I don't think that's true. Whenever you're published in a publication, you still have the option to subscribe to the author's stories and not just the pub's - but you can only subscribe on the author's profile page. However, the article doesn't need to be self-published for this.

Also, if you follow a publication that doesn't mean you're opted in for its newsletters automatically. You have to subscribe for the newsletter option seperately, as far as I know.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but that's my experience.