Next Media, the company behind a monthly-fee based subscription service that allowed Android device users to pay on flat fee to read any magazine from a host of publishers, has now incorporated iOS devices into the fold with the launch of its App Store magazine app. By working with Conde Nast, Hearst, Meredith, News Corp, and Time, subscribers now have access to thirty-nine different titles for one price, based on the plan the readers choose, with more titles expected by the end of the year.
Aside from the ease of having one payment for access to the content, readers will also have only one app to navigate in order to read their favorite titles. Those titles include the current issues and the back list from popular magazines like GQ, Self, Vogue, and Wired, among others. Next Issue will also offer thirty-day free trials on the unlimited plans, and current print subscribers can add the digital subscription for free or for a nominal cost.
“With the unlimited plans offering access to our entire catalog from a single intuitive App and personal library, we’re delivering magazines the way consumers want to read them,” said Morgan Guenther, CEO of Next Issue Media. “It’s like having an entire magazine rack stocked with only the very best titles, but you can browse or read any issue, any time, on your iPad.”
As for the pricing, Next Issue features tiered levels of subscriptions. The Unlimited Basic plan includes titles published monthly and bi-weekly, including back issues, for $9.99 per month, while the Unlimited Premium plan includes all titles in the catalog, including weeklies and back issues, for $14.99 per month. Individual magazine subscriptions are still available and range from $1.99 to $9.99 per month, while individual magazine issues are available from $2.49 to $5.99 per issue.
The complete list of Basic plan titles currently available includes All You, Allure, Better Homes and Gardens, Bon Appétit, Brides, Car and Driver, Coastal Living, Condé Nast Traveler, Cooking Light, ELLE, Esquire, Essence, Fitness, Fortune, Glamour, Golf, Golf Digest, GQ, Health, InStyle, Money, Parents, People en Español, People StyleWatch, Popular Mechanics, Real Simple, Self, Southern Living, Sports Illustrated Kids, Sunset, This Old House, Vanity Fair, Vogue and Wired. The Premium plan includes these titles, as well as Entertainment Weekly, People, Sports Illustrated, The New Yorker and TIME.
Apps like Next Media’s help readers and publishers work together to reach the intended audience in a more streamlined way while allowing consumers to select the content they would like to read. Partnerships like this one between Next Media and the periodicals publishers only strengthen the market for digital content while affording readers a single location to find digital reading material.
Mercy Pilkington is a Senior Editor for Good e-Reader. She is also the CEO and founder of a hybrid publishing and consulting company.
