Connection: Brand-linked subscriptions key to content conundrum

The search for a business model for publishing content may be beginning to take shape; the answer could conceivably be in getting subscribers hooked to the brand and not just to publications.

Sports Illustrated, one of the major sports magazines in the US, recently announced a subscription package that permits access to content in print, web and also via applications on Android phones and tablets for $48 (Dh176). What many people do not know, says AdAge, is that soon the option to sign on for a printed product alone will no longer exist. According to a spokesperson for the title, the idea is that you do "a signature of the brand, not the magazine".

Apple has just announced that users can now subscribe to magazines, newspapers, music and video services, among others, through the App Store. Publishers will set the price and the duration of the signature while Apple will process the payments. In the press release the company released, Steve Jobs said that if Apple brings a new subscriber to the application, it is entitled to a 30 per cent share. However, if the publisher draws a new or existing subscriber to the application, Apple gets nothing.

Content is king

Once again, content has been regarded as the primary asset. It can be found on all platforms of information delivery and readers or users can access it in whichever way they find it most convenient, be it on websites, tablets, mobiles or in the print media. The new subscription model deals with complaints about the need to pay again for the same content on other platforms.

On the commercial side, it is important to understand that the price for advertisements in print will never reach the same value as online or on tablets since print production is more expensive; the profit will be generated by the number of unique visitors and by the number of sales.

In terms of a business model, the company that will emerge in front is the one with a strong brand and quality of information and content that are entirely engaged with traditional readers.