Digital publishing news for July 3rd, 2013
Next Issue, basically a Netflix for magazines subscriptions, now has almost 100 titles. For $14.99 a month, subscribers get access to about 93 different publications and their inventory is growing quickly. Bloomberg Businessweek, People and The New Yorker are just few of the publications available on the service. Their platform works on tablets and PCs. StackSocial, an eCommerce platform for tech publishers, is offering a two-month subscription to Next Issue Premium for free.
“On an iPad, Next Issue is pretty solid, and truly wonderful for magazine junkies. The service recently added such high-profile titles as Backpacker, Consumer Reports, Food & Wine, Popular Science … Rolling Stone, and Travel + Leisure. That’s on top of some of my existing favorites, which include Entertainment Weekly, Men’s Fitness, and Time,” writes Rick Broida from CNET.
Some might say that this is where digital replicas go to die, but the biggest issue we’ve heard from people while shooting video interviews for our upcoming Tablet Study video is that there’s no consistency in usage between magazine apps. Every magazine is a learning experience. That’s something that the Next Issue app solves and might be well suited for more traditional magazine readers who don’t want all the bells and whistles.
Hoffman Media will Continue to Publish Cooking with Paula Deen
Hoffman Media, who publishes bi-monthly issues of Cooking with Paula Deen with a rate base circulation of about 400,000, will continue publishing Deen’s magazine for her loyal subscribers. Hoffman has been working working with Deen since 2005.
In an empathetic statement, Hoffman’s VP and COO said, “We are aware of the hurt that has been generated in the media in recent weeks. To be clear, Hoffman Media does not condone the use of offensive, discriminatory language or behavior. With that said, we feel that Ms. Deen’s apology for past indiscretions was heartfelt and genuine. Our partnership will move forward with greater sensitivity and understanding.”
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New Spaces For Davler Media Group
New York Spaces magazine has a new home with the Davler Media Group. Wainscot Media recently sold the publication to the Davler Media Group, reports Folio. New York Spaces is Davler Media’s first interior design publication.
GQ Goes Beyond The Magazine
In another example of a magazine publisher marrying their print brand with a physical product / location, Arabian Business reports that GQ will be opening a restaurant and bar in the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai. The restaurant is the second in the region for Conde Nast International Restaurants. The 10,700 sq ft “GQ Bar exemplifies the unparalleled quality of the brand in a sleek and stylish venue. GQ magazine is all about class and sophistication and the bar will reflect this in an interactive environment of great music paired with fantastic food and drinks.”
Does the Future of Publishing Exist Without a Binding?
Who says publishing has to be flat and printed on paper? Container, a new subscription product, argues that if something is delivered periodically, has contributors and a story, it can very well be a non-traditional magazine of sorts.
Creative Review calls Container “a box of objects created by a group of invited contributors in response to a theme.” Creator Tim Milne calls it “a magazine that’s not a magazine”.
CR describes the first container, themed “Hot and Cold: “The objects arrive packed in a polystyrene box, perfect for keeping the contents hot or cold, and inside, the ten objects range from a small hardback book to a length of heat-sensitive till receipt paper via a bundle of wood and a 3D-printed object.” A container is well over $200 in American dollars, a giant price leap from similar services in the US, like Quarterly which assigns one contributor per package.
