AllThingsD is reporting that publisher Condé Nast will be raising prices for two of its iPad magazine titles, GQ and Vanity Fair as part of a shift to a new digital publishing platform. Previously, readers who had purchased a single digital issue of these magazines were able to purchase subsequent issues at a discounted price. This option will be going away as of next month, bringing prices to $5 an issue for both digital publications, from previous per-issue pricing of $3 for GQ and $4 for Vanity Fair.
This is reportedly part of Condé Nast’s decision to move these titles from its own in-house digital publishing system over to the Adobe platform it chose to standardize on last fall, a change which will also require readers of these publications to download new apps. Glamour magazine will also be moving to the new platform and the company plans to promote the new app by offering it for a limited-time discounted price of $1 starting next Tuesday.
Condé Nast explains the price change by noting that the move to the new platform provides it with a chance to “reexamine pricing” and that the publisher intends to sell its digital titles at the same price as physical newsstand copies.
The company has not commented on any plans regarding subscription pricing or Apple’s new subscription model. Condé has confirmed that purchased issues downloaded and archived in the current apps will remain available for reading as long as the app remains on the device, however users will need to install the new apps to purchase content going forward. The publisher also notes that for now the new app and new issues of the three magazines will be available on the iPad only, leaving previous iPhone and iPod touch readers out of the picture.
