Major mags turn increasingly to the web for new paid subs

Some major magazine companies in the U.S. are finding the web increasingly attractive, not for selling content, but for finding new subscribers. A 2007 figure was that the industry derived 10 per cent of its new subs from websites; that figure has probably grown considerably in the past two years.

According to a story in Mediaweek,

• Hearst Magazines found a quarter of its net paid subs (2.2 million) in 2008 came online and 95% of them are new, not just shifting from another source;
• Condé Nast has been using its business group as a test bed for an ambitious effort to get more subscription revenue from the web;
• Rodale has reduced direct mail and is poised to get more than 18 per cent of its net paid subs via the web and e-mail offers, using its offlilne and online databases of 60 million+ names;
• Time Inc. is taking a different approach with its beta Maghound service, letting consumer pay a monthly price for three or more titles.