Minal Bopaiah

Avatar

Is The New Yorker Making a Mistake by Choosing a Metered Paywall?

This month, The New Yorker launched a metered paywall, allowing visitors six free articles before being asked to subscribe for $12 for 12 weeks or $60 a year ($70 for a print+digital subscription). While we applaud The New Yorkers instinct to value its online-only content, we can’t help wondering — Is a metered paywall really the best model for a consumer magazine with original content? As much of our research shows, metered paywalls work best for…

Is The New Yorker Making a Mistake by Choosing a Metered Paywall? Read More »

Amazon Testing Alternative Payment Method in Germany

While the news about Amazon’s new Kindles, as well as the soon-to-come pre-installed Washington Post app, is making the headlines, a quiet move to “carrier billing” by Amazon in Germany may signal a bigger revolution in the card-not-present subscription billing arena. “Carrier billing” refers to the practice of allowing consumers to tack on digital purchases — eBooks, music, downloads, etc. — to their monthly phone bill. We previously covered the use of such billing methods in Brazil…

Amazon Testing Alternative Payment Method in Germany Read More »

Adobe Makes $547 Million from Subscriptions with 2.81 Million Subscribers to Creative Cloud

We’ve written a bit about Adobe’s transition from a one-time software license model to a subscription-only revenue model. While there have been some glitches with pricing psychology, it looks like the model is succeeding in transitioning customers and holding annual revenues steady. Seeking Alpha reports that Adobe has garnered $547 million in subscription revenue so far, 54.4% of total revenues. One-time software license sales make up 34.7% of total revenues at $349 million, while services garner…

Adobe Makes $547 Million from Subscriptions with 2.81 Million Subscribers to Creative Cloud Read More »

Changes to Value-Added Tax Make Subscription Sales More Cumbersome in Europe

When selling digital subscriptions to European-based customers, it’s important to know the intricacies of the Value-Added Tax, a special tax intended to reap revenues from print newspapers and magazines, but an archaic, cumbersome system for digital publishers. And the system is about to get even more complicated. Starting in January 2015, the European Union wants digital publishers to collect VAT based on where customers are purchasing wares. (The actual percentage amount of VAT that’s to be collected varies…

Changes to Value-Added Tax Make Subscription Sales More Cumbersome in Europe Read More »

New Market for Subscription Revenue: Crowdfunding Enthusiasts

As I’ve said before, there are a few tried-and-true niches for subscription content: business and professional information, financial news, sporting fans, and enthusiasts. The last leaves the most room for exploration and new launches in the subscription model as almost any past-time, hobby or lifestyle can lend itself to an enthusiast crowd. After all, even companies can have enthusiasts, viz-a-viz Apple. But one industry I didn’t see adopting a subscription model despite the enthusiasm it generates is crowdfunding. And yet,…

New Market for Subscription Revenue: Crowdfunding Enthusiasts Read More »

Politico Confirms Partnership with Axel Springer to Launch European Edition

Washington, DC-based subscription news site Politico is teaming up with Berlin-based media company Axel Springer to launch a European news site based in Brussels, according to a press release issued by Politico. The new site will be dedicated to “offering in-depth coverage of European politics and policy,” particularly centered on the European Union, which is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. The new site is being billed as a 50-50 venture between the two companies that will be set…

Politico Confirms Partnership with Axel Springer to Launch European Edition Read More »

HBO Go May Finally Allow Online Subscriptions while Encyclopaedia Britannica Considers Going Free

After three years, HBO may finally listen to its users and make it possible for consumers to subscriber directly to the cable channel’s online video streaming platform, HBO Go. Meanwhile, Encyclopaedia Britannica is adopting an ad-supported model for its digital encyclopedia, even though subscriptions account for 75% of Britannica.com’s revenue. First the HBO Go development… Atthe 23rd annual Goldman Sachs Communacopia Conference this week, Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes said Time Warner is looking into offering HBO directly to…

HBO Go May Finally Allow Online Subscriptions while Encyclopaedia Britannica Considers Going Free Read More »

The Guardian Launches B2C Membership Site and Service

Oh, how I love the Guardian. Despite years of selling digital subscriptions — and despite Editor-in-Chief Alan Rusbridger’s equivocal posturing — the liberal bastion has been able to promote an anti-payment persona. Even though it made £1.4 million from subscriptions to its iPad app, alone. To its credit, the Guardian has adopted a smart model for breaking news site. All of its content is free on its website, but mobile, tablet and B2B content is an upsell. And now, much…

The Guardian Launches B2C Membership Site and Service Read More »

CellarTracker Partners with Vinous to Integrate Wine Reviews with Tracking Services

In May, we published a Case Study on CellarTracker, an interactive database for wine enthusiasts that lets users track their wine inventory with a “voluntary payment” for memberships. At the time, CellarTracker had more than 300,000 registered users, 20,000-25,000 of which were paying subscribers, leading to an 8% conversion rate. In addition to cataloguing a wine collection, users could upload tasting notes, browse other wine reviews and estimate the value of their collection. What the site lacked was editorially independent and curated…

CellarTracker Partners with Vinous to Integrate Wine Reviews with Tracking Services Read More »

How Going Smaller Can Increase Print + Digital Revenues

There’s a theme to a few recent stories hitting the Internet this week: go small to earn big. This is apparent in a new study by comScore that found that U.S. audiences are now spending the majority of their time consuming digital media within mobile apps versus mobile web browsing or desktop usage. Facebook is the #1 app, and overall app usage is higher on smartphones than tablets. I deduce that this is because smartphones apps are great for drive-time…

How Going Smaller Can Increase Print + Digital Revenues Read More »