Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Odds and ends
Magazine publishers joining together for iTunes-like magazine store
The New York Observer is reporting that Time, Inc. executive VP John Squires has been making the rounds of other major publishing houses lately with one thing in mind: creating an iTunes-like magazine store for digital distribution of their titles. At this time, it appears that Time, Inc., Condé Nast, and Hearst are all planning on joining the alliance, with over 50 top magazines that would for sale in the store. Those titles include Sports Illustrated, Time, People, The New Yorker, Vogue, and O, The Oprah Magazine. The as-yet-unnamed store doesn't plan on adding a new reader device to the mix. Instead, the consortium is looking at ways to distribute content to existing platforms such as the iPhone, Kindle, nook, BlackBerry, and the major computer operating systems. Reading the post, it seems to this writer that although Squires and Co. have a great idea, the execution of the plan might be doomed already. Quoting from the Observer article:
The deal is taking time to complete because it involves so many moving pieces.
"It's pretty complicated stuff," said a source. "The really, really hard part is that you've got so many different kinds of devices running on different operating systems. And how do you handle that? The consortium provides one point of contact for the consumer. When you come to the main store, you can get the content any way you want."
In addition to building up the store, each publisher will actually have to figure out how to build digital versions of their own magazines.
Squires is also quoted as saying:
Sounds pretty vague, doesn't it? Of course, part of this is probably deliberate, in order to maintain a veil of secrecy over their plans, but it also seems to me that they're not exactly sure what the "new design" will entail or how to distribute the content to all of the different platforms."With magazines, the form has to change," he continued. "All I'm saying is that there are ways to design magazines differently for that kind of experience that'll be attractive and will feel different to a consumer."
One of the recurring markets for Apple's fabled iTablet is digital publishing, and many pundits have speculated that Apple would expand the existing iTunes Store to sell ebooks and magazines. If Apple and the new magazine store both appear in 2010, this could be a clash of the titans that spells doom for dead-tree editions of popular magazines. It could also mean that one of the two titans goes home empty-handed after the fight. Whatever happens next year in terms of electronic publishing, it's going to be a battle that will shape the publishing industry for the foreseeable future.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
phlavor said 3:21PM on 11-24-2009
"The really, really hard part is that you've got so many different kinds of devices running on different operating systems. And how do you handle that?..."
Easy. You don't.Concentrate on a robust, scalable and open file format that everyone can adopt and then let independent developers make readers. The market will choose the readers with the interface that they like but still consume the media as in app purchases. Payments would be handled on a login to a centralized account that handles all purchases/subscriptions. Sometimes I'll want to read on my iPhone, sometimes on my work laptop, and sometimes on my HTPC. And I'll guarantee you, I won't buy an edition for each. If a device is closed to independent developers, they will develop for your format because consumers want this to happen.
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Joanna D said 3:42PM on 11-24-2009
The market chooses ink on paper.
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alan said 4:26PM on 11-24-2009
It's the end of magazines:
1) iTunes has the effect of leveling content, such that container-aggregations don't mean as much anymore. Who buys albums these days? Readers may buy individual articles ("singles") but will feel less loyal to magazines as filters of taste. In other words, the iTunes model highlights the artist (writer) and turns magazines into record labels -- and who buys music based on what label created it?
2) You can bet magazines won't be inclined to cut writers in on the per-article profit; syndication clauses in contracts have become less generous over the years, and an iTunes model spells the end of syndication. So magazines will further alienate the people who generate their content.
3) If this iTunes-magazine-consortium shows any sign of succeeding, count on writers banding together to create the same thing for themselves, sidestepping the magazines altogether. Most musicians still go through major labels these days, because the labels still wield tremendous power and money. Magazines don't have that. We may see quirky, independent mags (a la McSweeney's) persist in the new era, but the days of the big mags are numbered ...
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Yakov Hadash said 6:07PM on 11-24-2009
Paper is still the most sophisticated technology out there:
- Very durable: Can withstand being dropped from the top of a building and it will still work. When will ereaders get there?
- You can roll it up and stick it in your pocket.
- No batteries required.
- Lasts for decades.
- Very easy on the eyes. Enables extremely high resolution images.
- No pop-up ads, time limits, or restrictions on lending to friends.
- It's nearly valueless, so you can leave it on the table when you go to the bathroom at the restaurant and expect it to be there when you get back.
- You can read it in the bathroom and no one will think you're gross or weird. It's actually normal.
With physical LPs making a big comeback in the marketplace right now, I think it's a bit too soon to declare the death of the magazine.
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Jeff Wilson said 6:14PM on 11-24-2009
Easy. It's called Zinio and I have been using it for over 3 years.works on an Adobe platform and is user friendly. If you see an ad or item you like just click on the address in the ad and presto!, you are on their webpage. You can store all mags on your hard drive or source it from their server.
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Eddie said 11:26AM on 11-25-2009
Me too. I get all of my magazines in Zinio format, and have just started using it on my MacBook Pro 13". There's even a Zinio portal now for iPhone that's coming into focus. I don't get why they want to invent the wheel either.....
iGlad said 7:06PM on 11-24-2009
Isn't iTunes already set up to do this for them and what about the ebook reader from Amazon and Barnes & Noble. The magazine ppl are way behind the curve on this. End of print not in my lifetime or my childrens lifetime.
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alan said 2:07PM on 11-25-2009
Believe me, I love paper as much as the next person, but its days as a vessel for mass-media are coming to a close. Cheap per page, yes, but still more expensive than zero, and a major cost when you buy in bulk; paper is still a huge fraction of a major magazine's operating budget, especially when one considers distribution costs. (Paper also has an environmental cost, which didn't use to matter but does nowadays.) Do you blog on paper? Email on paper? Look around: libraries are downsizing their stacks and reducing the number of journals they buy. The only folks who can afford to reach a large audience via paper -- entities formerly known as newspapers and magazines -- are all closing or downsizing; if they were healthy, and saw a day when paper-based publishing will return, would they really be banding together to announce a half-baked semi-proposal to save themselves via iTunes? Alas, no. Paper still has a future as a cheap novelty, but it won't be landing on your doorstep for much longer ...
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devyn said 9:08PM on 12-08-2009
Here's the video mockup:
http://tinyurl.com/yhg8837
As reported today in the NY Times:
http://tinyurl.com/yh8db4c
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