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Next Gen Publishing launches digital editions for nine titles
The publisher has tied up with US-based Zinio.com to digitise, distribute and market its digital editions
Next Gen Publishing, the publisher of nine special interest magazines -- FHM (For Him Magazine), Mother & Baby, Car India, Commercial Vehicle, Bike India, Computer Active, Smart Photography, Ideal Home and Garden and PowerWatch -- has launched the digital editions for all these titles. The publisher has tied up with the US-based digital publishing solution provider, Zinio.com, which will digitise its print editions.
Both upcoming and older issues (archives) of magazines will be digitised. The digital editions will be offered for consumption on the internet and Apple iPad. Downloadable formats will also be made available. To download and access the content of an issue, a subscriber would also need to download a free Zinio Reader application.
Other than digitisation, Zinio will also help the publisher to distribute and market digital copies of magazines. The digital versions of magazines will be available on Zinio.com. e-mail, online and social media marketing will be carried out to create awareness about the digital editions.
The business model for the digital editions will be based on paid subscription and advertising. Next Gen Publishing will mainly earn revenue through subscription. For this, the company has priced digital versions of magazines lower than the print editions. Mallya says, "Since our primary target audience for digital editions will be people residing outside India, discounted subscription prices are offered to compete with international magazines on the digital platform."
To begin with, the digital formats will carry the same ads that appear in print versions. However, in future, the company may rope in separate advertisers for digital editions, Mallya indicates.
For the record, Next Gen Publishing runs dedicated websites of its magazines, such as FHMIndia.com, BikeIndia.in, CarIndia.in, Smartphotography.in and Motherandbabyindia.com; but it does not publish the complete content of its print editions on websites.
Zinio.com, founded in 2000, digitises the print editions of various popular magazines, such as The Economist, Harvard Business Review, Reader's Digest, Open, Marie Claire, Maxim and Lonely Planet. Other than digitisation services, Zinio.com also acts as an online distribution platform, where users can subscribe to or purchase the digital editions of more than 50,000 magazines and books in 15 languages.
Zinio.com earns its revenue mainly through three channels. First, it charges publishers the cost of converting the print edition to digital format. Second, it shares the subscription revenue earned by publishers for digital editions. Third, it charges publishers every time it sends the digital format of magazines to subscribers.