4 ms·

I told HP's Andrew Bolwell that what I really wanted were magazines priced like iPhone apps. Give me really good $2 magazines and I'll buy them all day long. A

by asnyder 16y ago

I told HP's Andrew Bolwell that what I really wanted were magazines priced like iPhone apps. Give me really good $2 magazines and I'll buy them all day long. A $10 magazine on the iPad? Probably not. It's very hard for me to understand this. If you enjoy the magazine, if it's "really good" why wouldn't you pay more than $2? At what point does the cannibalization of content stop? If it's convenient to use an iPad or a Kindle to get your magazine, shouldn't that be enough at the normal price point? Why is further incentive necessary? I can understand a slight discount due to publishing savings, but from $10 to $2? Come on.

pavs 16y ago
You don't pay $10 for (most) paper magazines, why would you pay $10 for an app that shows you the same magazine? Doesn't it cost them less to produce online version?
- asnyder 16y ago
  Sure, if the magazine is less, it's price should be less. However with many magazines it isn't the publishing that's the most expensive part of the magazine, but rather, it's the reporters, editors, designers, etc. As I said previously, of course the savings from publishing should be passed to the consumer, but we tend to forget that there are still significant staff and salaries behind magazines, and that doesn't change just because the distribution has.
nopassrecover 16y ago
Pricing isn't based on cost but on perceived value. The perceived value of a physical version of a magazine is much greater, particularly as many wouldn't consider a virtual magazine a complete product.
- asnyder 16y ago
  Why wouldn't you consider a virtual magazine a complete product? Even when you buy a magazine in physical form you're paying for the content. Personally, I never go to a newsstand and base my purchase on the physical properties of the magazine, but rather, the content, articles, and design. One way or another we'll have to deal with this issue soon as electronic distribution becomes the new standard. We can't expect magazines or newspapers for that matter, to maintain the quality of design and content we enjoy if we're not willing to pay for it.
  - nopassrecover 16y ago
    Newspapers are failing because on average they always focused on low quality content and design quality (cheap to produce no alternatives at the time). Magazines have higher quality design and content which is why they've always been able to charge more. Its the same with books - an electronic book just isn't the same and so won't be valued the same until it's electronic distribution only. If I gave you Knuth's Art Of Programming as a collection of printed pages you wouldn't pay me the same premium the quality bound tomes demand.
    - asnyder 16y ago
      I think using Knuth's Art Of Programming as an example is somewhat flawed. It's not your run of the mill set. The only reason why I wouldn't pay you as much for the paper collection versus the hardcover set I have on my shelf is that I consider the hardcover set to be more of a collector sort of item. However, if I didn't care about it acting as a mantle piece I would still pay for the content, just not as much as I would for the mantle piece version. Similarly, some pay for collectors version of games, books, etc. However, the content should still be valued and priced accordingly. Clearly less than mantle piece versions. As I said in my previous posts, the prices should come down with the publishing costs discounted, but any more than that would devalue the content IMO.

by asnyder 16y ago

pavs 16y ago

You don't pay $10 for (most) paper magazines, why would you pay $10 for an app that shows you the same magazine? Doesn't it cost them less to produce online version?

asnyder 16y ago
Sure, if the magazine is less, it's price should be less. However with many magazines it isn't the publishing that's the most expensive part of the magazine, but rather, it's the reporters, editors, designers, etc. As I said previously, of course the savings from publishing should be passed to the consumer, but we tend to forget that there are still significant staff and salaries behind magazines, and that doesn't change just because the distribution has.

nopassrecover 16y ago

Pricing isn't based on cost but on perceived value. The perceived value of a physical version of a magazine is much greater, particularly as many wouldn't consider a virtual magazine a complete product.

asnyder 16y ago
Why wouldn't you consider a virtual magazine a complete product? Even when you buy a magazine in physical form you're paying for the content. Personally, I never go to a newsstand and base my purchase on the physical properties of the magazine, but rather, the content, articles, and design. One way or another we'll have to deal with this issue soon as electronic distribution becomes the new standard. We can't expect magazines or newspapers for that matter, to maintain the quality of design and content we enjoy if we're not willing to pay for it.
- nopassrecover 16y ago
  Newspapers are failing because on average they always focused on low quality content and design quality (cheap to produce no alternatives at the time). Magazines have higher quality design and content which is why they've always been able to charge more. Its the same with books - an electronic book just isn't the same and so won't be valued the same until it's electronic distribution only. If I gave you Knuth's Art Of Programming as a collection of printed pages you wouldn't pay me the same premium the quality bound tomes demand.
  - asnyder 16y ago
    I think using Knuth's Art Of Programming as an example is somewhat flawed. It's not your run of the mill set. The only reason why I wouldn't pay you as much for the paper collection versus the hardcover set I have on my shelf is that I consider the hardcover set to be more of a collector sort of item. However, if I didn't care about it acting as a mantle piece I would still pay for the content, just not as much as I would for the mantle piece version. Similarly, some pay for collectors version of games, books, etc. However, the content should still be valued and priced accordingly. Clearly less than mantle piece versions. As I said in my previous posts, the prices should come down with the publishing costs discounted, but any more than that would devalue the content IMO.