Investing in editorial and charging for it seems to be paying off for Monocle

Tyler Brûlé, the expat Canadian who launched Wallpaper* and now Monocle, has gone against conventional publishing wisdom more than once. With Monocle, which focusses on world lifestyle and finance, he charges more for a subscription to the magazine than for the same number of single copies. And it seems to be working, with five issues of the magazine already published and a sixth due out in August. . A story in UK Press Gazette says that 2,500 people have anted up £75 -- £25 more than the cover price -- to subscribe. (That's about C$375,000.) And he is about to put a pay wall on his website, charging a premium for much of the online content.

"We have decided to spend more money on editorial and on reproduction, and it’s been interesting to watch other media brands who want us to come and talk to them because we went in [that] direction" said Brûlé. "We’re charging 50 per cent more for our subscription, and charging openly for our web content.

“There’s a consumer out there who is tired of the constant dumbing down. People are saying: ‘I will pay more for my subscription because I know it does take money to send journalists out to do original stories.’ You have the same relationship with your advertisers.”

The magazine is distributed on newsstands in Canada by LMPI.