KeepMedia Launches Digital Content Store

Posted on September 5, 2003

KeepMedia, Inc. recently launched its premium content service which offers current and archived content from approximately 140 magazines and newspapers. The company was founded in January 2002 by Chairman Louis Borders, also founder of Borders Books and Webvan, and CEO Doug Herrington, formerly VP of Marketing at Webvan.

KeepMedia is a subscription-based website where consumers can access a digital library of thousands of magazine and newspaper articles. The company has partnered with leading publishers to aggregate their content, sell print subscriptions, and promote related merchandise. KeepMedia is a privately-held company with offices in Redwood Shores, CA and New York City.

The website is launching during a time when recent surveys and studies have shown that consumers are not yet willing to pay for content. Contentville.com, a website launched by Stephen Brill which also tried to sell articles and other content to consumers, went out of business in October, 2001. Despite these negatives some publishers are still bullish on paid online content and interested in KeepMedia's new service.

"We believe in the paid content future," said Ken Doctor, VP of Content Services at Knight Ridder Digital, which is including six of the Knight Ridder newspapers in the launch. "We are now partnering with KeepMedia because we believe their user-oriented tools will resonate well with readers. As a publisher, we are always looking for innovative ways to reach new customers, and we believe KeepMedia is a good step in that process."

KeepMedia said it has found that more than 80% of magazine websites offer only a sampling of their articles. KeepMedia also found that periodical content tends to be isolated on disparate websites, often each with its own payment system.

Founder and Chairman Louis Borders said, "This is a groundbreaking service that combines a wealth of popular periodicals with a personalized environment so that subscribers will never miss valued content again. Just as the book superstore introduced a new standard of value, convenience and selection, KeepMedia is doing the same for premium digital content."

For $4.95 a month, KeepMedia subscribers get unlimited access to all magazine and newspaper archives in the system. KeepMedia also sells print subscriptions for its publisher partners. Some of KeepMedia's publisher partners are also co-marketing the offer on their sites. At launch, KeepMedia features approximately 140 magazine and newspaper titles from a wide variety of publishers, including: Book Magazine, BusinessWeek Online, Esquire, Family Circle, Fast Company, Forbes.com, Kiplinger's, Miami Herald, Psychology Today, San Jose Mercury News, U.S.News & World Report and OpinionJournal.com.