Paper vs. Electronic versions of the Magazine

[Bill MichaelsParticipant @billmichaels85035]

I currently am a paper subscriber. I would like to switch over to the e-version, especially since it takes a long time for the paper copies to arrive here in the USA.

But there is one problem– if I go e-version, I lose all the free plans!

I wish there was a way to get the e-version, and then get just the free plan mailed to me when one is published. I would think that would save the publisher money, as they be mailing fewer, lighter items to me only a few times a year…….

[Bill MichaelsParticipant @billmichaels85035]

Free plans?

[Paul FreshneyParticipant @paulfreshney24971]

I have let 'subscriptions' know about your posting Bill, and no doubt they will reply in normal working hours after the weekend in due course. There is nothing unique about not including free plans in digital magazines and not just those from MyTimeMedia.

Paul Freshney

[lnvisiblemanParticipant @lnvisibleman]

It would be a useful fourth alternative for a price suitably placed.

[Charles OatesParticipant @charlesoates31738]

As an ex didital subscriber getting the free plans sent to me, by email would be a clincher to subscribe again. The trouble is I can’t see how this can be done without it being abused by the unscruplous. Someone is bound to pass the plans on for free.
Chas.

[Charles OatesParticipant @charlesoates31738]

I’ve just thought of an exception to my last post. Does anyone remember the excellent free plans by R A Sweet printed in the magazine many years ago. I built many of those, and scaled one
up. Great models.
It would be nice to see something similar again.

[Bill MichaelsParticipant @billmichaels85035]

Posted by Charles Oates on 05/09/2014 23:56:50:
As an ex didital subscriber getting the free plans sent to me, by email would be a clincher to subscribe again. The trouble is I can't see how this can be done without it being abused by the unscruplous. Someone is bound to pass the plans on for free.
Chas.

I don't see how that makes any difference– either way the publisher is mailing me a paper copy of the plan. Whether it comes inside a paper copy of the mag, or in a separate envelope, the plan is mine to do with as I wish. I can give it away to a club mate either way…..

I see this suggestion as a win-win. As a subscriber, I get my e-version of the magazine as soon as it is released. The publisher saves money, as they aren't paying to send a paper copy of the mag across the Atlantic every month– instead they only have to send a smaller, lighter, (less costly to print and mail) paper plan every other month or so.

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

I think Charles meant that the digital copy could be easily passed on to all and sundry with the click of a key!. Of course, your single physical copy can be passed on to whomsoever you wish. As far as separately posting a copy of the plan to subscribers is concerned I suspect that the cost of administration and postage might put the cost up to nearer the paper copy of the mag subscription rate. And bear in mind that the publisher does not send out the magazine or the plan, this is done by the distributors.

The practical economics of these things are not always as simple as one might assume!

Perhaps we will learn more from the subscriptions dept.

Colin

[The Long BuildParticipant @thelongbuild]

As far as I am aware , if talking about the digital copy of the magazine, I am not aware that this can be passed on and is locked to your account.

However for the Digital subscribers, I would think a PDF download of a plan could be sorted ?. only a thought.

[Bill MichaelsParticipant @billmichaels85035]

Sorry- I didn't mean to start a discussion of the merits of digital mags in general– that ship has sailed, do to speak.

Like nearly every magazine on the planet, MB is encouraging its subscribers to go digital. They have weighed the pros and cons and decided it is profitable to do that. I understand and support that- I understand that it isn't easy for a mag to remain financially viable these days.

My point is that, to me, the free plans that come with the mag are a real attraction- that's why I subscribe. The publishers clearly would like me to switch to digital — but they don't seem to realize that they are asking me to give up what I see as a valuable part of the package. Surely I'm not the only one that feels this way…..

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

I don't think they 'want' you to go digital as such. It is just another option to meet current day needs.

I think it is probably true to say that most model boaters still prefer the paper magazines which are much nicer to read than digital ones plus you can take them wherever you like without the need for a battery powered device.

Obviously the publishers have to cover all the bases but the problem with going digital is that unless you take some precautions you can be effectively giving the content away as there seems to be a general assumption that anything published online can be freely distributed which drives a coach and horses through business models where the content has to be paid for before the magazine is published. The publishers have to pay their contributors and need to recoup their costs otherwise there would be no magazine, either paper or digital, for us to enjoy. A lot of people appear to be unable to grasp that concept!

It may be that it would be possible for digital subscribers to have the plans posted to them but they would have to bear the actual costs of doing so. Alternatively, the plans can still be ordered separately but, depending how many you want, the total cost could easily exceed the paper based subscription.

The point made earlier about the plans previously published in the magazine by R A Sweet, and indeed, R. Carpenter, is a good one but the reality is that no one is actually producing drawings of this type anymore. In the 'good old days' there were many contributors with draughtsmanship skills but that is simply no longer the case.

Colin

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

What does the future hold?

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

So what does the future hold?

How does this sound

We have already witnessed the advent of digital magazines and current technology is more than capable of handling attachments such as drawings or even suppliers catalogues.

But this hardly scratches the surface of what modern software is capable of doing, links to YouTube, links to suppliers using Skype for face to face problem solving, updates from the lakeside using social media.

All in all it can be a totally interactive experience…………and we don’t have to loose the paper copy.

Paul

[David WooleyParticipant @davidwooley82563]

Whilst I am no luddite I get the perception that if its digital , available on the web then it's has too be free . There is also a greater chance that work, research and effort will have no value other than to be disseminated to all in sundry at the click of a mouse with a much greater chance of loosing control of that material. In hard format such material is protected by copyright laws . Once its out there in the digital ether then it's almost impossible to enforce copyright.

Dave Wooley

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

Hello Dave

It was very nice to finally meet you at Haydock even though I felt rather shabby compared to you….all suited and booted….you looked very smart.

I agree that at some point in the future magazines will be free to readers but in the short term this will present a problem to traditional publications as they will be loosing a large portion of their revenue because without the benefit of sales or subscriptions the magazines only source of income will be advertising.

Some traditional publications, and publishers will fall by the wayside as they will be unable to adapt quickly enough the changing situation.

Copyright is always going to be a problem in the digital age, it doesn't matter if the material is digital or hard copy as each format is easily copied and reproduced. When I designed for craft companies I took copyright very seriously and embedded the CDs with digital and visual watermarks but now I take the view that once the material is published all hope of retaining copyright is gone so I don't worry about it any more.

Paul

[David WooleyParticipant @davidwooley82563]

Hi Paul yes good to have meet up at Haydock . I think copyright cannot be neglected as it can lead to an erosion on the part of contributors to submit work , whether for plays , books or magazines . A good example is very close to home. Manufactures take very seriously copying grp hulls or resin fittings without permission and the same applies to the music industry. Generally when purchasing a drawing from a museum archive you must declare as to how the drawing is to be used.

As you know there is a limit to copyright, 70 years I think but I occasionally find entire books and magazines published on the net in their entirety. I have to say this is wrong as it deprives the publisher and individual of recompense for their effort.

I spent most of my working life running a business, my staff expected to be paid for their effort. Now where is the difference , Just because the digital world is more free booting it can at times ignore copyright on the premise that all information should be free at source . My daughter is a playwright and as such her work is distributed by an agent and then when performed either on TV or , stage in the UK or overseas she at all times retains copyright . If it wasn’t protected then the alternative is less not more the very opposite of what the digital world hopes to achieve.

Dave Wooley

[Paul FreshneyParticipant @paulfreshney24971]

Hi all

Just to clarify:

The digital editions of the magazines that MyTimeMedia produce are made available in response to developing and ongoing changes in the marketplace.

However, the number of stand-alone digital subscriptions is currently minute compared to the number of printed subscriptions worldwide.

The print order for each issue of MB has not changed markedly in the last two years. In other words we expect to sell on news-stands worldwide roughly the same number as a couple of year's ago and the quantity supplied for direct delivery to subscribers has not changed either, indeed has been slowly going up. Yes, we lose subscribers who do not wish to renew, but new subscribers more than make up for that.

It must be remembered that the time and effort to edit, manage and design the magazine is the same whether it be digital or printed. Also, advertisers like printed issues, because the magazine reader cannot escape the adverts and of course in the case of hobby magazines, many of them are passed-on in clubs etc. so are read again and the adverts then seen by others. That does not happen with digital issues.

So, in summary, printed issues of MB will be here for many years to come. This is against a backdrop of a an overall fall in the national magazine market, year on year as a whole. Top class hobby magazines are remarkably resilient in this respect, perhaps because of the types and ages of the people who read them?

As to cost – well for the maximum £50 per annum, a UK subscriber gets 13 printed issues with six included plans, the digital equivalents and free access to the back issues from January 2007 as well as (if a new subscriber), an introductory free gift. £1 per week? You can easily spend more on parking somewhere just once a week!

No other model boating magazine enables any of its subscribers to access these recent back issues for free in their entirety like this, something that is useful to the model maker seeking professionally produced articles and advice on 'how to' and 'information about' subject matter. As with all things, there are costs involved in everything, but because MB is the 'The World's Best Seller' , we can also have this professionally moderated (by Colin Bishop) forum and website for you and the access to back issues.

Thanks for your ongoing support.

Paul Freshney.

 

 

Edited By Paul Freshney Editor of Model Boats on 13/09/2014 11:45:12

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

Whilst I cant, and wouldn't claim the in-depth knowledge that Paul has I can recount something from a few years ago that might be of interest.

In 2008 I was designing 3D items for a craft company that advertised and demonstrated heavily on a TV craft channel, during this period I undertook a feasibility study examining the possible future of the craft industry and attempted to interpret the potential demand for products and methods of promotion.

At that time the craft industry depended heavily upon demonstrating and selling at large craft shows, magazines and the internet.

But the feasibility study indicated a possible shift in advertising focus that moved away from TV craft channels and magazines and concentrated more on social media and internet TV.

The potential shift was theorised upon the increasing use of social media and the development of technology such as high speed internet, tablets and smart TVs.

The feasibility showed that whilst traditional large scale public events and shows would continue, printed magazine subscriptions would drop off in favour of digital editions & interactive contact via social media and that the craft TV channels would be slowly replaced by more cost effective internet TV channels.

The technology was in development in 2008 and the key to the feasibility would be the availability of interactive tablets and smart TVs that could not only be used to view traditional software and television channels but also have high speed access to the internet.

The prediction was that by 2015 companies, advertisers and suppliers would be able to pinpoint their advertising on a ‘pay per click’ basis rather than the traditional cover everything ‘shotgun’ approach and cut out the middleman by going straight to the customer.

Companies would also develop their own in house TV studios to broadcast product demonstrations, sales drive and chat direct to the customer via internet TV.

So far the feasibility study has been accurate and most of the predictions have come true with the final piece being the recent announcement of britishcraftnetwork.tv.

What impact this technology will have on our hobby is open to conjecture especially as model boaters are a fairly conservative bunch but with newcomers to the hobby bringing expectations of faster and more interactive contact it can only be a matter of time before we are dragged, if not kicking and screaming, certainly sulking and complaining into the 21^st century.

But what do you think?

Paul

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Well, I agree that nothing will eventually stand in the way of technology Paul but in many ways it is killing the craft element. Kids these days prefer video games to sticking together pieces of things with glue.

As for Model Boaters embracing it all in large numbers, well, just look at the general age profile of those who attend the major shows. It makes me feel young again and I'm 66!

There will always be a niche interest in old fashioned craft pursuits but I doubt if it will ever be mainstream to the extent it has been in the past. There are simply too many virtual alternatives that compete with physical crafts and which provide creative satisfaction in a very different way to that our older generation has become used to. Times change!

Colin

[David WooleyParticipant @davidwooley82563]

I read with interest and some dismay your predictions for the future of our hobby, in many ways I understand the direction you are coming from but the inevitable conclusion is to reduce as Colin has mentioned , a craft skill based hobby to a virtual pleasure much the same as you have a virtual game. For example it could in reality be reduced to virtual model making and sailing on virtual lakes . We as a society that invented so much using brain and brawn and are better for it yet we are now allowing the digital world to dominate every aspect of life. I see how the I -phone has become an essential tool to bombard the ether with a huge flow of text messages , is it essential that we remain in contact 24/7 Social media , what does it actually do, My personal preference is social contact eye to eye , I like meeting real people like I enjoyed our chat at Haydock . Colin is right to see our hobby as old fashioned , this is to some extent  is  true but it will be a sad day if we loose that link with reality in favour of an all digital equivalent.

Dave Wooley

Edited By David Wooley on 15/09/2014 20:19:50

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

In the wise words of the Bruce Springsteen track: '47 channels and nothing on!'

I have derived a lot of satisfaction in the past from developing an elegant and useful bit of computer coding but this is entirely different to the tactile pleasure entailed in using wood to shape an equally elegant model boat hull. Whatever the merits of the virtual world, there is nothing to beat the satisfaction of the 'hands on' experience.

In my living room I have a glassed case model that I made many years ago, it still gives me pleasure to look at and hopefully will endure long after I am gone. many virtual achievements are, by their very nature, transient only and will never be remembered or acknowledged.

As modellers, we appreciate the old builders models of long gone ships, they provide a very real link to the past in the way that no virtual media can ever accomplish.

Colin

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