[dgarrett]

The subscription fee of most magazines is only there so that they can present a "paying subscribers" number to potential advertisers. The assumption being that a paying subscriber is more likely to spend money on advertised products.

This is why popular magazines constantly have deals for a year subscription for $5 or $10.

[goatforce5]

I think those dirt-cheap yearly subscription deals are a US thing. I'm not sure similar deals are common in the rest of the world.