Take control of your distribution and perhaps the magazine business isn't too bad. Thanks to Benjamin Franklin and the printing press, newspapers and magazines have enjoyed a couple centuries of success. But new technology has threatened to derail it and the solution is painfully clear, adapt or die. Obviously, the switch over to a pure digital play is not realistic; rather, a measured approach, reaching new adopters and maintaining print subscription with current ones. Thus any subscription must give you both a digital and print copy of your content.
As we trend toward devices that best display printed content, current opportunities exist with iPhones, Blackberries, Kindles, and of course the computer. Newer devices are on the horizon. "Although publishers have not exactly been on the cutting edge of technology, two magazines — Esquire and GQ — have developed iPhone versions, while Wired and Sports Illustrated have made mockups of tablet versions of their print editions, months before any such tablets come to market. Publishers are using the opportunity to fix their business model, too."
And Apple is lurking in the background not ready yet to release their tablet design. I look forward to seeing what they have in store for us!
