The New York Times is introducing digital subscriptions to the mix, seeking new-age distribution methods for its age-old publication. The newspaper also hopped aboard Steve Jobs’ iTunes subscription plan as its first major partner, which will cost  30 percent of its revenues through the platform. But we’ll get to that later.

The Times’ 3 digital subscription packages are already available in Canada but will hit U.S and global availability on March 28^th.  The basic package, NYTimes.com plus Smartphone App, will set you back $15/month, and offers full access to the site and Smartphone app. The NYTimes.com plus Tablet App package costs around $20/month for full site and tablet access, and the All Digital Access package is priced at $35 per 4 weeks.

“The subscription plan allows for free access to a set amount of content across digital platforms. When the monthly reading limit is reached, users who are not already home delivery subscribers will be asked to become digital subscribers.”

The New York Times seems to be very eager to enhance its revenue streams by going digital. So much so, in fact, it’s willing to give up on 30 percent of its  iTunes revenues and access to valuable subscriber data in order to become the first major publisher joining Steve Jobs’ pricey magazine subscription model. Evidently iOS is too big of a market to miss out on, even if The Times only gets to keep 70 percent of revenues (and a jab in its IOS advertising plans).  But judging by its premium prices, that skim factor has already been taken into consideration.

Apple’s efforts to become a publishing platform are finally beginning to pay off, but the electronics giant is not stopping here.  Gadget Daily News reports Apple may be close to releasing a magazine template as a part of its Xcode developer environment and toolkit.

“I’m told; “Imagine a guy drawing and writing a comic book. He can’t sell it to Marvel or DC so he hooks up with a programmer and within days, he’s getting his comic book published and sold on iTunes.”

Apple is focused on becoming a dominant figure in the publishing space, and it has recently recruited yet another publisher. Random House was the last major hold-out against Apple’s agency pricing model, and recently announced it has revised its policy and will begin offering its books under Apple’s pricing system. Everyone is going digital, and after Hurst Media, Conde Nast and one iPad-exclusive magazine, The New York Times is joining the club.