Paid associate subscriptions

Business media paid promotional programs

Definition

Association subscriptions are defined as subscriptions included as a benefit of membership to an association. An “association” is defined as any organization or society that meets postal and federal or state tax rules as a not for profit or non-profit entity. See AAM Rule D 2.3/D 102.3 Association, Organization and Society Subscriptions.

As a reminder, AAM defines paid circulation as subscriptions and single copies paid at an amount of at least one cent, net of all considerations. See AAM Rule D 1.1/D 101.1 Paid Circulation.

A “consideration” is any item offered to the purchaser that may induce the sale of the publication. This includes, but is not limited to, free gifts and discounted products or services (e.g., advertising). Therefore, the amount paid by the purchaser of the publication must be at least one cent, after you subtract the market value of all of these inducements from the purchase price.

Qualification

For an association subscription to qualify and be classified as association, the following AAM requirements apply (See Rule D 2.3/D 102.3 Association, Organization or Society Subscriptions):

1. All association members must be notified that their annual dues or membership payment includes a subscription to the publication.
2. A portion of the annual dues (or contribution) must be allocated to the subscription.
   • The amount allocated for the subscription must be no less than one cent.
   • The annual dues (or contribution) must be equal to or greater than the value allocated to the publication subscription, plus any premiums received outside of the benefits of the membership.
   • Upon application for new membership, the consumer must be informed a subscription is included as a benefit of membership and the value assigned to the subscription.
   • The portion of the annual dues (or contribution) allocated for the subscription must be clearly stated on every invoice or renewal notice for dues, annual membership payment or contribution.
   • The subscription value may be presented as either deductible or nondeductible, but all invoices or notices must state which approach applies.

Example of Acceptable Offer: 

In this example, the consumer is notified the subscription is included with membership, the value of the subscription is at least one cent, the subscription value is noted as nondeductible and the annual dues are at least $6.01.

Reporting

The average copies served from both deductible and nondeductible association programs are disclosed in paragraph 1A as “Association.” Details of the association programs must be reported in the explanatory paragraph of the publisher’s statement and audit report.