PaidContent reports that magazine publishers are offering magazine downloads via iTunes. Music magazine The Fader is the latest – offering their (US) summer edition free of charge. This puts The Fader where it’s constituency congregates – the iTunes store. I’m certain more publishers will follow them to iTunes. Other publishers are going direct with one of several third party offerings providing online subscriptions. Who needs the traditional magazine supply chain?
It is developments like this which demand that the Australian magazine distribution model is urgently reviewed. Newsagents are being supplied as if there has been no change in consumer habits in decades. For the top sellers this is fine. It is outside the top 200 where the supply model is sick. Magazine distributors must review their models and scale out based on newsagent sales data and not based on the fees they charge for moving stock. 65% of magazines supplied to newsagents are cash flow negative.