In the news: For companies geared toward memberships, print magazines can be a lucrative membership perk.

For membership-oriented companies such as Costco, AAA, and AARP, a print magazine can function as a membership perk that keeps people renewing their membership every year. Many of these subscribers prefer the tangible print product to the idea of a digital edition. Michael Winkleman of Foliomag.com writes, "[Costco] publisher Sandy Torrey notes that only 750,000 members -- a small slice of the total readership -- have moved in that direction. Instead, she says, the company routinely gets mail from members begging them to keep the print magazine going."

One cannot understate the popularity of these print editions. Writes Winkleman: "Last fall, for the first time ever, AARP pushed past People magazine as the country's most-read magazine, according to GfK MRI. This past spring, the magazine expanded that lead, reaching an estimated 38.6 million readers per issue."

Read more here.

Also Notable

New York Post Launching Paid Memberships

The New York Post is experimenting with membership programs to drive revenue. Max Willens of Digiday.com writes, "The Post intends to orient them around extra services or experiences targeted at fans of its sports coverage, or its popular gossip news sub-brand Page Six.... The Post decided to focus on services rather than content after extensive user testing and interviews, which led [chief digital officer Remy] Stern to conclude that its audience was not going to pay for The Post's reporting and coverage." For now, the plan is to launch its first membership program early next year. Read more here.

Time Magazine Purchased for $190 Million

Last week, billionaires Marc and Lynne Benioff purchased Time magazine for $190 million. Dominic Rushe of TheGuardian.com raises key questions about the acquisition: "Is there really space for a weekly news magazine in an era where the world carries all the news it needs -- with constantly pinging updates -- on its phone? And is it really a good thing that tech's billionaires are the new press barons?" Samir "Mr. Magazine" Husni weighs in on these questions, noting that Time's impressive circulation numbers (roughly two million) present a huge advantage. But the purchase raises other question about the dangers of billionaires owning key news brands. Read more here.

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