Now, this baffles me. Not too long after it's inception, glossy Caribbean Lifestyle magazine, Ocean Style, started offering the full issues of their publication online.
And I thought, "Strange... I'm supposed to buy the paper-based issue at the cover price - which is a whopping $40-$50.00 TT dollars - but people can read the full thing for free online?" So I quickly switched to the web version, which has its drawbacks, but is generally reader-friendly.
I also thought that, no matter how nice it was to get the issues for free online, it would be tough for the Ocean Style folk to then secure and build a revenue from a paper-based following; truth be told, their publication schedule is spastic at best, and I've only seen the actual magazine once, on a newsstand in SoHo.
From a production-model standpoint, it's way cheaper to produce a virtual magazine, and the circulation/distribution possibilities are endless, once marketed & promoted right. So now, they're trying to turn things around, by teaming up with the E-Magazine newsstand, Zinio, to offer subscriptions of the digital version of Ocean Style at $9.95 USD for 6 issues!
Thus, I ask: "Why should I buy the Ocean Style 'Cow' when the Magazine's 'Milk' is already free?"
L.M.N. Harris.
N.B. Image courtesy Ocean Style.
