• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, April 14, 2010

This week brought more confirmation that magazine publishers stand to benefit from the surge of interest in e-readers, including the new Apple iPad. On Wednesday Mediamark Research & Intelligence revealed the results of a study showing that e-reader owners are big fans of magazines, in addition to being a desirable demographic.

According to the MRI data, 91% of e-reader owners read print or digital magazines, compared to 84% of all U.S. adults. They also read more magazines, per capita, than the general population: 13 issues per month versus 11 for average adults.

In light of these data, it's not surprising that they also place a higher value on magazines than the general population. They are 26% more likely to say magazines help them relax, 20% more likely to say magazines "make them think," and 11% more likely to say they're the source of good ideas.

Although MRI doesn't have specific data on the use of e-readers to consume digital magazines, it's collecting this information as part of its national Survey of the American Consumer, which should be available later this year.

For the time being, the initial findings suggest that e-reader owners will pay for digital magazine subscriptions -- provided they are not exorbitantly priced, which was an early issue for some publishers.

Earlier this week, Zinio -- which creates digital editions of magazines for various publishers -- announced that its storefront and e-reader was the most popular free news app downloaded by iPad owners, and the fifth most popular free app overall.

As of last Friday, approximately 500,000-600,000 iPads had been sold.