Publishing firm Future made $8 million in one year from Apple's Newsstand
Future, a magazine publisher based in the UK, is planning on building out its existing digital distribution model, which has already garnered the company about $8 million over the past year.
It appears that Future's success in the digital realm is in great part thanks to Apple's iTunes Newsstand, the iOS app that allows users to purchase, organize and store digital publications all in one place.
According to PaidContent, Future, one of the first companies to adopt the service when it launched with iOS 5 in 2011, announced the rise in profits on Thursday at an interim trading update.
?Sales of digital editions on Apple devices have passed ?5 million ($8 million) in the period since the Apple Newsstand was launched in October 2011,? Future reported.
Among the magazines published by the firm are PC Gamer, popular tech serial T3 and Apple-centric MacLife, the hard copy versions of which have been in print for years. Before Newsstand's release, Future's digital presence was limited to web portals TechRadar, BikeRadar and GamesRadar.
?In March, we were at over 12 million (free) container app downloads, had five million people signed up for marketing messages, which is a lot, and way past half a million sales,? said Future CEO Mark Wood.
In order to leverage Newsstand, Future built FutureFolio, a specialized software suite which aids in the design of interactive magazines, which the company is now trying to license to competitors.
Future is not the first company to see significant gains after using Newsstand. Less than one month after the service launched, Cond? Nast reported a 268 percent surge in subscriptions while Popular Science + saw similar growth.
It appears that Future's success in the digital realm is in great part thanks to Apple's iTunes Newsstand, the iOS app that allows users to purchase, organize and store digital publications all in one place.
According to PaidContent, Future, one of the first companies to adopt the service when it launched with iOS 5 in 2011, announced the rise in profits on Thursday at an interim trading update.
?Sales of digital editions on Apple devices have passed ?5 million ($8 million) in the period since the Apple Newsstand was launched in October 2011,? Future reported.
Among the magazines published by the firm are PC Gamer, popular tech serial T3 and Apple-centric MacLife, the hard copy versions of which have been in print for years. Before Newsstand's release, Future's digital presence was limited to web portals TechRadar, BikeRadar and GamesRadar.
?In March, we were at over 12 million (free) container app downloads, had five million people signed up for marketing messages, which is a lot, and way past half a million sales,? said Future CEO Mark Wood.
In order to leverage Newsstand, Future built FutureFolio, a specialized software suite which aids in the design of interactive magazines, which the company is now trying to license to competitors.
Future is not the first company to see significant gains after using Newsstand. Less than one month after the service launched, Cond? Nast reported a 268 percent surge in subscriptions while Popular Science + saw similar growth.
Comments
Imagine how much publishers could make if they all actually cared enough about digital books and magazines to put some effort into them.
Love Newsstand. Subscribed to Sight & Sound (which very hard to find in my country) and American Cinematographer and saved half the money I would spend if I subscribe to print version.
Never have automatic download though.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SolipsismX
Newsstand is one iOS feature I've never used. I mean, I've never even had some free magazine loaded in it to try it out. This article makes me think I'm not the norm.
I don't use newsstand either. However, I have quite a few friends that use it and they love it. I've checked it out on their iPads and I'm actually quite impressed with it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SolipsismX
Newsstand is one iOS feature I've never used. I mean, I've never even had some free magazine loaded in it to try it out. This article makes me think I'm not the norm.
Not really. I've almost never use it either. However, my girlfriend does read magazines with newstand often. But I still think that people still prefer normal magazine than reading it in an iPad.
Something I should have added to my original post. I've never once answered a question for an iPhone user about Newsstand. Not a single person has asked me about it ever; yet I have answered several about Passbook, Apple Maps, and several other new iPhone 5 features in the past week.
Newsstand is definitely hampered by it's content. Some publishers have made great strides in using different media including video, pictures and audio to enhance what you would get with a paper version but sadly they seem in the minority.
Too many publications are lazy ports of the print version adding nothing or even losing some of the paper copy.
I hope that more publishers will catch on that this is a convenient media for some if executed well. Maybe more stories like this will help them see the potential.
As a regular long haul flyer, I find it convenient to download onto my iPad before a trip and imaginative use of the features afforded by an iPad over a paper copy can be a very good experience. I just wish more publishers catch on.
I think it's because it's just a folder itself with some special attributes applied.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tallest Skil
Imagine how much publishers could make if they all actually cared enough about digital books and magazines to put some effort into them.
I recently renewed my Mad (print) subscription for 3 years and they gave me free access to the digital version of the issues I have subscribed to on Newsstand. I think they did a very good job of porting the magazine to suit the iPad form factor. Articles are generally in one 'sheet', so you scroll down to read the full thing and you swipe to move to a different article.
They even magnify the 'drawn-out dramas' that are on the pages to get a better view, in addition to collecting all of them and displaying them at the end of the issue. The fold-in is excellent since it folds perfectly.
I was really impressed with it, given that I was just expecting a digital scan of each page. I think they did a great job. Of course, they seem to have 'interactive' and 'non-interactive' issues, so I may have read an interactive one, but it is refreshing to see they put some thought into it rather than simply offering scans.
Many of Future's digital editions are built specifically for and on the iPad - here's an overview of FutureFolio
Quote:
Originally Posted by SolipsismX
I think it's because it's just a folder itself with some special attributes applied.
I would greatly appreciate the ability to hide this app/icon/folder.
I have this great little thing called Notification Center if I need to know when I have new reading content...
Could Amazon open up a Newsstand?
Quote:
Originally Posted by iSheldon
Could Amazon open up a Newsstand?
If they lacked originality, most definitely.
You should check it out. Many look surprisingly good.
Sandman's wisdom has been dispensed wisely.
You should check it out.
Wow! This is a good news! Publishing company earned that much since they have cut cost in printing paper magazine! nice strategy!
Not correct. The headline is wrong. To say a company 'made $8 million' implies $8 million in profits. Future didn't make $8 M in profits. Now, 'made' is generally used to indicate profits rather than revenues, but colloquially, some people use it for revenues. But the article continues: "According to PaidContent, Future, one of the first companies to adopt the service when it launched with iOS 5 in 2011, announced the rise in profits on Thursday at an interim trading update." That is clearly incorrect. The article says nothing about profits. In fact, there's nothing in the article that tells you if they made any profits at all.
What the article says is that their REVENUES hit $8 M since last October. From that $8 M figure, you have to subtract all your costs to determine whether they made a profit or not.
I guess it's too much to expect journalists to have even a fourth grade understanding of business.
There own business at that!