San Francisco based McSweeney’s, publisher of magazines, fiction and essays, has released an interesting iPhone app. It’s interesting not for its interface or contents, which are both of fine quality by the way, but for introducing what might be the first subscription model for digital magazines. You buy the app for 4,99 euro. The purchase includes the first six months subscription fee. For that you receive new stories on a weekly basis. An understandable, doable and simple solution. One that Rupert Murdoch plans to use as well for the Wall Street Journal apps for iPhone and Blackberry. In his case you would pay 1 or 2 dollar per week, depending on whether you’re already a subscriber to the printed paper.
I prefer subscriptions over micropayments per article. With the latter you become too conscious of the fact you are paying for the content. A subscription fee is less of a hassle. Subsequently I would like monthly, quarterly or annual billing for a digital magazine instead of weekly as the WSJ is planning. Just like we’re used to in the printed world.
Except when you subscribe in the printed world, you can keep what you’ve received in that time, refer to it, file it away, keep it to one side until you’re ready to read it. Most subscribers of Time or The Economist I know don’t have time to read immediately – they store a few away for a rainy weekend. Digital subscriptions that lock down content remove this feature. (Also see The Spectator’s new model for another example: http://exacteditions.blogspot.com/2009/09/spectator-as-iphone-app.html )
I assume the content in an app like McSweeney’s that you already bought stays accessible. Thanks for the tip on The Spectator. Interesting billing, not so interesting magazine in terms of screen lay-out and interface.
Hey both,
Yes, the content that you receive via the McSweeney’s app stays accessible. Even if you delete the app and then re-install at a later date, the items that you’ve paid for will be re-downloaded.
Russell.