MAGAZINES on demand is being shuttered.
It's a sad fact that timing with innovation has to be pivotal.
John Menzies Digital, the division behind digital magazine supplier Magazines On Demand, has been closed by parent company Menzies Distribution because of a lack of demand.
"Digital magazines have not proved as popular as we had hoped and in this difficult economic climate it was not possible for us to continue trading," said a statement on the website.
The
service, which allowed customers to download 140 magazine titles, had
established a partnership with WHSmith, which allowed downloads via the
retailer's website, and recently signed a deal with Telegraph.co.uk to distribute e-editions of NatMags.
Quite honestly, I find the whole thing quite baffling - of overcomplicated at all. Is it the simple fact that magazines are bought in print for their craft, and feel. It can't be portability or we would all be tree free. It can't be the content because its proven we don't care where we get our celebrity fix from...
Essential reading
Firms in the same space as Menzies Digital remain confident that there is demand for digital editions from both consumers and publishers.
"We are extremely confident that digital editions can be harnessed as a value adding or stand alone proposition, with international publishers reaching wider communities, and smaller publishers promoting their online presence," Ben Edwards, marketing manager of PageSuite, which supplies online digital editions for the Express and Daily Star, told Journalism.co.uk.
"Digital editions are increasingly interactive, with rich media video, audio and flash animation content. PageSuite's new search tool, easy to use interface and instant global downloads increase readership and ultimately, publishers' revenue."
In April, Clegg said 85,000 paid-for downloads of Menzies Digital titles had been made so far and sales were growing by 20-30 per cent a week.
According to Stephenson, more than 1.5 million titles on Yudu are opened every month by readers.
"It's a good market and there's an opportunity to have someone pose a good challenge to Zinio [Menzies Digital's main competitor]," he said.
"The decision just reflects on John Menzies' priorities. The company has many other issues and things to focus on."
Do you know about the french experience www.relay.com ?
Posted by: mricb | June 13, 2009 at 06:12 PM