Amazon will discontinue distributing existing Kindle Newsstand subscriptions in September and will no longer be selling new Kindle Newsstand subscriptions for magazines and newspapers, as announced in a recent statement. This seems to be another cost-cutting effort for the tech giant.
Unfortunately, those who were previously satisfied with receiving their subscriptions via the Kindle Newsstand will likely be disappointed with the new arrangement.
Outline of New Changes
Amazon has decided to stop selling print magazine and newspaper subscriptions in addition to terminating Kindle Newsstand subscriptions.
In a report by The Verge, the subscriptions were no longer available for purchase on Amazon as of last week, Mar. 9.
It has been announced that starting Jun. 5, Amazon will no longer allow users to manage print subscriptions. When it comes to subscriptions, you'll have to deal with the publishers independently.
On the Kindle Newsstand, monthly subscriptions will only be supplied until Sep. 4. Delivery for annual subscribers will continue until the mentioned date or until the subscription expires, whichever is sooner.
After Sep. 4, members will get a prorated refund for any unread issues left in their Kindle Newsstand membership.
On the other hand, if you are looking for alternatives, Apple is more than pleased to provide access to a wide variety of periodicals through Apple News Plus.
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Greater Effort to Reduce Expenses
"As part of our annual operating planning review process, we always look at each of our businesses and what we believe we should change," Amazon's spokeswoman Julia Lee told The Verge.
She added, "Following an assessment of our magazine and newspaper subscriptions and single-issue sales, we have made the difficult decision to discontinue these services. We don't take these decisions lightly and are winding down these offerings in a phased manner over several months. We will continue to support customers, sellers, and publishers during that time."
Good e-Reader was able to get a copy of an email in which Amazon made a similar assertion to publishers.
Amazon announced on Mar. 9 that its Kindle Unlimited service will provide access to a curated selection of digital literature. The changes, however, are indicative of a withdrawal from the distribution of periodicals and are consistent with the discontinuation of other innovative forms of publications, such as Google's "print replicas" of magazines and the iPad-only newspaper The Daily.
Amazon's alterations are part of a larger cost-cutting initiative that has included the layoffs of almost 18,000 people.
