Magazines Looking To Raise Prices?
from the that'll-backfire dept
As newspapers are struggling with the question of whether or not to charge for content online as their print subscribers decrease, Aaron Martin-Colby points us to an article about how some magazines are also looking to increase the subscription fees for their paper magazines. Over the past few years, many magazines have followed the natural progression in a competitive market, and continually dropped their subscription prices, and made up the difference with advertising. Yet, some magazines are trying to buck that trend. The article highlights The Economist and People as examples of magazines who recently raised prices and still saw subscriptions rise. It will be interesting to see if that’s sustained, however.
Oddly, the article doesn’t even mention the internet as competition — which seems to be leaving out a big part of the equation. The Economist and People are the sorts of magazines that people have subscribed to for many years, with a strong loyalty. So, I can see them sustaining subscribers even with a modest price increase — but as alternative sources become more and more popular, you have to wonder if people will start to question if it’s worth paying so much, when there’s content that’s just as good (if not better) available for free online.
