Photo by Ethan Hein on Flickr.
My iPad should be here any day. I’m looking forward to testing out the magazine apps that have been released. Though I’ve been underwhelmed by demos I’ve seen so far, I think we also have to give the magazine publishers a little credit: after all, the iPad has been available for, oh, a month now? For an industry that’s rather set in its ways, the response of many major magazines within a few months to this new medium has been somewhat remarkable. They have a long way to go to truly innovate with the tablet format, but at least they’ve made a start.
One of the things I’m most interested in for magazines on the iPad is the possibility of greater access to international magazines. I recently wandered the magazine shelves at a bookstore and pondered the variety of English-language publications from abroad that I’d love to buy, but that cost $12-15 for the imported paper editions. It would be fabulous to be able to access many of these on an iPad or similar device for a lower cost than the print edition.
An example: I’m a knitter. I especially like the British knitting magazines for their sense of style. Not that I’m a fashionista, but some of the American knitting magazines seem to be tailored (no pun intended) for an older audience, whereas the British publications I’ve seen include patterns and ideas for younger knitters. One of my favorites – The Knitter – is available at a local big-box bookstore for about $13 per copy. A U.S. subscription would cost over $100/year, which would be save some on the bookstore cover price, but still too pricey for this knitter.
Screenshot of The Knitter magazine, as shown on Zinio's Web-based digital replica.
I investigated on the Web to see if I could get the magazine in an electronic edition for less money. It would seem that an electronic edition of a British magazine could cost me the same as an electronic copy of an American magazine. I found I could buy a digital replica-style subscription to The Knitter via Zinio – a company that assists publishers in creating digital editions – for the grand total of…wait for it…about $100/year.
This makes no sense. Why wouldn’t a publication take advantage of the low cost of digital distribution to build its readership overseas, as well as within its own country? Surely it would make no difference whether a digital-edition reader is in the U.K. or in the U.S. Perhaps there is an advertising angle or other concern that I’m not considering, in which case I hope someone will set me straight in the comments. I have ordered yarn from a British supplier (yes, I am a dedicated knitter!). It would seem advertisers, especially those with online stores, would be happy to reach an international readership.
I’m hoping that magazines around the world will rapidly innovate to create new multimedia products – beyond just digital replicas – and then will make them affordably accessible to global audiences. Not only would doing so make it possible for their magazines to be read more widely, but it would also increase the flow of information around the world, in multiple languages and with a variety of topics, and that’s always a good thing.
Tags: foreign magazine, ipad, magazine, the knitter
