Beginning this month, Scribd will offer unlimited access to magazines from the likes of Bloomberg Business Week, Money, New York, People, and Time. Apparently, these will be full magazines and will be displayed by interest.
Even better than the fact that magazine subscriptions are coming to Scribd is the fact that they don’t cost anything extra — the subscription will be the same $9 per month that it was before. Of course, the selection of magazines isn’t as comprehensive as that offered by Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited subscription, but its a nice add-on nonetheless.
The move will certainly help Scribd expand its offerings, but it seems like it will be more helpful for publishers than Scribd, at least according to a report from the Wall Street Journal. Magazine publishers will get a either a flat licensing fee or a a fee based on the number of articles read.
“We’re interested in new emerging platforms where we may gain exposure to readers we may not be already reaching,” said Camilla Cho, executive director of business development at New York Magazine, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. Cho went on to talk about the fact that getting subscribers through Scribd will help New York Magazine generate more revenue and get insights into how people want to access magazine content.
Scribd is certainly going through a period of transition. Earlier this year, the company switched from offering an all-you-can-read subscription, to allowing users to choose up to three ebooks and one audiobook per month from the Scribd library. Users also have unlimited access to a smaller selection of rotating titles that are chosen each month by Scribd editors.
