Apple Launches Subscription Service Facility Via iTunes

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Apple Launches Subscription Service Facility Via iTunes [reuters.com]

Apple Inc is launching a long-awaited subscription service for magazines, newspapers, videos and music bought through its iTunes App Store.

The plan calls for publishers to set the price and length of subscription, marking a break from the previous practice of "newsstand sales" under which each issue of a magazine, for instance, would be bought separately.

Apple will process all payments and keep 30 percent of the revenue, it said on Tuesday. But it will also allow publishers to sell digital subscriptions on their websites -- at prices equal to those offered through the App Store. In those instances, Apple will not share in any revenue.

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And the lesson here, boys and girls...

Have as many sources of traffic as possible. If you depend too much on Google, Apple or even your local newspaper, they are going to take advantage of it. They are business people trying to make money.

Is this a good deal for a publisher? Yeah, I think so, for many--but not all. And, no, I don't expect anyone to be happy about it. But no whining is allowed.

I'd be working at getting subscribers to know where and how to re-subscribe, give gift subscriptions, etc. without going through Apple. (Or Publishers Clearing House, or whatever) You have to build your brand. And, at some point, if you do that, you can say good-bye to Apple or Amazon or whatever.

There is no reason to get mad about it. Just do the math and make a plan. (Apple probably did the publishers a favor by saying no discounting, saving them from themselves.)

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Interesting that it's drawing attention for antitrust issues.

Apple's Subscription Rules Raise Possible Antitrust Issues [online.wsj.com]

Apple Inc.'s new subscription service could draw antitrust scrutiny, according to law professors.

One more potential string attached: If publishers sell digital subscriptions outside the Apple orbit they must allow Apple to offer the subscriptions at the same price or less.

"My inclination is to be suspect" about Apple's new service, said Shubha Ghosh, an antitrust professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School. Two key questions in Mr. Ghosh's mind: Whether Apple owns enough of a dominant position in the market to keep competitors out, and whether it is exerting "anticompetitive pressures on price."

An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment on any possible antitrust implications of the company's announcement Tuesday.