Anyone who keeps an eye on trends in print publications has watched as more and more of them migrate to digital and on-line distribution models. Most major daily newspapers have published a web edition for some time, as do most major news weeklies. Niche market publications have also been embracing this trend, and it is becoming quite common to face the choice between “regular” delivery of periodicals by postal mail, and immediate cyber-delivery over the Internet.

Until now, none of the major bluegrass print publications have made this sort of delivery available to subscribers, but Bluegrass Now appears to be first to the punch. At the IBMA convention last fall, they discussed their plans to do so, and the BN web site now offers a preview for Bluegrass Now online.

The online edition is an exact replica of the print issue, with each page displayed one at a time on screen, giving the reader the ability to move page by page, or to enter a page number to jump straight to a given page. Bluegrass Now has made their November 2005 issue available in the digital version online for anyone to see how the online edition is displayed.

Subscriptions for the digital version run at least 50% below the cost of the print edition, and combo subscriptions are offered for those who want the immediacy of the online delivery but also the comfort and convenience of a printed “hard copy” of the magazine to read away from the computer – or save in one place for archival purposes.

Congratulations to Bluegrass Now for this major step.