Amazon no longer sells magazine subscriptions in its virtual kiosk (“Kindle Newsstand”). The service for Kindle e-readers will be gradually phased out by early September, the company said last week.
As of March 9, Amazon will no longer sell new subscriptions on Kindle Newsstand and existing subscriptions will no longer automatically renew. From June 5th, users will no longer be able to manage their active subscriptions, but should instead contact the respective publisher – Amazon plans to provide details on this in the coming months. From September 4, 2023, it will be the end of it all: users will no longer be able to renew monthly subscriptions and annual subscriptions will end. Any outstanding expenses will be reimbursed. Issues that have already been purchased and downloaded remain on the Kindle and can continue to be read.
Digital versions of magazines and journals can be subscribed to and managed in the Kindle Newsstand. The media are optimized for Kindle: There are few to no formatting errors and some additional functions, such as changing the text size or an interactive table of contents.
Moving to other service providers
In a blog entry Amazon writes that users can find alternatives for their subscription under the option “Your memberships and subscriptions” or on the website of the respective publisher. In addition, some magazines and periodicals remain part of the “Kindle Unlimited” subscription.
The reason for the termination seems to be cost savings at Amazon. The American company is currently shedding more than 18,000 jobs. Jobs in Amazon’s equipment and services division are particularly affected. The latter category also includes Kindle Newsstands. “Following an evaluation of our magazine and journal subscriptions and single issue sales, we have made the difficult decision to end these services,” a spokeswoman told The Verge. A second wave of layoffs is to follow in the coming weeks: 9,000 jobs are to be cut.
(weave)
