Maghound: Interesting, but Not "Netflix for Magazines"
Great logo, interesting idea but not the silver bullet for the magazine industry...and certainly not "Netflix for magazines", as they're touting it. That's how I'd assess Maghound, Time's forthcoming subscription program described in this article.
The idea is to offer monthly subscriptions to 3 magazines ($4.95/month), 5 magazines ($7.95/month) or 7 magazines ($9.95/month) with a twist: You can change from one magazine to another at any time. The example given is that you tire of reading Time and decide to switch to Newsweek for a bit. Does that really happen? Am I the only person who really appreciates (and generally looks forward to receiving) every issue in my subscription? When I lose interest I'm gone and am never coming back, period.
My magazine subscription stack is less than half the height it used to be. I've abandoned at least a dozen different subscriptions over the years, not because I couldn't switch from one to another, but because I'm now able to find much of what I'm looking for online. Maghound has a cute logo but I'm not sure it's going to solve the real issues that plague the magazine industry.
P.S. -- The article also mentions the irritating "Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery" nonsense that's famous in the magazine industry. I recently canceled my Sports Illustrated subscription and am returning to ESPN The Magazine. I subscribed online and paid with my credit card. ESPN comes out every couple of weeks, so why can't they take my subscription info and get the next issue to me in a couple of weeks?!
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