GQ and Wired get iTunes subscriptions at last

Condé Nast rounded out its burst of iTunes subscription changeovers by adding two of its more popular magazines to the mix. Both GQ (free, App Store) and Wired (App Store) for the iPad now follow the same model that the publisher started earlier this month with the New Yorker. Readers can pay either $20 for a yearly subscription or $2 for each individual issue; print subscribers get access for free.

Both changes take effect with the June issue onwards.

Condé Nast was the second major publisher after Hearst to adopt iTunes magazine subscriptions but has also been one of the most complete, with several magazines now following the new model. A few publishers, such as Pearson, have been holding out in the hope they would get exceptions from rules on private subscriber data and royalty cuts.

The wider change of heart has been spurred on both by slow sales at the original per-issue prices, which cost as much as $5 per issue, but also by early data showing some fears were unfounded. Apple has told publishers that half of readers voluntarily give data, or enough to target ads without getting access to detailed private information.

By Electronista Staff