We, being the users of this forum. Without the revenue generated by the magazine, there wouldn't be a forum for us to use.
The whole point of premium is that it costs more to get it! The first definition is the most pertinent (emphasis mine):
pre-mi-um
–noun
1. a prize, bonus, or award given as an inducement, as to purchase products, enter competitions initiated by business interests, etc.
2. a bonus, gift, or sum additional to price, wages, interest, or the like.
3. Insurance. the amount paid or to be paid by the policyholder for coverage under the contract, usually in periodic installments.
4. Economics. the excess value of one form of money over another of the same nominal value.
5. a sum above the nominal or par value of a thing.
6. the amount paid to the lender of stock by the borrower, typically a short seller.
7. the amount the buyer of a call or put option pays to the seller, quoted in dollars per share of stock.
8. a fee paid for instruction in a trade or profession.
9. a sum additional to the interest paid for the loan of money.
–adjective
10. of exceptional quality or greater value than others of its kind; superior: a wine made of premium grapes.
11. of higher price or cost.
12. of or pertaining to premiums: to work in premium sales.
—Idiom
13. at a premium,
a. at an unusually high price.
b. in short supply; in demand: Housing in that area is at a premium.
Face it, you aren't charged anything to come to this website and use it. The information provided in the forums is free for the taking, yet it costs Kalmbach to provide that free forum. FSM offers "premium" content for people who subscribe to their magazine as an inducement to get people to subscribe to the magazine. The choice is simple, subscribe and receive the additional value, or don't subscribe and don't receive it.
If I had my way, I would have a code number in the magazine, so purchasers off the shelf can have limited access (like they USED to do), but the decision of the owners of this website have chosen a different path, which is their prerogative.
I chose not to re-up my subscription (which is my prerogative!), and when I made that decision it was knowing that I would not be able to access that content. Guess what? You and I don't have a "right" to this website. Not even by subscribing! Some magazines don't even have a website, let alone a forum. This is a gift from Kalmbach.
Whether or not they earn money from subscriptions is moot. That pays for the magazine. The website is offered for free on the internet and is financed by the sale of the magazine, some of which is from subscriptions. Some subscribers don't come here at all, should they be charged less for the subscription? Some of the people who come here don't even buy the magazine at the store. Why should they get the same access as a subscriber?
You AREN'T paying "extra" for something. You RECEIVE something "extra" if you subscribe. The operative word being SUBSCRIBE.