The core of the plan is to create an iTunes-like digital storefront where content can be bundled into subscriptions and delivered to customers on multiple devices.
According to All Things Digital, the plan is being well-received, with Hearst and Conde Nast reportedly expected to sign on to the venture.
Lots of details have yet to be worked out, with one particularly huge question to be answered: what type of content, exactly, would the store be selling? A simple digital copy of the corresponding print magazine is in most cases already available on the web for free, with customers showing little interest in paying for that format.
Will these old dog publishers be able to come up with new content tricks to attract a digital market? What will magazine content look in an interactive world, and how will it be tailored to work properly on a range of devices and sizes, from cell phones to eReaders like the Amazon Kindle to future form factors like the still-unannounced Apple Tablet or Microsoft Courier?
Controlling Sales and Distribution
These questions and more the consortium of publishers will have to answer before a joint venture storefront can come together. They have a lot of incentive to figure it out and figure it out quickly though, because their own content store would keep publishers in control of their own sales and distribution.
Other industries -- particularly the music industry -- are beholden to companies like Apple who control the distribution pipeline via iTunes. Time Inc. et al want to avoid allowing Amazon to strengthen its position as the corresponding gatekeeper in the publishing world, as it has begun to do with the Kindle platform.