Here’s an interesting idea. Magazines can now do single issue reprints using MagCloud.
“To commemorate the 40th anniversary of Woodstock, LIFE teamed up with MagCloud to release a Special Edition Woodstock Magazine. Originally released 40 years ago, this special issue has more than 100 photos of the performances and amazing community that attended Woodstock.” (here)
You can also make your own magazine from scratch using their archive:
“Life.com will partner with HP’s MagCloud to offer users a personalised “timeline”. They will get to print their own edition of Life magazine comprising a selection of catalogue images from any given date, as well as their own uploads.” (here)
It’s a cool idea along the lines of getting a picture on a mouse pad or coffee mug but I’ve had a couple conversations with people looking to make money off big magazine archives and I think the public’s ability/patience to put a magazine together from scratch is very limited. We’re on the firehose end of the information superhighway so finding someone you trust to edit everything down to something relevant is more important than having a trillion choices.
If Fred Woodward edited a copy of Life out of the archive I might actually buy that.
Found it on Magtastic Blogsplosion.
6 Comments
Yes, editing, editing… the crucial cog in the wheel.
$9.60 per copy? I think that is a bit pricey. For Web publishing to work it has to be closer to the iTunes model — each transaction is so cheap you can afford to take chances.
I’m sure some effort went into converting 40-year-old images/text for Web publishing — but nearly ten bucks? That sounds like a premium-priced product aimed at baby-boomers trying to relive the past. They’ll probably sell some issues but this is not a step in the right direction.
The real issue is how to get Web consumers accustomed to free content comfortable with paying. Gouge pricing for Web content is only going to handicap the development of a legitimate business opportunity.
Seriously, Google “Woodstock” and see how many images you can find for free.
I think they could get away with the premium pricing if they were offering a special, commemorative issue as a finished product — but not if they expect the consumers to put the issue together themselves. On that point I would have to agree with Rob: “the public’s ability/patience to put a magazine together from scratch [from a vast archive of choices] is very limited.”
It all comes down to those nasty gatekeepers. Who’d have thunk it?
There must be a hundred different events in that archive that could get new “life” through the unique vision of a special guest editor.
Are you saying,I can order an issue of Life Magazine say 1963 whatever date and you will phisically reprint it and forward it to me in the mail…no download the actual magazine ?????
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