Apple has begun to win over magazine publishers, a handful of which have started to offer subscriptions to their publications on the iPad. But publishers aren't solely focused on iOS, and five of them have teamed up in a consortium called Next Issue Media to peddle magazines on tablets running on Google's Android platform.
The digital newsstand, which All Things D's Peter Kafka refers to as the "Hulu for magazines," comprises Time, Inc., Hearst, Conde Nast, Meredith, and News Corp. Called an "early preview," this initial offering allows readers to either subscribe or buy single issues to Fortune and Time from Time, Inc.; the New Yorker from Conde Nast; Fitness and Parents from Meredith; and Esquire and Popular Mechanics from Hearst. News Corp doesn't publish any magazines, but in February, when the company launched its iPad-exclusive newspaper, The Daily, CEO Rupert Murdoch hinted that the publication would eventually be available on other platforms, so it's possible that it would be sold through Next Issue in the future.
For now, Next Issue Media is only available on the Samsung Galaxy Tab, but CEO Morgan Guenther told Kafka that the service will be offered on additional devices by the end of the year. Guenther also said the company will have a webOS app and will be selling at least 40 magazines within that same time frame.
Publishers have much more control over the sale of their titles through Next Issue Media than they do through Apple's App Store. Not only do they get to set the price, but Guenther said they will get "at least" 70 percent of sales, with the remaining 30 percent split between device makers and the collective. It's an advantage of this new platform, considering the iPad model allows publishers 70 percent of revenue, with Apple keeping 30 percent for itself.
Perhaps most importantly, Next Issue Media gives publishers full access to subscribers' personal data, including their credit card information. By contrast, on the iPad, opportunities for publishers to get this kind of information are scant at best.
Hearst and Conde Nastwere the first publishers to announce plans to offer iPad magazine subscriptions, nearly three months after Apple unveiled the subscription plan. Publishers were reluctant to jump on board; most felt that Apple's terms weren't in their favor.
It hasn't been confirmed, but it's rumored that Hearst and Conde were able to get Apple to budge slightly on the terms. While Apple still controls most of subscribers' information, Conde Nast is permitted to get their names, email addresses, and Zip codes. Publishers also now have two opportunities to get a reader's email, first on the opt-in screen and later on a page that asks for email addresses in order to access exclusive content.
The concession might be small, but it seems to be working out for publishers, with 50 percent of readers opting to share their information with publishers.
Time, Inc. is the last of the top three publishers holding out on iOS. It recently announced that iPad versions of Time, Sports Illustrated, and Fortune are now free on the iPad to print subscribers, but it has made no indication that it will offer standalone iPad subscriptions any time soon.
Next Issue Media will also give existing print subscribers access to the digital editions for some of its magazines, but it doesn't yet have an option for digital/print bundles for new subscribers.
Subscriptions through Next Issue range in price from $1.99-$5.99 a month and from $2.99-$4.99 per issue.
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