How the iPad changes the future of magazines and single-copy sales

Scott Dunlap, CEO of NearbyNow

If you want to understand the effect that Apple’s iPad will have on the magazine industry, you need look no further than the face of a publisher or editor in chief when you put one in their hands. It is beautiful, it is easy to use, and it can represent advertisers and editorial in breathtaking multimedia clarity.
Add to this the quantitative reality of the iPad – Apple expects 5 million will ship by December and application and ebook downloads in the high billions over the next two years, per ABI Research – and faces turn a familiar ghastly white remnant of the Internet circa 1997.
In short, it is here, it is real, and it is scary as all hell. The first question they ask of me, usually after a long pause to catch their breath, is “Soooo … what do we do now?” I have had a few weeks to use the iPad – I am writing this article on one now – and have spent time with iPad owners ranging from ages 12 to 60 to better understand how they discover and consume media from this new device.


As is often the case, you get a very different view of technology talking to people who already have invited it into their lives, rather than those who critique it from a distance. Early conclusions indicate a raised expectation of media consumption and access, and a willingness to pay a premium for it. Herein lies the challenge and opportunity for the magazine industry, in particular.