footnote) and there are plenty of reasons why this is unlikely to change for years.

Read more

Zinio and Marie Claire work together on apps

2010-12-10T11:17:00.001Z

An interesting look at how marie Claire is producing app-friendly content

New magazine is an ongoing Project

2010-12-01T14:14:00.001Z

Sir Richard Branson said the company plans to rely on "word of mouth from bloggers" to market his new iPad magazine, Project, which debuted this week. "If they don't like it, we're dead in the water," he said, adding: "We don't have Rupert Murdoch's advertising budget, that's for sure."

Well I've had a look (an early one anyway) and taken the plunge to pay £1.79 for a trial copy. It takes time to load - over 3 hours on a 10mB line - and I think a bit gimmicky.

I'll read it this weekend.

Hulu for magazines coming - but not for iPad

2010-11-12T11:28:00.002Z

Next Issue Media, the "Hulu for Magazines" joint venture, plans to have its digital storefront open early next year. But you won't be able to shop there if you've got an iPad.

Read the whole story: AllThingsD

I love my IPad

2010-10-18T17:21:00.002+01:00

I never thought I'd say this, but I'm finding the iPad very compelling to read books(and magazines) on.

Top tip though is to download the Kindle app - books are cheaper.

Also, check out the new T3 preview - looks pretty slick

Outlook not positive for this edition

2010-09-07T11:59:00.003+01:00

Just come across "Australian and New Zealand Outlook", which is somewhat amusingly touted as a cutting edge publication for the internet age.

Few problems with this -

(i) The design ; looks like its been put together by a five year old

(ii) Pagesuite - why use this as a platform ? I find it clunky, slow to load and very unfriendly in certain browsers.

(iii) News - how can you do an up to date monthly ? Its an oxymoron given things like paper.li, Flipbook etc

Really must do better - this is just print publishing on a different platform

Can Amazon turn E Books mainstream ?

2010-08-02T08:19:00.002+01:00

Interesting piece on how the launch of a cheaper Kindle could introduce a new audience to the ebook format ?

Study says people read e-books slower than print

2010-07-07T10:08:00.000+01:00

The debate over e-reading versus traditional printed material continues to rage on. Many folks seem to be of the view that reading on a screen just isn’t the same experience as relaxing with a book.

Yet change always comes eventually, and others ask whether the success of the iPad might help cement the status of the e-book market. Sony certainly thinks that the printed word is on the way out, and in five years time, e-books will be more prevalent.

Read more

Adobe launches digital magazine viewer

2010-06-04T16:19:00.000+01:00

Adobe officially launched its digital viewer technology for developers on Tuesday. The software complements Adobe's recently announced Creative Suite 5 collection of design and development applications.
Publishers using CS5 can build digital magazine layouts that contain the same design elements as those in periodicals found on news racks, while also containing interactive capabilities associated with online publications. "It’s safe to say that if you are already working in InDesign CS5, you’ll be well on your way to producing a beautiful digital version of your publication," David Burkett, VP and general manager of creative solutions for Adobe, said in a statement.

Adobe plans to make its latest viewer software available on as many hardware platforms as possible, including smartphones and the emerging market for slate computers like the Apple iPad. The strategy is similar to the company's approach with its PDF format for business document creation. The PDF viewer is widely available at no charge for multiple platforms, while Adobe sells tools for creating documents.
Wired magazine, a Conde Nast publication, built its recently released reader application for the iPad using Adobe's latest technology. The Wired reader, available through Apple's App Store for $4.99, lets readers watch video and slideshows, view 360-degreee images and rotate content in vertical and horizontal modes. Another feature made possible through Adobe technology is touch-based navigation.

From Information Week

Premier Guitar iPhone App Strikes a Different Chord

2010-03-10T23:36:00.001Z

Among the torrent of magazine branded mobile apps in recent months it is hard to find new ideas. But just when you are about to yawn at the next me-too mag app, something a bit different actually comes to the fore. Guitar enthusiast book Premier Guitar has worked with digital magazine creator Texterity to make a novel hybrid of magazine facsimile and mobile Web site. The free, ad-supported app shows its two faces at the main menu, which has a carousel of covers for the October 2009 – March 2010 issues sitting atop a scroll of the latest news, reviews and videos from the Web site. The user can browse or search the print archive or dip into the latest content dynamically served from the brand.

In the magazine view, the issues are reproduced page for page, but thumbnails on a bottom rail let you navigate quickly to a page. The reader can use the typical multitouch tap, pinch and spread gestures to zoom and move the page or use the handy pop-up menu that can highlight any hot links on a given page or let you scroll through the issue’s Table of Contents to get a more mobile friendly version of any article. There is also a cross-issue and single issue search function for finding that content you vaguely recall from a previous month.

The more dynamic news, review and video content is piled into a standard scroll that uses tabs to toggle among the major content types. You can also comment on articles directly in the app itself. The articles are nicely formatted for the iPhone screen, with an oversized image introducing the prose and hot links to Web sites mentioned in the review. Some of the reviews have downloadable audio that demonstrate the product. The Premier Guitar app politely keeps you in its own embedded browser to show these landing pages. Alas, it did not perform as politely with the banner ad for music vendor Jammit. That ad kicked us out of the app and into the Safari browser, albeit after asking permission.

The video trove is surprisingly deep and helpful. Many of the video are how-to's and demos of popular products.

Having been developed by digital magazine maker Texterity, Premier Guitar demonstrates a platform approach to mobile apps. Like the digital magazine format that preceded it, the app puts a premium on the archiving value of digitizing the print media. It gives the user access to a library, not just an issue or the latest feed of online content. In full, the app works well as a kind of resource that maps well for an enthusiast book like Premier Guitar. These are the sorts of magazines that hobbyists keep as reference. This app makes that experience portable in a way that could be genuinely useful to the musician in the music store or on the road.

There are glitches to be sure. The app failed several times to download some material, and generally the format depends on downloading magazine issue data as needed, so there can be some lag. Like most platforms that are designed for multiple partners, this mobile digital magazine model does not have some of the branding panache of Esquire or GQ’s custom-built iPhone solutions. Nevertheless, this is a different approach to the art of mobilizing the magazine experience that blends real-time and print in a way that is less dazzling than it is workmanlike, serviceable and usable.

The app also demonstrates how some of the design and digitization disciplines introduced over the years by digital magazine platforms can be put to good use on the emerging smart phone and tablet devices. Texterity uses a platform for portable devices that does not depend on the Flash technology that continues to be incompatible with both the iPhone and iPad environments. It plans to extend this approach to a range of mobile devices.

Cue the jokes

2010-02-26T17:44:00.001Z

Best of luck Chris

Snookered, a free monthly digital magazine aimed at all levels of snooker and pool players, is to launch in August

It will be presented as a digital turning page magazine and be distributed via email and mobile as well as being available at a yet-to-launch website and through social networks.

Snookered is the brainchild of Chris Haill, who has commercial publishing experience from roles including ad manager on Quantum Business Media's Pub Food magazine and inserts manager for Future Publishing.

Haill said: "Cue sports in this country are huge. Over five million play in some sort of capacity every week. I wanted to bring about a lifestyle/cue sports publication for a mass audience."

Snookered will be delivered to 250,000 email addresses, including around 180,000 members of snooker and pool club chain Riley's, which will also take advertising in the magazine.

Editorial will be "humorous, edgy and informative" and include consumer product news pages covering the latest mobiles, gadgets, games, films and music.

The target audience is 18- to 50-years-old and in the ABC1-C2 demographics.

Haill created the company D&C Media to publish Snookered and has already set up a Snookered Facebook group to promote the magazine.

Zinio Launches Ad Network for Digital Magazines

2010-02-24T10:28:00.000Z

The world of digital advertising takes another step forward today. Zinio, the San Francisco-based company that publishes digital versions of over 1,900 publications for reading on the computer and iPhone, is launching the first cross-publisher ad network for digital magazines.

More

Microsoft unveils new Slate Pc ahead of Apple

2010-01-07T14:07:00.002Z

Attempting to hijack the hype created by the rumoured launch of Apple's iSlate later this month, Microsoft and HP have announced a new product, the HP Slate Tablet PC, at CES.

The tablet will transform into an interactive eReader using Blio reader software. This will allow embedded videos and create audio books using text-to-speech technology.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1241300/HP-Slate-unveiled-Microsoft-just-Apples-tablet.html#ixzz0bw4XsvUP

Amazon Kindle DX to be available in the UK

2010-01-06T12:16:00.001Z

Amazon has announced that it will sell the Kindle DX e-reader in the UK from January 19th.

The DX is the bigger version of the Kindle, with a larger 10 inch display, and more memory, which enables it to hold twice as many books – 3500 to be precise.

The price is $489, which translates to £306, and that’s before any import fees are added. So you’re looking at more like £350 plus, which makes it quite a pricey device.

It can be ordered directly from Amazon

Skiff unveils e-reader for newspapers, magazines

2010-01-05T08:04:00.000Z

US company Skiff released details Monday of its upcoming electronic reader, a device slightly bigger than Amazon's largest Kindle designed for reading newspapers and magazines in addition to books.

The Skiff Reader features an 11.5 inch (29.2-centimeter) screen, about two inches (five cms) larger than that of the Kindle DX, and is also the thinnest e-reader to date at just a quarter of an inch (0.63 cms), according to Skiff.

Skiff, which is backed by US newspaper and magazine publisher Hearst Corp., said wireless connectivity for the device, which weighs just over one pound (0.45 kilograms) will be provided by Skiff partner Sprint Nextel.

Skiff did not announce a price for the device, which will be available starting later this year in Sprint stores across the country and online.

Unlike the Kindle, which is geared mainly for book readers, Skiff said its device is the "first e-reader optimized for newspaper and magazine content."

"The Skiff Reader's big screen will showcase print media in compelling new ways," Skiff president Gilbert Fuchsberg said in a statement.

"This is consistent with Skiff's focus on delivering enhanced reading experiences that engage consumers, publishers and advertisers," he said.

Skiff said its black-and-white touchscreen e-reader will feature next-generation "metal foil" e-paper technology from LG Display.

It said the thin, flexible sheet of stainless-steel foil is a step up from the "fragile glass that is the foundation of almost every electronic screen."

Magazines get ready for Tablets

2009-12-16T15:23:00.001Z

After letting the Internet slip away from them and watching electronic readers like the Kindle from Amazon develop without their input, publishers are trying again with Apple iPhones and, especially, tablet computers....

Click here for the full article

Its too late (to Emigrate)

2009-12-10T12:55:00.004Z

A reminder of how tough publishing in print is at present comes with the news that 3 publications targeting the emigration market have all closed this month.

Firstly, Sussex-based Consyl Publishing went into administration this week. They published two newspapers for Australia & New Zealand and claimed

"The newspapers are produced in this country and are distributed all over the UK. Each month we have
5000 printed of each title, with 2000 of these going to individual addresses. We also send copies of both
newspapers to library reading rooms where they are very well received."

This is somewhat at odds with information furnished by the liquidators, who say

"Further to our recent telephone conversations please be advised that from what I can tell there are

57 Names and addresses on the subscription list for the New Zealand Outlook and
110 Names and addresses on the subscription list for the Australian Outlook

167 names and addresses in total on the subscription list."

Hmmm.

Secondly, Emigrate Magazine has sadly migrated to the hereafter after just 8 issues. Published by the Johnston Press (-£450,000,000 debt and counting)- its final issue contained a pyrrhic speech by editor Paul Beazley who celebrated its editorial integrity, but oddly not the complete absence of readers which accounted for its closure.

The same company also closed its digital magazine - World of Property - which rather shot itself in the online foot by charging ludicrously low amounts for advertising ; thus making advertisers suspect no one was actually reading it.

Looks like they were right.

News Corp to join forces with rivals to launch digital newsstand

2009-12-07T15:09:00.000Z

News Corporation is to join a consortium of magazine publishers to launch an online store selling digital versions of their titles.

The Murdoch-owned company will launch a joint-venture this week alongside Time Warner’s Time Inc, Condé Nast, Hearst and Meredith Corp enabling readers to purchase titles from the publishers in a variety of digital formats, according to reports.

The publishers are working together to sell their titles across a number of platforms such as ereaders and mobiles.

Time Inc's "Manhattan Project" Is A Tablet Magazine

2009-12-04T12:52:00.000Z

The magazine business is hurting just like all print publications. And even if their Websites are popular, they generate one tenth the ad revenue of the print side. Since last summer, Time Inc has been working on a "Manhattan Project" to create a digital magazine for the new breed of color tablet computers soon to come to market. (Condé Nast is also working on a similar concept). Today, I got a sneak peak at a demo of the tablet magazine designed for Sports Illustrated....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/02/AR2009120201826.html

IPC creates digital magazine for digital photography

2009-11-26T13:51:00.004Z

With newsstand sales nosediving, its no wonder that publishers are increasingly turning to the digital magazine model.

IPC are the latest, with Better Digital Photography promising a massive 2 million reach with bespoke versions of the publication provided to some of the biggest and best retailers of photographic equipment in the UK – including Warehouse Express, Dixons, Park Cameras and PhotoBox – to be distributed via their databases.

The quarterly interactive e-zine is aimed at beginner to intermediate level photographers and features a raft of interactive elements including galleries, instruction, equipment reviews and video.

Condé Nast Officially Announces Its Digital Magazine Initiative

2009-11-20T08:27:00.000Z

Well someone thinks the Apple tablet is coming...

CONDÉ NAST UNVEILS INITIATIVE TO BUILD DIGITAL MAGAZINES

Company Announces Strategic Initiative with Adobe to Create Authoring Tools

Company is also in Discussion with Hewlett Packard

NEW YORK, November 19, 2009 -- Condé Nast announced today a plan to develop magazines for the next generation of digital devices.

"We have formed a strategic alliance with Adobe to collaborate on creating technologies that will allow the company to design and produce a new generation of digital magazines," said Charles H. Townsend, President & CEO of Condé Nast.

One of the first products of this strategic alliance with Adobe will be a magazine application built on the Adobe AIR runtime. Adobe AIR lets developers use proven web technologies to build rich Internet applications that run outside the browser on multiple operating systems. The application is expected to be deployable to an array of devices from laptops and netbooks, to future generation smartphones, to the first electronic color slate devices due next year.

The initiative, which will first be deployed with Wired magazine, will enable Condé Nast to deliver full-color, high resolution magazines that combine the immersive experience of its award-winning titles with the convenience and functionality of a digitally distributed and internet-connected product.

"This is the next piece of the puzzle for developing our unique magazine content in a digitalized format that will drive the new devices that will hit the market in 2010," said Mr. Townsend. "Our hope is that the product of our work with Adobe will be used widely throughout the magazine industry."

"Condé Nast is home to renowned publishing brands, with magazines and reporting that help drive and hold a mirror to our culture," said John Loiacono, Senior Vice President of Creative Solutions at Adobe. "Our unique collaboration is a natural extension to the commitment that Condé Nast has made to the Open Screen Project and their support for the Flash platform. Condé Nast is trusting Adobe technology to deliver, in digital format, the high design values and visual aesthetic that readers and advertisers expect from them. We're confident that the resulting work will set new standards in visual impact and reader engagement for Wired and other flagship Condé magazines."

The announcement comes as Condé Nast is also expanding development of iPhone applications for many of its brands. Yesterday, the company began selling an iPhone version of the GQ "Men of the Year" issue through the iTunes App store. GQ's December issue is the first consumer magazine to be certified as a replica edition by the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC), which means digital downloads will be counted in the magazine's paid circulation. Other iPhone applications have been launched by Lucky and Wired magazines, along with several of the company's digital properties, including Epicurious.com and Style.com.

In addition, Condé Nast said it is also in conversations with Hewlett Packard, one of the leading technology companies in the world. "Hewlett Packard shares the vision held by Adobe and Condé Nast for a more compelling way to publish and consume magazine content," said Satjiv S. Chahil, Senior Vice President, Global Marketing, Personal Systems Group, Hewlett Packard. "We are pleased to be involved with them in defining the technologies that will enable this transformation."

The effort with Adobe and the company's discussions with Hewlett Packard are intended to move beyond the current generation of eReader with black and white screens and deliver a full magazine-like experience, with high-resolution color displays. Many current devices do not carry advertising, but in its work for the iPhone and with Adobe, Condé is seeking to create the kind of environment its advertising partners value.

"These initiatives are part of a strategy by the company to extend its iconic brands into the digital world," continued Townsend. "Condé's goal is to create experiences that closely resemble the process of reading its print magazines. The creation of a digital magazine using Adobeâ€™s authoring tools will create reader engagement that matches or even exceeds what it achieves in print."

Magazines on eReaders 'Approaching the Tipping Point,' Says Expert

2009-11-09T11:40:00.001Z

A recent report issued by research and advisory firm mediaIDEAS projects sales of e-readers to grow from nearly 6 million units in 2010 to 115 million units in 2013, largely due to falling prices and rapidly advancing technology."The E-Paper E-Reader Phenomenon" outlines the dramatic growth of these display devices over the next 10 years into a $25 billion market. Nick Hampshire, who authored the report, told Publishing Executive Inbox that magazine publishers must recognize the looming shift in the way consumers read content and realize that the "e-reader threat" has arrived and actually presents publishers with a real opportunity. The full report is available at www.mediaideas.net.

The E-Reader Revolution Isn't Revolutionizing Magazines

2009-11-04T15:07:00.002Z

Folio's Harry McCracken on why he doesn't think the Barnes & Noble Nook, the Sony E Reader or even the Kindle aren't the answer to the woes of the magazine publishing industry.

"The magazine lover in me, however, is far more skeptical about the next round of e-book gadgets. The Kindle isn't a very satisfactory magazine-reading device, and there's no evidence that any of its imminent competitors will be great leaps forward for our industry.... "

Here's why:

Trade magazines go digital to beat postal strike

2009-10-30T12:52:00.002Z

While print publishers (and in particular consumer publishers) are gnashing their teeth in the face of the ongoing postal strike, its a great opportunity for digital firms like Ceros to start pushing BtoB publishers to use their services.

One company already using digital delivery to ensure their readers get copies on time is Media Week, and it surely won't be long before others follow suit.

Kindle is coming to the UK !!

2009-10-07T10:38:00.002+01:00

At last - it'll be here on October 19th and I for one can't wait...

Re-Viv-Ing The Paid-Content Model With Digital Magazines

2009-10-06T16:07:00.002+01:00

An interesting look at how Zinio's flagship digital magazine, Viv, is faring since launch.

Flipping Google go for magazines and books

2009-09-15T20:42:00.004+01:00

Google has announced the launch of Fast Flip - its' take on a digital viewer for magazines and newspapers. The interesting thing is that it will inevitably soften the stance of print publishers, worried about Google's use of their content - given that Google is actually looking to share revenues with them around a contextual advertising model.

Just how much of that revenue they are willing to share... well thats another story.

Tyra Banks on digital magazine success

2009-09-08T15:08:00.003+01:00

You see what I did there ? Tyra Banks...? Oh never mind..

She's launching an online - only magazine, which gives me a chance not only to mention it, but to put a gratuitous picture on there.

Have a look at the news story

New digital magazine store launches

2009-08-26T10:26:00.004+01:00

But are there enough readers out there ? Menzies store launched with a massive fanfare last year but has yet to see a profit - and they've gone very quiet on visitor numbers...

Turning magazines into iPhone apps

2009-08-12T09:26:00.005+01:00

A new service that brings magazines, newspapers, books, catalogs, and brochures easily to the iPhone and iPod Touch through the iTunes store has launched in the US.

Called Pixel Mags, the service aims to help publishers get their products converted into products that can be accessed from the iTunes App Store and used on the iPod Touch or iPhone.

Why free is a very good price

2009-07-13T17:38:00.002+01:00

Alex Pham in the LA Times blogs on Chris Anderson's new book. What's interesting is the numbers - Anderson is giving away a free version (non downloadable) on Scribd, and Pham writes

"As of 1 p.m. today, less than 24 hours after it was released online, his book has been viewed for free by more than 22,800 readers on Scribd."

Like wow! If that number can be extrapolated there could be a real business model there..

MyEBook aims to democratise digital magazines

2009-06-29T13:42:00.003+01:00

Another player in the "DIY Digimags" arena - MyEbook - has launched, aiming to make it possible for anyone to upload, or create from scratch; beautifully simple or adventurously complex page designs and covers online, in no time.

The system allows you to embed or link to videos, audio, documents, images and flash files to make your books or magazines fully interactive, and they've cited a few examples for users to show what the product can do.

These include issue 2 of - MIX IT UP

'USA Today' to Launch Digital (Paid) Edition

2009-06-11T14:44:00.001+01:00

'USA Today' to Launch Digital (Paid) Edition

USA Today is counting on new digital reading devices and mobile applications more than an online paid content strategy.

USA Today Publisher David Hunke said the national newspaper is being "extraordinarily bullish" on the move to wireless devices and mobile apps. "You will hear us talk about hybrid solutions as the key to us moving forward," he said.

Hunke was speaking in New York today along with USA Today Editor John Hillkirk during a breakfast to introduce the newly appointed executives to press.

When asked about the possibility of USA Today charging for some online content -- specifically whether the newspaper was in talks with Attributor's Fair Syndication Consortium and Journalism Online -- Hunke indicated that paid content is probably not the path for USA Today.

"I'm not absolutely convinced it works for us," he said, adding that USA Today has had conversations with both the Fair Syndication Consortium and Journalism Online. "I do know this, we need to find a way to get paid for this. ... I don't believe there is an easy day coming where everything flips to micropayments or subscriptions."

Instead, the newspaper plans to focus on mobile applications like the app for iPhone -- "We were stunned by how quickly that spread," Hunke said -- and e-readers.

Hunke also announced the newspaper would roll out a paid e-edition on Aug. 3.

USA Today is actively involved with e-reader developers Plastic Logic. Hunke previously served as CEO of the Detroit Media Partnership and still has oversight of the agency, which plans to test a Plastic Logic e-reader in the market sometime in 2010. However, he asserted that USA Today is talking with all e-reader manufactures. "We will not be associated with one brand," he said, adding that he expects the market for e-readers to "explode."

One thing that Hunke won't bring over from his days in Detroit is a cut in USA Today's frequency. When asked about the prospect he said, "No. One difference is our readers are constantly moving," adding that Detroit is a unique market given its JOA status and the foundering local economy. "The fundamental principal of our circulation plan is we are going to be where you are."

Indeed, Hunke said there would be no changes to circulation strategy given the decline in travel and hotel stays. "We love that space," he said. "We are going to get into that more with an aggressive stance."

The Wall Street Journal has recently moved in on what traditionally has been USA Today's turf of hotel copies. The Journal recently announced a program with Hyatt Hotels. "The Wall Street Journal is very serious competition to us," added Hunke.

Monkey travels to Scandinavia

2009-05-27T09:44:00.002+01:00

Interesting news. Dennis are licensing their digital magazines to Sweden, Norway and Denmark.

A sign of things to come...

The future of electronic reading

2009-05-26T13:15:00.000+01:00

Computer says no

2009-04-18T23:35:00.003+01:00

Almost inevitably, Time's new baby, Mine magazine, hits some teething problems. Good idea, but as Felix Dennis says, its all about the execution.

So this is the future of magazines ?

2009-04-16T09:25:00.002+01:00

Much vaunted free magazine Sport, looks like its ceased publication, following the collapse of its parent company.

C'est la guerre.

Time experiments with "made to order" magazine

2009-03-26T11:26:00.004Z

Not strictly "digital" but interesting nonetheless....

Time is experimenting with a "made to order" print magazine that readers control.

Here's Fast Company's take..

Australia & New Zealand Magazine goes digital

2009-03-24T12:11:00.005Z

Now here's a subject close to my heart. Evolve Digital Publishing is my new baby and part of that family is the UK's number one migration and travel magazine, Australia & New Zealand.

I'm delighted to say that we are making it available in a digital format through Exact Editions, and the even better news is that you can check out an issue absolutely free.

Subscriptions are only £19.00 apiece. Enjoy!

Updated digital magazine reader

2009-03-19T12:26:00.002Z

Paperator have just brought out the latest version of their digital magazine reader. It seems speedier and I like the fullscreen mode.

Let me know what you think.

Hearst to develop an emagazine reader

2009-03-01T11:22:00.002Z

Wired reports that Hearst, the parent company of UK magazine giant NatMags, is planning to launch a digital reader similar to the Kindle.

Timely, as they have just announced they are laying off 10% of employees in the UK.

Digital News Weekly Magazine

2009-01-27T10:26:00.001Z

From portfolio..

There's been a lot of talk lately about the decline and fall of newsweeklies, some of it fueled by the shift of U.S. News & World Report to biweekly, and then monthly, publication. But U.S. News hasn't given up on the idea of the weekly news digest. In fact, later today, in a soft launch, it will rolling out a new product: a "digital newsweekly" that reproduces, in pixels, what the magazine once did in ink and paper.

"We're creating a tailored product for readers that does what the old newsweeklies did, which was to stop time for people and say 'What the heck happened over the last week?' and make sense of it," says editor Brian Kelly. U.S. News Weekly, as the new publication is called ("It sounds ironic," acknowledges Kelly) will be produced and delivered as a downloadable PDF file, laid out in the form of a magazine, complete with a cover and table of contents. For years, publishers have been offering such digital editions of their magazines with the help of vendors such as Zinio, but U.S. News Weekly is a whole new, albeit related, publication, edited for a somewhat different audience than U.S. News & World Report.

Whereas the parent title has gravitated toward advertiser-friendly topics like health and education, the digital weekly will be "very Washington-centric," says Kelly, with a tighter focus on politics and policy. Since there's less ad support for that type of content, U.S. News Weekly will be a premium product: A one-year subscription will cost $19.95 (although subscribers to U.S. News & World Report will be able to download it for free). "This is what every editor's trying to figure out right now -- how can I pay my reporters to do reporting?" says Kelly. "You've got to figure out a way where, on some level, the consumer is going to pay for some type of content."

(Of The New York Times's much-maligned premium-content program, Times Select, Kelly says, "I always thought that was an experiment they never should have abandoned. If you can get 200,000 people to pay for a product, you're doing very well.") The upside for the readers, he notes, is that they're only paying for content -- and not for the expense of shipping and printing.

And because there's no need to budget time for those processes, U.S. News Weekly will have near-instantaneous turnaround: The magazine will close on Thursday night and be made available at noon on Friday. "I don't think the newsweekly concept's outdated," says Kelly. "I think it's the delivery method that's outdated. To produce a great report, close the magazine on Thursday night and then readers don't get it until Monday -- that's insane."

New digital tennis magazine

2009-01-22T18:16:00.003Z

Using the Ceros engine, have a look at the new

ezine called Tennis Head from Advantage Publishing. Its run by ex Future MD Mike Frey and follows them losing the LTA's magazine "Ace" to Seven Squared.

8020 is no more

2009-01-05T19:29:00.003Z

This is a shame. Not only a brave venture, I feel it was a neccessary experiment and at the very least, showed that a model with the web at the core really could thrive with reader involvement. As Samir says, its pretty much a candle in the wind, and a lot of other publishers should have the courage to follow suit...

Yet again, its all about the ads..

(More) 2009 predictions

2008-12-23T10:33:00.001Z

This time on ebooks.

A digital magazine renaissance ?

2008-12-15T17:12:00.002Z

As we head into the uncharted waters of 2009, Josh Gordon has a think piece on how to unlock value in digital magazines.

Unfortunately, you only have to read the last line - "I challenge the digital magazine industry to from an association and do the research. I’d love to help do it." to grasp that the whole piece is really about everyone forming a committee to convince advertisers and readers alike that they are serious.

With respect, Josh, the LAST thing we need is another committee. What we need is some blazingly successful products....

Zinio on the Inside track

2008-11-21T15:40:00.003Z

Digital magazine distributor Zinio has announced the launch of Inside, a search function that enables publishers and users to search content within digital magazine products.

“If you or your company are covered in a magazine and you want to share it, who wants to send a link to a site when you can send the actual layout,” says Zinio,“No one else does this.”

The service—which is free to users and to publishers who currently have an account with Zinio—lets users send digital “replicas” of magazine pages over e-mail and post articles to Web sites and blogs and social networking sites like Facebook and Digg. In addition to the search functionality, Zinio Inside can also suggest additional editorial content and offer purchasing options for either a single issue or a 12-month subscription.

Zinio Inside will launch with more than 1,000 magazine titles in the company’s digital library, Zinio says.

You beauty

2008-11-18T21:39:00.004Z

New Beauty Magazine is one of the most stylish around

- and now you can see a digital version in all its glory - for free !!

Go to www.newbeauty.com for more information.

NxtBook looks to reKindle sales

2008-11-07T14:37:00.001Z

Nxtbook Media, a digital magazine vendor, recently announced that its customers will have the option to publish their content on Amazon’s Kindle. Nxtbook says it is the first digital magazine producer to offer Kindle support.

The Kindle has been both praised and criticized for its text-heavy, black-and-white display. Unlike the often flashy, oversized color presentation normally associated with digital magazines, Nxtbook intends to offer the magazines in text form.

Digital magazines can be accessed from the Kindle through the device's integrated browser. (The feature is listed on the Kindle's "Experimental" menu, something that Nxtbook hopes Amazon will eventually change.)

Nxtbook also says that Kindle support will be offered at no additional cost to customers of Nxtbook Media's Liberty program. A number of magazine publishers have already packaged their content for the Kindle. Last month, Newsweek released a collection of election coverage as an e-book series for the Kindle.

Dennis aren't Monkeying around...

2008-10-30T14:04:00.004Z

Its official - digital magazines DO work.

Look at the ABC's posted by the Dennis portfolio - iGizmo, Monkey and iMotor.

Monkey - recorded 283,541 average readers per issue, marking its fourth successive ABCe rise and its best result since launching in 2006.

iGizmo - iGizmo attracted 101,785 average readers per issue.

iMotor - registered a circulation of 108,622.

Dennis claims that advertising responsiveness has been very high with the digital titles, with a recent car manufacturer promotion in iMotor delivering over 200 test drives and 400 brochure requests from a single insertion.

Bruce Sandell, head of new product development at Dennis, said: "We now have over 1.4m readers [per month] opening, engaging with and enjoying our digital magazines.
"Our readers are also spending over half an hour immersed in each issue which makes the environment a very different proposition to websites, where the audience is far more likely to dip in and out.

"This audits prove that the digital magazine sector is a viable, growing and successful business model."

Daily print magazine goes web only

2008-10-30T09:33:00.002Z

Big News ! The Christian Science Monitor is about to become the first national newspaper in the US to go web only.

Its ditching print after 100 years and had a circulation as high as 220,000 in the 1970s, but now sells around 52,000 copies each day, while the website attracts 1.5m visitors a month.

It is forecast to lose $18.9m in the year ending April 30. The switch to web-only publication is projected to help cut this loss to $10.5m by 2013.

It is a development that will be watched closely by other newspaper publishers already struggling to maintain circulation levels and now facing the added threat of a significant fall in advertising revenue in 2009.

However, because the Monitor is run as a non-profit business, and is subsidised, its experience is somewhat different to most newspapers.

The end of the Christian Science Monitor as a daily newspaper comes at a tough time for the US newpaper industry as hundreds lose their jobs across the country.
Yesterday, Tribune Co's Los Angeles Times announced it was to cut 10% of its editorial staff, laying-off 75 employees as part of a 200-person reduction that began last week.

The New York Times cut jobs earlier this year and USA Today's owner, Gannett, is also cutting more jobs having announced 120 were to go in August.
The Star-Ledger, the biggest newspaper in New Jersey, said last week it was to make about 40% of its newsroom staff redundant with around 150 jobs going.

Love is in the air for digital magazines

2008-10-27T20:11:00.002Z

I had a heads up on this after having two of their team on my course last month - this is a really interesting development given the target demographic (which of course is older...)

Mills & Boon is making a major commitment to e-book publishing with the decision to make dozens of new titles available as digital downloads every month.
It is is making all titles available as e-books every month, with the exception of its special releases, centenary products and summer sale books.

Mills & Boon admits that one of the benefits is that fans can read the books in "total anonymity", allowing them to avoid the embarrassment factor. It also says that it will mean fans won't have to wait for the latest titles to be delivered, as they can be downloaded instantly.

One of the things I discovered was that the top search on their site is "knickers"

Fancy that..

BtoB digital pubs on the increase

2008-10-20T21:32:00.003+01:00

The number of publishers claiming qualified electronic editions-i.e. digital copies-on their most recent BPA circulation statements increased 28 percent, according to the company. There were 286 in June, up from 224 in December.

Cimarron Buser, SVP, marketing and business development at Texterity, added that "the increased use of laptops in a paperless world" has also helped spur on the increase of digital.

Despite the increase, digital still accounts for a small percentage of the overall circulation mix. On average, electronic editions made up 13 percent of total circulation for all BPA members. In fact, of the top 20 magazines in terms of digital circulation tracked by BPA, just one-Renewable Energy Focus-claims a majority of its circulation digital-only.

Oracle claimed a digital distribution of 146,545-a 19 percent increase-during the first half of the year, topping all BPA titles in digital circulation. Electronic editions now comprise almost 30 percent of Oracle's total subscriber base.

The UK's first user generated magazine

2008-10-11T09:54:00.003+01:00

I've evangelised about this a lot on the PPA Training courses I do, and I'm now putting the readers content where my mouth is.

Merricks Media is set to publish an edition of Greece Magazine comprised entirely of reader created content – the first time that this has ever been done in the UK.

The November issue will become "Your Greece Magazine" reflecting the unique issue content; which is entirely provided by the readers themselves. From tips on how to find the best tavernas in Crete to how to avoid paying too much for your taxi in Athens, every article has been crafted by the readers of Greece magazine.

The magazine is the only publication targeted at the hundreds of thousands of people in the UK who regularly travel to or have a second home in Greece, and is dedicated to delivering the best coverage on travel, food, culture and the Greek lifestyle.

The innovative approach has already driven a massive response, with hosts of pictures, articles and features piling onto editor Karen Birch’s desk.
"We are really excited about being the first magazine in the country to do this", says Karen. "Our readers have always been very passionate about every aspect of Greek life, and are always keen to write in and tell us what they think. We’ve been overwhelmed by the response to the special issue."

John Weir, Publishing Director at Merricks Media said "Its vital that magazines serve their communities as closely as possible, and extending the conversation we are having with our readers into a dedicated issue seems a natural progression. We know this will result in more sales of the magazine and a better relationship with our audience."

The November issue of Greece magazine goes on sale on the 30th October and is available at all WH Smith stores priced £3.95

Green magazine walks the digital walk

2008-10-10T15:54:00.004+01:00

Looks like some people are getting it...

Publisher Planet Ink is launching a lifestyle magazine covering environmental issues, which will be published without a print edition.

Ecoforyou, which launches on October 21, will be available free to users in digital page-turn format. It will be funded through both sponsorship and advertising.

50 million digital magazines to be given away

2008-09-26T17:55:00.002+01:00

Zinio are set to give away over 50 million digital magazines. Folio has the story...

Green may have gone mainstream, but digital magazines are far from reaching critical mass. A big reason for that is awareness.

Those that do read digital magazines, however, are increasingly citing environmental friendliness as a reason for subscribing to them. Which is why Zinio, the digital magazine vendor, has launched GoReadGreen.com, a Web site where more than 200 publishers—including Hachette, Wenner Media and Reader’s Digest—have agreed to offer some 50 million free digital magazine subscriptions to build digital awareness and, in turn, save the financial and environmental costs of publishing copies of magazines, the vast majority (70 percent by some industry estimates) of which die at the newsstand.

“We’ve seen thus growing undercurrent of consumers who see the benefits of sustainability,” Jeanniey Mullen, executive vice president, chief marketing officer at Zinio, said. “But the general consumer walking down the street doesn’t even know what a digital edition means—they think it means the Web."

The launch is part of Zinio’s Read Green Initiative, the company’s large-scale call-to-action to inspire consumers to embrace an environmentally sustainable alternative to traditional print.
“We wanted to do something on a large-scale that would take the barrier of cost away,” she said, “and allow consumers to sample digital editions, while publishers can provide the environmental benefits of digital and not incur the huge waste—and huge cost—of printing magazines.”

A portion of the proceeds, Zinio says, will go toward purchasing “eco unit credits” and “more trees.”

Digital magazines go mainstream

2008-09-19T15:51:00.001+01:00

ITV.com are tying up with Menzies Digital to offer digital magazines on demand.

John Menzies Digital is pleased to announce its latest partnership with ITV Consumer, to provide the ITV Digital Newsagent. The partnership gives ITV.com users access to digital versions of top UK consumer magazines to download to their computers. Titles are available to buy via the www.itv.com/digitalnewsagent site.

Caroline Knight, Commercial Partnerships Manager, itv.com says: "With a large user base, many of whom are web savvy and interested in entertainment and lifestyle based content, itv.com is ideally placed to help John Menzies Digital reach a wider audience."

The launch will be supported with an excellent introductory offer enabling consumers to try the service for free: every user will be able to download a magazine of their choice from the site simply by registering on the site. The offer is available until the 30th September 2008 or the first 10,000 downloads, whichever is the earlier.

The service will be promoted to consumers through online ads to be shown across itv.com, and in their regular email communications. With over 100 magazines currently available and a raft of new publishers expected soon, there is a wealth of both lifestyle and specialist content to complement subject areas on itv.com.

Simon Clough, Managing Director of John Menzies Digital, says: "This is a particularly exciting partnership for us, because our service is all about providing high quality content digitally, something that ITV.com have proved themselves to be at the forefront of."

New digital magazine for Manchester

2008-09-11T13:29:00.000+01:00

American company NXTBOOK has launched a free digital business magazine in Manchester, reports How Do.

Nxt Manchester is a 41 page digital title that has been sent to 100,000 business people in Manchester and surrounding areas.

The launch issue offers business stories, interviews and profiles.
Operations manager Amber Stephens said “the actual number of people who view the magazine will be a lot higher” than the 100,000 distribution list. “Using the NXTBOOK format we are able to gather extensive stats, so it will be interesting to monitor this in time for the next issue,” she added.

Amazon Kindle to launch in the UK

2008-09-02T10:28:00.002+01:00

Lots of coverage in the media this week on the imminent launch (potentially) of the Amazon Kindle in the UK later this year. Its hugely popular on the other side of the pond - analysts put sales of the original Kindle as high as 380,000 as it becomes the Apple "iPod of the book world."

The Sunday Times was positively effusive in its coverage , saying that "Now another technology that has been around for 20 years may finally go mainstream — the e-book."

In addition to the Kindle, Sony's much heralded ebook reader is also set to launch through Waterstones, with a price point of £199.

Digital magazines come of age

2008-08-20T17:40:00.003+01:00

Good post by Dylan Stableford at Folio on the viability of advertising models for digital magazines.

In the post he makes the point that "The future of digital magazines belongs to content publishers who use them to capture a unique content niche, crawl into it, define it, dominate it, and attract a unique audience to it. Once that audience is established, advertisers will follow. "

And to make the point he cites the example of digital magazine Avantoure - which he thinks may just cut the mustard commercially.

We shall see..

Whose content is it ?

2008-08-06T11:06:00.002+01:00

With all the furore over mygazines this week, you’d be forgiven for thinking that magazine publishers had missed the news for the last 5 years. Then again, if they’re reading their own news pages they are probably at least six months behind everyone else...

To recap for those that missed it ; the music industry has fought a protracted (and largely unsuccessful) battle against its own users in the form of P2P download sites, eventually having to settle for cut price legal downloads (like iTunes) or advertising –led models like the Sony BMG experiment.

The same copyright battle now looks likely to break out in magazine land, with several industry bodies (MPA,PPA etc) threatening to sic the legal hounds on anyone found sharing their members content without permission. I’ll remind my partner of this next time she takes home a free magazine from a show for her mother.

This sort of argument is becoming as ludicrous and ineffectual as the posted warnings at concert venues about “no photography allowed”. Er, camera phones anyone ? Face it – technology not only enables people to share content, it actively ENCOURAGES them to do it.

And lest the publishers cry “copyright” too loudly, think on this. Virtually every magazine now contains snippets from the web, photos from You Tube, comment from forums and reader submitted photos. To whom does that copyright belong precisely ?

Talking of the Press Gazette, this news should say it all. A magazine for print journalists now online only - this internet thing might really catch on.

Why Digital Magazines will succeed

2008-07-01T09:03:00.002+01:00

A piece on the viability of digital magazines by publishing "visionary" Bob Sacks.

Unfrtunately, I think Bob skirts a couple of important points - like the split between consumer and BtoB publishing - but its interesting thinking nonetheless.

Resistance to digital magazines is futile.

Here's why.

I've been inundated lately with e-mail requests about the viability of digital magazine editions. The letter that put me over the top was from an old and dear acquaintance, who is a senior production director, that said, "Digital editions of magazines will never get traction with the magazine-reading public." This is a ridiculous attitude. And if it is yours, too, bury it now with other ridiculous ideas like the world is flat and man will never fly.

Perhaps Jeff Gomez, author of the book "Print Is Dead," put it best when he wrote: "To expect future generations to be satisfied with printed books is like expecting the BlackBerry users of today to start communicating by writing letters, stuffing envelopes and licking stamps."

Do we expect magazine readers to become any less sophisticated as time and technology roll by? Things change, platforms evolve, business models adjust, and people's habits change, too. History is loaded with once-successful personal methodologies that are now nothing but antiquated dust. This is not a discussion of whether or not print will survive.

That is moot. What is important is how people will read in the future. Gomez's comment is spot on. How people read today gives us the smallest inkling of how people will read in the future. I'd be curious to know the number of words read on a computer screen (including PDAs, cell phones, e-readers, etc.) versus those read in print. Digital editions will play a central role in the magazine business's future success. They are growing in popularity, and eventually will become ubiquitous. The only thing holding the format back presently is a perfect substrate.

Computer screens are good for the task, but not perfect in their portability, flexibility and readability in various lighting conditions. What the industry is waiting for is a substrate that can match the robust nature and inherent abilities in digital editions. The new technology is not far-off science fiction. The future is here now; it is just not widely distributed. Amazon's Kindle, Sony's Reader and several others are e-paper devices, and they are available now.

These devices will not go away; they will only get better and more advanced at what they do-distribute content. In 2011, there will be full-color versions of e-paper products released. By 2025, e-paper devices will be the predominant way in which people read. And they will most likely be reading some formulation of digital-edition technology. Perhaps we need to look at it this way: When will the digital page be more user-friendly than the printed page?

Is it so impossible to foresee a future of comfort and ease holding a full-color, flexible screen that has the ability to project any book or any magazine with greater richness and depth of coverage than its printed predecessor? Gomez hypothesized that, "It's not about the page versus the screen in a technological grudge match. It's about the screen doing a dozen things the page can't do." Digitized words should count for more. "What's going to be transformed isn't just the reading of one book, but the ability to read a passage from practically any book that exists, at any time that you want to, as well as the ability to click on hyperlinks, experience multimedia, and add notes and share passages with others," Gomez noted. The same logic holds true for magazines. This is not a Hamlet-type argument, "to read or not to read."

It is a question of what format/platform we will be most comfortable reading in the future. Nowhere in history do you find society willingly going backward. As Jerry Garcia is reported to have once said, "You are either on the bus or off the bus."

Digital magazines receive limited demand

2008-06-30T10:50:00.004+01:00

John Menzies new magazine service, "Magazines On Demand" has issued a press release claiming 20,000 registrations and downloads in its first six weeks of operations.

Impressive ? Well that largely depends on your interpretation of success. 20,000 is roughly the circulation of a niche magazine, so this isn't quite critical mass yet.

Of the downloads, I'd suggest most are to get the free copy of Total Film, so I'd be very interested to see who (and how many) have actually paid for a copy.

I think therefore iMotor

2008-06-24T10:04:00.002+01:00

Another addition to the digital magazine world as Dennis Publishing launches digital motoring magazine iMotor next month.

The "world-first" digital magazine, emailed to readers free each fortnight, will contain magazine and TV content, with test-drive videos, photographs, articles and reviews.

Dennis promises "TV-style entertainment, web-style topicality and magazine-style authority and depth" in the new format.

Launching on July 17, the digital magazine targets ABC1 men aged 30 and over.

iMotor will draw on content from the company's motoring titles evo, Auto Express and Octane.

"iMotor is our latest digital magazine offering, using the same pioneering page-turning technology and video platform as Monkey and the recently launched iGizmo," said Bruce Sandell, head of new product development at Dennis Publishing.

Should digital be free ? Texterity thinks so..

2008-06-17T16:10:00.002+01:00

Texterity has been selling digital subscriptions separate from print subs.

But with only 1 percent of subscribers opting to pay extra for the digital version, Texterity has decided to offer the digital edition free to print subscribers.

“We’ve been trying for years to sell digital subscriptions instead of print,” said Martin Hensel, president of Texterity. “That really hasn’t worked.”

Hensel believes the new model will give publishers other ways to encourage trial, communicate with subscribers by email and lower publishers’ renewal costs. “Digital is a way to have low-cost sampling,” he said.

He expects that in a year’s time, 15 percent of subscribers will opt to add the digital edition.

Texterity also launched a new site, Coverleaf.com, where readers can browse through and buy its clients’ digital editions. Texterity’s roughly 70 consumer magazine clients include Meredith Corp.’s Better Homes and Gardens; and Condé Nast’s Bon Appétit.

NxtBook does it TxtBook

2008-06-12T18:58:00.002+01:00

Nxtbook Media has launched a free (to Nxtbook Media customers) digital magazine newsstand designed to benefit publishers by driving subscription requests directly back to the publishers’ websites. The Nxtstand allows readers to search by magazine title or keyword and after viewing their results, users can either preview the most recent digital edition of the publication or click on the subscribe link which will transfer the user directly to the publishers’ website.Unique to Nxtbook is the fact that all revenue from subscriptions earned goes to the individual publisher and because all subscription data is collected by the publisher, Nxtbook will not collect, share or market to any users of the system.

Hell freezes over

2008-06-05T09:30:00.004+01:00

Stevie Spring, CEO of Future, who last year memorably announced at the PPA that Monkey, Dennis Publishing's digital title was "bollocks" seems to have had a Damascean experience.

Announcing yesterday the launch of Qore - a digital magazine for PS3 owners in the US, Spring announced that " our strategy is to create powerful integrated media solutions for readers and advertisers across different platforms, in print and online."

Hmmm. More like they've just spotted that copy sales aren't as good on PS3 as they once were on PS2.

Menzies goes digital magazine mad

2008-06-02T18:07:00.002+01:00

This is interesting.... most particularly because evidently laptops in Scotland don't have hard drives...

John Menzies Digital has launched a service to enable customers to buy and then download digital versions of the UK's top magazines.

The Magazines on Demand service has already signed up the likes of publisher Bauer to the service. It will also be white-labelled to established etailers, including WHSmiths, with which it has already done a deal.

The Magazines on Demand website works in conjunction with free-to-install software and enables users to download the latest issues of magazines at any time as well as viewing, storing and searching digital magazines bought from the site.

John Menzies, which sold its retail business to WHSmiths in the late 1990s in order to concentrate on its distribution business, claims the key feature of the system is the ability to save magazines to a USB stick.

The USB stick system will enable customers to read the magazines on any computer, even one without delivery software installed.

Simon Clough, managing director at John Menzies Digital, said, "We're delighted to be working in partnership with WHSmith to launch this new service. The concept of buying digital magazines is in itself very new, but bringing such a huge range of top titles together in one place for UK consumers is unprecedented

Digital magazines on the up

2008-05-28T17:50:00.001+01:00

Digital magazines are getting high marks from people who receive them, according to a new survey by Mediamark Research and Intelligence for Texterity.

Overall, the 2008 Digital Magazine Reader Survey found that 89% of readers were "satisfied" or "very satisfied" with their digital magazines, with 90% reading the digital edition the same week that they receive it.

In terms of advertising, 90% of readers took some kind of action after seeing a product or service advertised in a digital magazine. Seventy-eight percent of digital business magazine readers said they rely on the magazines to do their job better. Recipients also gave high marks to the magazines for being environmentally friendly and convenient, including their text-based search capability.

No surprise--digital magazine readers are embracing digital technology, with 76% saying they prefer to contact a company via its Web site (versus the phone or mail).
The most popular ways to read the magazines are on a desktop (74%) or laptop (61%). A small but growing group (6%) reads digital magazines on the iPhone.

Talksport launches digital magazine

2008-05-15T10:00:00.002+01:00

This is interesting. You'd think that with all that reach, radio stations could engage with their audience 24/7 already.

Apparently not.

The digital magazine newsstand (part 2)

2008-05-10T20:36:00.003+01:00

The Barnes & Noble Web site, www.bn.com, is teaming up with Zinio to sell digital magazine subscriptions alongside the print formats. The deal covers over 1,000 magazine titles, offering discounts of up to 90% off the newsstand price. The companies are also offering single-copy digital sales of 12,000 back issues from hundreds of titles.

And actually, its the potential sales from hundreds of thousands of single copies at a low price, rather than a few subscriptions, that will have Barmes and Noble salivating. Late into the digital game, they've been looking at a way of getting into the "Long Tail" business and hey presto, its been delivered.

Not the last experiment in this field, I think.

Investment goes digital

2008-05-02T16:42:00.002+01:00

I had a look at this earlier in the week (Thanks Ed for the heads up) and its very, very slick. River have done some great stuff with customer magazines for Honda already and I expect this will be a growing sector this year.

Fund management company Gartmore Investment Management is launching a new digital magazine, Investment Perspective, produced by River Publishing.
Gartmore is launching the title to keep its professional investors abreast of its new investment products, while providing current information about the financial markets.The digital magazine will be mailed to Gartmore's network of professional advisers on a monthly basis, which will be accompanied by a print version of the magazine.

The title will also feature video and audio segments from Gartmore's team of fund managers.

Bet those will be a gas.

A digital all you can eat buffet

2008-04-17T19:01:00.004+01:00

My good friends over at PC World magazine have a good piece on a French magazine distributor who has introduced an all-you-can-read subscription offer.

For a monthly fee of around £15 readers can download the latest issues of around 400 French magazines, including top sellers such as Glamour and Playboy. There are also more obscure titles, including magazines for stamp collectors, bonsai growers and clockmakers.

There's no limit on how many different magazines subscribers can download, although they can only download two copies of any given issue.

Its a green play - pushed by the distributor Relay and (among others) the WWF - thats the Worldwide Fund for Nature, not the US wrestling lot.

You can make it up..

2008-04-09T12:27:00.003+01:00

Digital magazine publisher Made Up Media has signed its first two contract publishing deals and has announced the first issue of Nutmeg, a monthly digital football magazine for Littlewoods Gaming.
The 32-page title will be sent electronically to Littlewoods’ 40,000 betting customers and will build on the content from Catflap Magazine, which we reviewed last year.

The one-year-old company has also signed a deal with razor manufacturer King of Shaves to produce a digital contract magazine called The Knowledge.

In addition to Catflap, the company also published In Golf We Trust, EatCricket and Scrum of The Earth.

Which is about rugby in case you wondered.

Driving the digital agenda

2008-04-04T16:18:00.002+01:00

A good piece by Josh Gordon on Folio about the whole "digital magazines don't work" debate.

He points to the success of The Winding Road, an automotive site that has attracted 180,000 readers who view over 22 pages each.

Digital Drift

2008-04-03T22:12:00.003+01:00

At last. Some naysayers...

Digital magazines don't work. That's according to the publishers of a UK surfing magazine, Drift. Ignoring the deliciously ironic title for a minute, let's have a look at the facts - and the product.

Drift is a surfing magazine, based in the South West of England, and despite targetting surfer types - young, internet savvy and above all eco friendly, it isn't cutting the digital mustard.

Ultimately,according to editor Howard Swanwick, is that "I think digital magazines have had their day. As a medium to put features in, they don't work." That evidently is why he's switching to print - more costly, less accurate, less measurable and er, less eco - friendly.

Gosh.

Now I need to flag up immediately that I used to work with Howard in my dark and distant past, but despite that I have no axe to grind. I just think he's got it wrong.

Its about the ads Howard, and you haven't got any, so switching it to print is going to make f*** all difference. Plus, I'm afraid that your site is (1) slow to load (2) confusing in terms of downloading the digital product and most importantly (3) the text on the magazine is in places unreadable.

Back to the drawing board I think...

Fader downloads on iTunes

2008-03-27T15:47:00.002Z

Fader, the US based independent music magazine that made headlines a couple of years ago for being the first magazine to be offered as a digital download on Apple’s iTunes, has launched F2, a new digital-only quarterly.

The magazine, sponsored by Timberland, is available as a free download on iTunes and at thefader.com.

Magazines for Kindle - has the eBook arrived ?

2008-03-26T11:23:00.002Z

An American publisher has launched a new weekly political magazine distributed exclusively on the Amazon Kindle eBook.

The magazine, dubbed Opinionated, will feature 25 opinion articles, 750-1,000 words each, in every issue, offering social and political commentary on domestic and international economics, affairs and pop culture.

Evidently, the magazine will contain no ads and will operate on a subscription revenue business model. Opinionated, published on Mondays, will cost $.49 an issue, or $1.49 for a monthly subscription.

The publisher, Tribune, says it is developing other magazines for Kindle as well on topics including personal finance, travel, food and popular culture.

Muslim Girl is a world winner

2008-03-25T18:08:00.004Z

A magazine for Muslim teenage girls in the USA, with a small distribution in the UK, is soon to have a digital edition making it more easily available in the UK.

It currently has a UK distribution of 1,000.

The magazine is published by ExecuGo Media in Toronto and each edition of Muslim Girl has a different theme, and last year the magazine focused on Afghanistan, celebrating family and women in the arts.

Digital Magazines "engage readers" says survey

2008-03-11T11:19:00.002Z

Publishers who repurpose their magazines for the web can increase user engagement with and affinity toward ads, according to stats from a new survey by The Harrison Group and Zinio.

The survey of 1500 Zinio subscribers in the US, has revealed some interesting findings.

Some 37% of people who have purchased at least one digital magazine said that they were more likely to read an ad in digital format than in print.

According to Rich Maggiotto, CEO of Zinio, the aesthetics are part of the reason that readers find the digitized ads more appealing.

"When you look at a full-page spread online, you don't have a gutter anymore," Maggiotto said. "There's a depth to the imagery because of the way the ad fits on the screen. And you get what was the original intent of the creative director without the disruption of a gutter."

But the interactivity also draws them in, as some 59% said they found digital magazine ads easier to engage with, and 84% said the digital ads were more beneficial because of the ability to click-through. "Pretty much 85-95% of the ads in the print edition have a URL, but readers have to remember it or write it down, then go online and type it in," he said. "With the digital version, they're one click away."

As for raising reader awareness about the digital magazines, the survey found that e-mails (from either Zinio or the publishers themselves) were most effective. Banner ads came in second, while search traffic came in third. About half of the respondents were ages 25-44 and skewed heavily male (80%). Some 63% were married, and about 40% earned at least $75,000 annually. In terms of technology, nearly 60% said that they were "first to try" new products.

Monkey shows last shall be first

2008-02-26T16:39:00.002Z

Digital magazine Monkey has overtaken commercial print rivals Nuts and Zoo for circulation, according to the latest ABC's.

Figures for July to December 2007, gave the interactive, weekly page-turner an average 271,667 users for its most recent edition - ahead of Nuts Magazine (270,053), and Zoo’s 179,066.

Ford drives new magazine through Dennis

2008-02-26T11:26:00.001Z

Ford, the major car manufacturer has appointed Dennis to create a title promoting its S-Max model, using the same format as the publisher's digital consumer men's magazine, Monkey. The two companies have been liaising on the project since last year.

Havas and Zinio team up to drive digital magazines

2008-02-25T12:36:00.001Z

From Mediapost

IN A MOVE TO LEVERAGE the global distribution of the Internet, digital magazine publisher Zinio has team with a unit of Havas Media to extend the reach of consumer magazines into Europe and Latin America. The deal, which combines Zinio's digital magazine publishing platform with Acceso, a powerful media management system jointly owned by Havas Media and ISP, is expected to greatly expand the number of consumer magazine titles utilizing Zinio's system from about 850 currently to more than 2,000 over the next year, executives at the companies said.
The move comes as Zinio, already the magazine world's dominant digital publishing platform, has been seeking to step up its profile on Madison Avenue. Earlier this month, Zinio raided Jeanniey Mullen, a top digital media executive at WPP Group's OgilvyOne unit, to serve as chief marketing officer.
By tapping into Acceso Group, Zinio gains both expanded global reach, as well as access to a system utilized by some of the biggest consumer magazine advertisers. Acceso, headquartered in Barcelona, Spain, is used by Havas Media to provide media content intelligence services and communications management solutions for leading multinational marketers such as Vodafone, Repsol, Nike, Coca-Cola, Telefonica, Nabisco, Volkswagen Group, Wrigley, Sol-Melia and BBVA.
"We believe that Zinio's superior technology and online marketing services for publishers will drastically increase the appeal and usage of digital publications," Alfonso Rodes, CEO of Havas Media, stated. "We want to be ahead of this process and be able to fully exploit for our clients the possibilities of this promising interactive channel,"

Dennis builds a new Gizmo

2008-02-14T09:21:00.003Z

Dennis Publishing is following up its digital lads' magazine Monkey with the launch of consumer technology title Gizmo.

Gizmo, a free fortnightly digital magazine, launches on March 11 and, like Monkey, will be delivered to readers' inboxes.

The new digital offering will mix elements of magazines, websites and video to review and demonstrate products. Gizmo will target ABC1 men aged 25 to 45 and is up against print heavyweights Stuff and T3.

A new Spin on downloads

2008-02-11T14:04:00.000Z

Spin magazine has struck deals with MySpace and iTunes to promote its first digital issue, making music and information available to members of MySpace Music.

The promotion also allows members to read Spin Digital for free for 12 months.

The January issue of Spin Digital was posted exclusively on MySpace about three weeks ago in a "soft launch"; the official launch comes with the February issue, including interviews with Pete Doherty and Lenny Kravitz.

The digital version hews close to the print magazine itself, unlike Spin.com, where the magazine's editorial staff posts breaking news and updates. Spin Digital includes links that take readers to musician profiles on MySpace as well as the iTunes Store, where they're able to buy songs mentioned in the magazine.

The digital edition also includes audio samples, video footage, and interactive ads that can, for example, take them to a company's official Web site.

Spin president Tom Hartle boasted: "We are already seeing a dramatic increase in readership from the soft launch--over a quarter of a million page views in the first week alone." He added: "Now instead of just reading about a new band or an album, readers can hear what they sound like, get involved with the community and purchase music, all with just a few clicks."

The magazine is also hoping that Web exposure will drive print subscriptions. According to Hartle, renewals and new subscriptions increased 50% in January 2008 compared to the same month last year.

Organic Growth

2008-02-07T12:54:00.000Z

Organic Style magazine returned Wednesday, Feb. 6, as a digital magazine. The new issue includes an interview with Maria Rodale, publisher of the original Organic Style magazine, and in-depth features about organic cotton farming in India, wildlife conservation in Kenya, sustainable flower growing in Ecuador, a tribute to civil rights icon Rosa Parks. The pub will publish quarterly and subscriptions will initially be free.

The magazine itself is easy to read and fast to download; and in what may become an increasing trend, it allows users to share articles and features from the magazine on social sharing sites like Digg, Delicious and StumbleUpon.

PDF Advertising is here

2008-01-03T22:08:00.001Z

For the last three years I've wrestled with how to make money from advertising in digital publications - and of course traditional wisdom has it that print advertising can be modified by merely stripping in a URL.

That however doesn't work - advertisers are unconvinced, response isn't trackable, and readers don't see the benefit.

Kevin Kelly, the former editor of Wired, however, may have the answer. His latest book, a film tome entitled "True Films", is being offered as a free PDF download ; with a twist. Using an Adobe plug in called PDF Ads, he is able to offer contextual advertising from Yahoo on an opt in basis to readers. The ads can only be seen in Adobe Reader 8, and its far from clear how many of the readers who download the magazine will click thru, but it is undeniably a very, very interesting business model.

Gamerzines launch multi language magazine

2007-12-27T01:44:00.000Z

Gamerzines, who offer free digital games magazines, have launched what they claim is a world first.
The first issue of Konami Fanzine, covering Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 is available for free, immediate download in English, German, French and Italian.
The magazine is produced in PDF format, so readers simply require Adobe Reader 8 on Windows, as with the other GamerZines. As well as being multi-lingual, each page is enhanced with video, animated materials, interactive content and it also includes an interactive competition with the chance to win an Xbox 360 console. It introduces all the new features of Pro Evolution Soccer 8, showcases the games graphics and includes an interview with the face of PES 2008, Ronaldo himself.