[BOAI] NPG details 2011 open access pricing policy

[Peter Suber]

[Forwarding from the Nature Publishing Group.  --Peter Suber.]


PRESS RELEASE FROM NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP
16 March 2010
For Immediate release
Contact: Grace Baynes
Corporate Public Relations, Nature Publishing Group
T:+44 (0)20 7014 4063
g.baynes at nature.com

NPG details 2011 open access pricing policy

Nature Publishing Group (NPG) today announces details of its 2011 pricing
policy for Nature Communications and other NPG journals offering an open
access (OA) option.

“We now have complete data on the uptake in 2009 of open access publishing
options for NPG journals, and we can predict the likely impact on pricing
for 2011,” said David Hoole, Director, Intellectual Property Policy and
Licensing, NPG.

NPG currently sets a threshold of 10% OA content in a journal in a given
year, at which point site license prices will be reviewed. NPG currently
publishes fifteen journals with an OA option, of which three have published
more than 10% OA content in 2009. These are: The EMBO Journal and EMBO
reports, the International Journal of Impotence Research (IJIR), and
Prostate Cancer (PCan). The percentage of EMBO Open content has actually
decreased, and so this will lead to a small increase in price, following the
9% reduction for 2010. IJIR and PCan should see decreases in site license
prices of between 5 and 10%, depending on the annual inflationary increase,
which will be announced in Q2 of 2010. This change only applies to site
license prices; personal and print subscriptions remain subject to NPG’s
usual pricing structure.

In 2012, NPG’s intention is that site license pricing for journals with an
OA option will be determined by the percentage change in the amount of
subscription access articles. This means the subscription price will be
based on only the amount of subscribed content, independent of the OA
content. This provides a more straightforward calculation from which to
price journals, especially for journals that are growing, or new hybrid
titles that don’t have a base level of content. Annual inflationary
increases will still apply. Again, this change in pricing structure only
applies to site license access; personal and print subscriptions remain
subject to NPG’s usual pricing structure.

In April, NPG launches Nature Communications. This is a born digital journal
with an immediate OA option. Therefore it has no existing price to reduce,
and NPG can only set a site license access price based on the amount of
subscription content and the quality of the journal.

All content published in Nature Communications will be freely available
until October 2010, after which time subscribed access content will be put
behind a paywall. Site license access and pay-per-view options will be
available from October. Based on current submissions, Nature Communications
will publish significantly more subscribed access research papers than a
Nature research journal. NPG have therefore set a base site license price of
GBP 1,500/USD 2,400/ EURO 1,875 for a small academic institution. Early
subscribers will be offered 15 months for the price of 12, providing access
from October 2010 through to December 2011 (subscriptions must be confirmed
by August 31st 2010).

The Article Processing Charge (APC) for Nature Communications has been set
at $5000, with a 20% launch discount. Authors who opt to pay the APC will
benefit from: a choice of licenses, including one that allows derivative
works; immediate and permanent access for all to the final published version
of their paper on nature.com and in PubMed Central; the rights to
self-archive the final published version of their paper for public access
immediately on publication. Regardless of which option authors choose,
publication in Nature Communications will enable authors to comply with
funder mandates for public access. Early indications suggest a high rate of
submissions, with approximately 25% of authors interested in choosing open
access publication.

Nature Communications memberships will also be available, offering
discounted APCs. Memberships will be offered at discounted rates when
combined with site licences, generating further savings.  Details are still
being confirmed and will be announced later in 2010.

“We are confident this range of pricing options for Nature Communications
will ensure value for authors, librarians and funders, whether authors
choose subscription access or open access for their paper”, said David
Hoole.

NPG is committed to value and excellence in scientific and medical
publishing, and to achieving this through a variety of sustainable business
models. This spread of activities shows NPG’s commitment to ongoing
experimentation with gold open access models, with the objective of reducing
library costs. The gold open access model is still inappropriate for highly
selective, high impact journals, such as Nature and the Nature research
journals, as high rejection rates and editorial investment make APCs
prohibitively high in the current market. Here green open access models make
more sense and NPG’s licensing terms meet or exceed all major funder
mandates. NPG’s free Manuscript Deposition Service is now depositing
thousands of manuscripts annually into PMC and UK PMC (the authors accepted
version, subject to a six month embargo) contributing to an explosion of OA
content from across NPG titles.

-ENDS-

Links:
Nature Communications: www.nature.com/ncomms
NPG Librarian Gateway: www.nature.com/libraries


About Nature Publishing Group (NPG):
Nature Publishing Group (NPG) is a publisher of high impact scientific and
medical information in print and online. NPG publishes journals, online
databases and services across the life, physical, chemical and applied
sciences and clinical medicine.

Focusing on the needs of scientists, Nature (founded in 1869) is the leading
weekly, international scientific journal. In addition, for this audience,
NPG publishes a range of Nature research journals and Nature Reviews
journals, plus a range of prestigious academic journals including
society-owned publications. Online, nature.com provides over 5 million
visitors per month with access to NPG publications and online databases and
services, including Nature News and NatureJobs plus access to Nature Network
and Nature Education’s Scitable.com.

Scientific American is at the heart of NPG’s newly-formed consumer media
division, meeting the needs of the general public. Founded in 1845,
Scientific American is the oldest continuously published magazine in the US
and the leading authoritative publication for science in the general media.
Together with scientificamerican.com and 16 local language editions around
the world it reaches over 3 million consumers and scientists. Other titles
include Scientific American Mind and Spektrum der Wissenschaft in Germany.

Throughout all its businesses NPG is dedicated to serving the scientific and
medical communities and the wider scientifically interested general public.
Part of Macmillan Publishers Limited, NPG is a global company with principal
offices in London, New York and Tokyo, and offices in cities worldwide
including Boston, Buenos Aires, Cairo, Delhi, Mumbai, Hong Kong, Madrid,
Barcelona, Munich, Heidelberg, Basingstoke, Melbourne, Paris, San Francisco,
Seoul and Washington DC. For more information, please go to www.nature.com.

Grace Baynes
Corporate PR Planner
Nature Publishing Group
The Macmillan Building
4-6 Crinan Street
London, N1 9XW
T +44 (0)20 7014 4063
F +44 (0)20 7843 4996
E g.baynes at nature.com
www.nature.com
Visit the NPG press room: www.nature.com/npg_/press_room/
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