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BREAKING NEWS & VIEWS
Apple Open for Subs: PopSci, ELLE, Nylon for iPad First InWednesday, February 16, 2011 The iOS subscription model is here. Don’t everyone rush in at once. It was telling that Apple  rolled out its new App Store subscription model yesterday without any announced publisher partners included in its press release. While a few early adopters of the model from the magazine industry appear in the App Store later in the day, few if any publishers seemed willing to applaud the new model. In fact, every magazine executive we contacted about the news declined public comment. After many months of rumors and backstage conversations between Apple and periodical publishers, the company began allowing app developers to offer recurring charges to access content. The model calls for Apple to retain 30% of sales and offer the consumer the option to share name, email and Zip code with the publisher at sign-up. Apple is allowing publishers to give existing print or digital subscribers access to the apps without additional charge and to sell app subscriptions outside of the Apple store itself. For their part, however, publishers must make a similar or better subscription offer available in the app. Some publishers appear to be balking by not indicating whether or when their existing iPhone and iPad titles might move to a subscription model. The dearth of launch partners for the model suggests that many publishers either were caught unprepared by the announcement or remain ambivalent about Apple’s terms. Notable exceptions included Bonnier’s Popular Science, Hachette Filipacchi’s Elle and Nylon magazine. PopSci+, currently available in the App Store now will offer a 12-issue iPad subscription for $14.99. That comes to $1.25 an issue compared with the single-issue pricing of $4.99. The $14.99 offer is available for a limited time, and the standard pricing will be $19.99. Nylon was offering a one-year subscription for $9.99/$2.99 per issue. ELL offers month-to-month subscriptions for $2.99 an issue, a yearly sub for $18.99 and per-issue pricing of $3.99. ELLE also gives existing print subscribers free app access via a supplied code. (This could be affected by Elle's announced licensure to Hearst Magazines, which--with the rest of the Lagardère/Hearst deal--is expected to close by Labor Day.) According to the new Apple rules, magazines can give app access to existing subscribers or customers they acquired outside of the App Store, but the app must supply its own authentication method. Apps also will not be allowed to link to opportunities to buy an app sub outside of the App Store. It seems that the new rules will impact apps like Zinio and Kindle, both of which make their content sales outside of the app. Late in the day yesterday (Feb. 15), Apple was featuring the three magazine titles available for subscription in the opening screens of the App Store in iTunes and on the iPad itself. Apple’s terms for the new subscription model clearly have some sticking points for publishers. Giving a brand’s own subscribers the option to opt out of sharing even basic information with the publisher seems to be a detail that is hard to swallow. Sacrificing a direct relationship with the reader runs counter to a century of magazine publishing editorial and business models. Apple appears to be posturing a heroic stand on privacy by insisting that publishers who solicit more information from their customers make explicit that the reader is outside Apple’s privacy policy. Some companies that would not go on record did say they were continuing discussions with Apple. The fact that only three magazine titles signed on to the scheme at the day of release seems to say it all. With the rise of Android’s popularity on smartphones, if not on tablets, Apple’s main rival is offering publishers an alternative. Recent announcements of an “all access” plan for Sports Illustrated notably excluded Apple versions from the plan. The pending release of New Yorker and Wired magazine apps on Android tablets also shows publishers are looking beyond the iconic Apple products for better terms on larger audiences. If you have breaking news to share please contact Steve Smith at ssmith@accessintel.com
Take min's fun quiz and find out how magazine-savvy you are! COMMENTS
1.
Why are we letting Apple do this? There should be an outcry and everyone is remaining silent. And publishing companies with the clout to actually meet with Apple need to be firm and say forget it, we just won't use you
Posted by Jason on Wednesday, February 16, 2011 @ 04:14 PM
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