What's in a name?

Posted on June 30, 2011 by sam

For all magazine publishers, choosing a title has always been one of the most critical stages in its development. How publishers approach this however varies wildly from title to title. Many publishers understandably go for a title that reflects the content and immediately tells the reader what they can expect in terms of content. However, this blog post isn’t for Wedding Planner magazine or Equestrian Plus because we reckon you’ve already got a pretty good idea of what’s inside. Instead, we’ll highlight some of the more ambiguously monikered titles on YUDU’s Shelves, and hopefully point a few people in the direction of magazines they might not otherwise dip in to.

Undoubtedly the best place to start is with No-TiTLE Magazine. The magazine’s pastille coloured cover art, accompanied by a distinct lack of text other than issue number (30) and price (Free), offer little more indication as to what’s beyond the page. Those readers willing to delve past this enigmatic cover however will find that No-TiTLe is in fact the city of Leeds’ premiere free music magazine. The publication inside is far more what you’d expect from a local music mag, offering features, interviews, reviews and gig guides to anyone with access to a copy. For music lovers interested in learning about a specific music scene or community the latest edition can be viewed below.

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Publisher Software from YUDU

Mayhem Magazine is a quarterly UK fashion magazine, but you might not guess it from the title alone. The magazine, celebrating its 1st birthday with its most recent issue, takes an artful look at current fashions, going beyond a typical look at clothing alone. The publication draws in music, home ware, art and even architecture to create a varied, immersive and engaging reading experience. Take a look at its anniversary winter 2011 edition below.

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Online Publishing from YUDU

Unlike the two featured publications above, the significance of The Submission’s title becomes clear once inside. The art publication, released every two months, offers a platform for aspiring artists by beautifully presenting paintings, photography and sketches that are submitted to the magazine. Its clean, uncomplicated presentation ensures focus remains on the artwork, whilst giving the impression each page deserves a frame and a place on a wall somewhere. This one is highly recommended.

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Self Publishing with YUDU

Beyond these three titles, YUDU.com is brimming with hidden gems waiting to be found by readers. With 1000′s of titles on offer, a bit of a search may uncover the magazine you’ve been looking for!

Are Readers Still Dedicated?

Posted on June 24, 2011 by sam

As well as experiencing exponential growth over the past 12 months, the e-book industry is undergoing a transition that is shaping its makeup from the inside out.

From the research we’ve conducted to create our white-paper “The Rise of the e-book”, it appears the shape of the e-book market is dictated by a convergence of e-book content and the devices that support them. These dual forces can mean the marketplace isn’t always the easiest to map, however current research suggests that both elements will encourage the migration of consumers from dedicated e-reading devices to tablets.

According to estimates in the 2011 Publishers Launch conference book, tablet devices have outsold e-readers by as much as two to one since last Christmas. Tellingly, these estimates have coincided with a decrease in new e-reader devices being launched, alongside more than a few rumblings from Amazon HQ that the previous eReader stalwarts may venture into the tablet market this year.

This hardware shake-up isn’t easy to pin to one factor alone, however the increasing affordability, consumer awareness and

understanding of tablet devices and their functionality are all likely playing a big part.

On the other side of the coin, innovation in e-book content and formatting is also favouring tablet consumption, with dedicated e-readers less suited to these developments.

If we take illustrated books as an example, the e-ink display of devices such Kindle cannot provide a faithful representation of illustrated content, let alone any audio and video content that might be used. In contrast, not only do the new wave of tablet devices offer a HD colour display to support the new features associated with e-books, innovation such as the fixed-layout format – which prevents re-flowable text and a loss of page formatting – increases the tools available for publishers, and expands the range of books suitable for the digital market.

What this all boils down to therefore is a broadening definition of what e-reading means. As the widening boundaries of the e-book’s capabilities become more accepted as the norm by consumers, the functionality of the e-ink reader is going to appear ever-increasingly limited.

This is not to say the e-reader will fall into obscurity overnight; the Kindle still commands a huge share of the market as well as a large base of fans who may be reluctant to give up on their investment. But beyond these existing consumers, we may be seeing the beginnings of the e-readers transition from a huge consumer product to a niche device for e-ink purists, with tablets set to gain the ground in between.

For more insight on this topic, alongside further discussion of the e-book industry view the white-paper online at http://www.yudupro.com/e-book_whitepaper or on the iPad/iPhone by downloading the YUDU Media App and selecting ‘e-book Report.’

PPA Awards

Posted on June 17, 2011 by Ana

Wednesday night saw the crème de la crème of the magazine industry descend on the Grosvenor House Hotel for the Annual PPA Awards, the most coveted awards in the industry, showcasing excellence, rewarding innovation and a chance to have good old knees up!

The Awards was hosted by comedian Kevin Bridges who did a great job of keeping everyone entertained. Winkler, best known as Arthur ‘The Fonz’ Fonzarelli in Happy Days also made a surprise appearance and encouraged the audience to donate to the event’s two chose industry charities: Mag Aid and the NewstrAid Benevolent Fund.

Fonz takes to the stage

YUDU sponsered the Digital Product of the Year (Consumer Media) which was one by BBCGoodFood.com, congratulations to them and all of the worthy titles who were shortlisted in the category.

YUDU CEO Richard Stephenson presenting the award

A big congratulations goes out to all the winners, especially our clients Reader’s Digest with Gill Hudson winning Editor of the Year (Consumer Media) and Conor Dignam from Screen International winning Publisher/Manager of the Year (Business Media). A full list of winners can be found here.

YUDU's Enterprise iPad App

Posted on June 17, 2011 by sam

An increasing number of companies across the world are finding that the iPad can be deployed in the workplace with beneficial results. In the latest innovation for businesses utilising the mobile device, YUDU Media have created the Enterprise Licence App.

These Apps are closed access iPad apps that are exclusively for internal corporate use and do not get published on the App store. They enable the secure distribution and organisation of all internal content such as training videos, HR documents, sales and marketing materials or technical manuals.

With YUDU’s unique cloud technology, companies themselves are able upload content, which then immediately populates the apps on employee’s iPad devices. This instant distribution of a variety of content ensures every app user is operating with the most up-to-date information available – a must for any company with a highly mobile field workforce.

Not only is the transfer of data immediate, it is also secure. Content stored on the App is encrypted, ensuring that even the most sensitive internal data can be shared via this platform.

For companies that rely on both the currency of their information and the maintenance of a secure and simple distribution channel, the Enterprise Licence App is a revolution in the way internal information is shared.

To find out more about the Enterprise licence app, you can watch our CEO Richard Stephenson talk about it in the following video, or alternatively, request more info through this link.

'The Rise of the e-book' – New YUDU Research Report

Posted on June 15, 2011 by sam

Hot off the digital press, “The Rise of the e-book: e-book stats and trends” is YUDU’s latest white-paper. The report charts the most important stats, facts and figures to emerge from the e-book industry over the past year, highlighting the exponential growth of the industry.

The last 12 months have seen the ebook emerge as a significant consumer product that is claiming more and more of the book industry as a whole. For many book publishers and authors, the sudden, meteoric rise of the e-book has made an understanding of the market essential.

With this in mind, we’ve created “The Rise of the e-book” to offer a snapshot of the e-book industry for current and would-be e-book publishers operating in the current market. It examines global market growth, e-book’s significance to the publishing industry as a whole, e-reading devices, technological advances and more.

Building on the research of the market in its current form, we also assess what direction the industry appears to be heading in, predicting that amongst other things, the tablet is set to play an increasingly important role in the production, sale and consumption of the e-book.

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Digital Publishing with YUDU

Those interested in more detail can access the white paper online at www.yudupro.com/e-book_whitepaper or on the iPad/iPhone by downloading the YUDU Media App and selecting ‘e-book Report.’

Rapid Media Case Study

Posted on June 14, 2011 by Ana

Created by founder Scott MacGregor scribbling an idea on the back of a napkin in 1999, Rapid has Rapidly expanded (sorry just had to).

The niche outdoor magazines now now three successful branded iPad Apps: Rapid, Adventure Kayak and Canoeroots

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Digital Publishing with YUDU

Have a read of the case study above which details Rapid’s successful journey. The Case study can also be found in the YUDU App.

Mobile Media Strategies 2011

Posted on June 13, 2011 by sam

Today marks the eve of Mobile Media Strategies 2011, and seeing as its one of the most important dates on the digital publishing calendar, YUDU will be in attendance.

Taking place at The King’s Fund in London’s West End, the event presents the latest thinking from some of the industries key players regarding how to build successful mobile strategy. Key contemporary issues such as the value of content, monetizing mobile, and integration with existing brands will be discussed at length, meaning for anyone looking to further their understanding of a new and complex industry, this is definitely a must-attend event.

We ourselves will be available at a stand just in front of the catering tables (sorry, that’s as specific as it gets!), meaning a tea or coffee break can be partnered with a chat with a member of our team. Please feel free to talk about anything from our product range to the quality of the cake available (preferably the former).

As well as our stand-manning, YUDU CEO Richard Stephenson will be talking at the event in a session titled “Mobile Futures: the next generation of publishing models and consumption”. The panel discussion will focus on how publishers should act in a digital market that changes and transforms at such a rapid pace. This will be taking place from 4.10pm – 5pm, so be sure to stick around for this important insight.

We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible!

Apple's Subscription Changes are set to Benefit Publishers

Posted on June 10, 2011 by sam

In an apparent victory for publishers, Apple yesterday announced it would be relaxing its app subscription rules. The brief but important ruling announced that publishers are no longer obliged to sell subscriptions through Apple’s in-app purchase system.

Under the previous rules, publishers had to sell subscriptions through the app store as well as external websites, which saw Apple themselves claim 30% of revenue. However under the new terms, publishers can opt to sell solely through an external site therefore retaining 100% of the revenue.

Whilst previously, Apple insisted magazines sold through the app store had to be of equal or lesser value to any external price, the recent changes mean publishers no longer have to keep in-app prices the same or less than those offered externally.

Perhaps the only downside to the new rules for developers is Apple’s restriction on “link(s) to external mechanisms for purchases or subscriptions”, meaning apps cannot include signposts to external sites where a purchase might be made.

So what does this all mean? The amended rules largely represent a victory for developers, however the restriction on signposting within an app may slightly limit the impact of the new rules on external subscriptions for some.

Those best placed to benefit from this change however, are publishers who are able to take advantage of both sales channels available. One way of doing this is through a service like YUDU’s dual-subscription system. With this, publishers can sell via their site using a subscription service that runs parallel to Apple’s sales model.

For some publishers, this may this may represent a new strategy, however the potential to increase sales as a result of Apple’s revised rules makes these changes worth exploring.

Apple Changes will Boost Opportunities for Magazine and Newspaper's on the iPad and iPhone

Posted on June 8, 2011 by lisa

At Apple’s developer conference this week, Apple announced new changes for the magazine and newspaper space that will benefit both publishers and users.

They will be introducing Newsstand as part of the OS5 release in the Autumn; a separate section for newspapers and magazines in the App Store, which users can visit with a simple tap on the Newsstand on their desktop. It’s a clear next step following the introduction of Apple’s subscription system.

Newsstand will enhance the shopping experience on the App Store and help readers organise and manage their subscriptions on their devices. It is both a logical and beneficial improvement for magazine and newspaper publishers, allowing for the automatic download of new issues and cover art in the background, without any effort by the user, arranging all of the user’s subscriptions automatically on their devices.

The new features, architecture and the code required to implement this feature will be revealed in more detail later this week but it appears that Newsstand will follow the user experience of the iBookstore but without placing a creative straight jacket on publishers, who are still free to produce their magazines and newspaper as apps, with features and interactivity that suit their titles.

Apple is laying down their marker that the Newsstand is THE place to sell magazine and newspaper subscriptions. Other non-Apple rival newsstands will have been presented with a strategic headache that can hardly get worse. Coupled with Apple’s soon to be instigated rule enforcement on the30% sales commission for all purchases from the app store, due on 30th June, this could be seen as the end of the road for them on Apple devices and begs the question; what will rivals do to keep up?

YUDU has always believed the App Store would be improved and become the best platform for sales and distribution for publishers. It has never been our policy to compete with Apple on distribution but rather to provide the tools for publishers to deliver and monetize through the Apple ecosystem. This new announcement will enable our clients to generate greater revenues and build on our Dual Subscription system that we launched last month.

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Monthly Archives: June 2011