This is an insightful post though–subscription is a superb business model at the moment. It’s a business model that people understand and are willing to participate in for many products. We’ve taken this approach with Cold Spring Harbor Protocols, as an attempt to translate our print laboratory manual publishing program (which dates back to 1972) into the modern online world. The print manuals continue to sell well, but we’ve found that younger scientists are less and less aware of their existence, preferring instead to look online for instructions on laboratory methods. Moving our print material into an online journal/database (along with newly submitted and commissioned methods) makes it findable and accessible for a wider audience and provides a sustainable revenue stream for the program should print sales ever tail off. It’s not as flashy or groundbreaking a concept as many new ventures, but it is proving to be a success, both financially and in acceptance by the community.

In all these cases, I think a subscription is a convenience, an alternative to remembering to get more “just in time”.