In 2015, the average number of digital subscription sales rose 6% to an average of about 36,000 per title. Nonetheless, according to Pew Research digital subscriptions still comprise just 4% of overall subscriptions.
Digital subscription growth was driven largely by a 60% increase for both The Atlantic and for New York Magazine, as well as a 57% increase for Bloomberg Businessweek.
Magazine publishers are garnering subscription revenue from companies such Apple, Amazon, Magzter, Texture (formally Next Issue) and Zinio
Although digital subscriptions experienced growth in the last three years, print has not been so lucky. Overall the print industry declined by 3% and most mainstream magazines saw a drop of 1,300 newsstand sales every month. This resulted in Atlantic Media suspending the publishing of the National Journal (the digital edition is still published). Other magazine publishers faced layoffs or restructuring, including Rolling Stone and Conde Nast – publisher of The New Yorker, Wired and many other magazines.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
