A Digital magazine allows content to flower quicker for readers and give them the ability to skip around the content quicker. ‘ In an attempt to increase productivity and decrease production costs, brands are also beginning to use digital publications to showcase new products to retailers’ (Jones, 2014).
The graph below from MPA shows that over half of tablet users prefer reading their magazine digitally. Alongside this “45% of respondents in a recent Association of Magazine Media (MPA) survey reported that they spent 1-3 hours per week reading magazines on their mobile devices” (economistgroup.com, 2014).
The graph below from MPA shows that over half of tablet users prefer reading their magazine digitally. Alongside this “45% of respondents in a recent Association of Magazine Media (MPA) survey reported that they spent 1-3 hours per week reading magazines on their mobile devices” (economistgroup.com, 2014).
The second graph below shows PPA circulation figures drawing on ABC-audited circulation data for the six-month period from January to June 2013
A mistake that publishers are continuing to make is forcing print content into a digital device. Using this as an approach should have only ever been a transitional solution and used while the format finds its place within the market. It also goes against the requirements of the majority of consumers’ (Oppolis.com, 2014).
These tablet statistics are good news for publishers, with ‘digital magazine downloads up 170% year over year, and increasing by a rate of 40% per quarter. Since the second quarter of 2011, the spike has reached a staggering 699%’ (Coburn, 2014). "73% of digital versions are replicas of the print copy, while only 25% of consumers want their digital copy to be just like the printed copy" (Oppolis.com, 2014).
In future, digital magazine publishers could face the loss of ‘ad revenue if they discontinued their print versions. While they are becoming increasingly adept at generating revenue from their web sites, web-only publishing models rarely use a print and web model. Digital editions are becoming increasingly popular on media tablets, but remain a fraction of magazine’s circulation base’ (Mcllroy, 2014).
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Bibliography:
Coburn, E. (2014). Tablet Statistics Show that Mobile Magazines Are Here to Stay – and Getting Stronger [+Video]. [online] Mequoda Daily. Available at: http://www.mequoda.com/articles/digital-magazine-publishing/tablet-statistics-show-that-mobile-magazines-are-here-to-stay/ [Accessed 18 Nov. 2014].
Economistgroup.com, (2014). 13 stats that matter to digital publishing. [online] Available at: http://www.economistgroup.com/leanback/collaborators/12-stats-that-matter-to-digital-publishing/ [Accessed 18 Nov. 2014].
Jones, R. (2014). Are Digital Magazines Dead? | WIRED. [online] WIRED. Available at: http://www.wired.com/2014/10/are-digital-magazines-dead/ [Accessed 18 Nov. 2014].
Mcllroy, T. (2014). Thad McIlroy – Future Of Publishing » The Future of Magazines. [online] Thefutureofpublishing.com. Available at: http://thefutureofpublishing.com/industries/the-future-of-magazines/ [Accessed 18 Nov. 2014].
Oppolis.com, (2014). A New Way to Publish Digital Magazines. [online] Available at: http://www.oppolis.com/news-A-New-Way-To-Publish-Digital-Magazines.html [Accessed 18 Nov. 2014].