Yudu Media website
Digital publishing firm Yudu Media will launch an online store for magazine e-editions next Tuesday.

The Yudu Store will sell subscription packages and individual digital editions of titles to users, as well as offering access to digitised back catalogues of certain titles.

The launch follows the news in June that John Menzies' digital magazine division and its online shop Magazines On Demand had shuttered, due to unfavourable economic conditions.

But, Yudu CEO Richard Stephenson told Journalism.co.uk, his company's plans are a direct reaction to client demand.

"There are important differences to Magazines On Demand. We own the reading technology - that gives us a big scope to be able to develop the product and give the client much more of what they want."

Speaking to Journalism.co.uk after the closure of Magazines On Demand, Stephenson said: "I would not build a business only on subscriptions, because I would never get a return on investments."

"I wouldn't have launched a subscription site if that was the only business we had," he added today. "But if it's part of an overall service that you are offering to publishers that's different. We are spreading our costs and leveraging out existing technologies."

The price point for publishers differs from that of Magazines On Demand and existing competitor Zinio, he added.

The site offers a revenue sharing arrangement for publishers, with 75 per cent of revenue from direct sales from the site going to the magazine and 25 per cent to Yudu.

An affiliate scheme is also being offered, where editions can be sold via third parties, which would see 65 per cent of revenue earned by the publisher.

"This enables publishers to give better deals to their customers if they want and to get a better take themselves," he said.

The main Yudu site is generating significant traffic and Stephenson said he sees these users as potential subscribers for the new store.

Users of the site will be given a range of options: including long-term subscription packages to titles, the opportunity to purchase single editions, back issue sales and paid-for access to archives of more niche titles.

The site will also offer users a more interactive experience with the opportunity to use forums and take polls, Chris Sheard, online subscriptions manager, who joined Yudu from Menzies Digital, told Journalism.co.uk.

Yudu Store webpage

This will further differentiate Yudu's product from that offered by Menzies, he added. A planned members' club feature will give users access to special promotions or offers from specific titles and give publishers more information about their subscribers on the site.

Sheard is also working on subscription packages that combine access to print and digital editions of titles, he said.

This development is part of the future of the marketplace, with magazines moving towards a more interactive and rich media offering online to complement their print counterparts, added Stephenson.

The site is also hoping to encourage more niche publishers to make the move online.

One publisher, which owns a series of craft magazines, has already made a sevenfold return on its investment in running digital editions with Yudu from signing up to a pre-launch version of the site, said Sheard.

The site is also in negotiations to sign up two mainstream magazine publishers and aims to have between 70 and 100 titles on offer within a month of its launch, he said.

As part of plans for the new site, Yudu has also recruited Robert Elding, who has previously worked with the Times and BBC, to head up its marketing team.

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