Why Magazine Publishers Like the Fire

Magazine publishers see tremendous potential in the Fire and hope that the device can do for their business what the Kindle did for books: bring droves of new customers into a business that is having difficulty retaining its traditional print readers.

With another player besides Apple – particularly one that is as large and influential with consumers as Amazon is – magazine companies could suddenly find they have a useful bargaining chip when it comes to negotiating with Apple. The Fire also allows publishers to start getting a higher price for their magazines. The magazine business has long sold subscriptions on the cheap – many for as little as a dollar an issue – while advertising subsidized much of their costs. But as much as it lamented the practice and tried to raise prices, it found consumers were resistant. Prices of many magazines on the Amazon Fire are set higher than print editions. And by offering buyers a newsstand, publishers can avoid having to worry that their magazines are getting lost in a jumble of other media.