Apple App Store subscription plan gouges publishers, eats their young

By Joe Wilcox, Betanews Somebody call the cops -- eh, antitrust authorities. Apple's subscription plan is here, and it's as bad for many, if not most, publishers as rumored. The first of several key sentences from Apple's press announcement: "Publishers may no longer provide links in their apps (to a website, for example) which allow the customer to purchase content or subscriptions outside of the app." That means you Amazon Kindle; before the announcement, all Kindle transactions took place outside the app in a web browser. This change applies to any content, but it's nestled in the subscriptions announcement.Another piece of nastiness: "Apple does require that if a publisher chooses to sell a digital subscription separately outside of the app, that same subscription offer must be made available, at the same price or less, to customers who wish to subscribe from within the app." That rule conceptually would prevent some publishers from extending to existing customers the benefits of a free iPad subscription."So, Apple doesn't prohibit publishers from selling subscriptions outside the app -- how could it and get anyone to offer content? But the company does fix prices. So if publisher A charges 50 bucks a year and wants to offer a holiday or school graduation promotion from its website, the deal must be offered for app subscriptions, too. Remember, Apple collects 30 percent from publishers.No one should misunderstand other terms, as stated in Apple's press release:... Continue reading at 'Betanews'

[ Betanews | 2011-02-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #book sold #barnes noble #raise prices #profits handed #things digital #steve jobs #android tablets

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Indies plan events for Murakami launch

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Thu, 29/09/2011 - 08:20 Independent booksellers are lining up special events for Haruki Murakami's eagerly awaited 1Q84 (Harvill Secker) with Foyles planning a midnight opening. The book, Murakami's first since 2007's After Dark, will be published on... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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How Publishers Are Reacting to Facebook’s New Features

Last week, Facebook rolled out several new features during its fourth annual F8 Developer Conference that could change the way the magazine industry interacts with the social media platform. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-09-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Most – But Not All – Big Magazine Publishers Sign On For Amazon's Tablet

Conde Nast, Hearst and Meredith are in for Wednesday's launch. Time Inc. isn't, and may not get there for a while. Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2011-09-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Penguin launches Oliver app

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Tue, 27/09/2011 - 09:15 Penguin has released Jamie Oliver's Food Guide app for Apple's iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch, with the guide now available for £2.99 from the App store. The app accompanies Oliver's latest title, Jamie's Great Britain,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishers gear up for Super Thursday

Written By: Charlotte Williams and Philip Stone Publication Date: Mon, 26/09/2011 - 09:00 Publishers are looking to make their mark with blockbuster titles from day one of release, as the most important day of autumn hardback releases, Super Thursday, looms this week. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Get author consent in writing, publisher agents told

Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Thu, 22/09/2011 - 15:46 Agents who wish to publish their clients’ work must offer them a detailed explanation of what they will personally gain from the arrangement and obtain their full and written agreement, the president of the Association of... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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HC to publish Christie's Grand Tour

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Thu, 22/09/2011 - 08:50 HarperCollins is publishing a collection of letters and photographs by Agatha Christie from a year-long trip she took around the world in a new book lined up for next year. The publisher signed a worldwide deal with Christie's... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Check Out What You Can Check Out at a Wisconsin Library: The Apple iPad

While many libraries are now checking out ebooks and digital audiobooks in addition to physical media, the Eau Claire library is taking things a step further by lending out iPads themselves. Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2011-09-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Simon & Schuster to publish Country Life titles

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Thu, 22/09/2011 - 08:48 Simon & Schuster has signed a deal with Country Life magazine to publish a new series of tie-in books, beginning this autumn with Curious Observations: A Country Miscellany. The book will comprise writings, articles and... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Leap in trade publishers' ebook production

Written By: Philip Jones Publication Date: Wed, 21/09/2011 - 09:06 One in five publishers is now generating more than 10% of their revenues from ebooks, with Amazon slowly decreasing in importance even as the giant e-tailer's revenues from ebooks continue to grow. The numbers are revealed in... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Assange autobiography to be published tomorrow

Written By: Katie Allen Publication Date: Wed, 21/09/2011 - 12:09 Canongate is to publish the "unauthorised" memoirs of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange tomorrow (22nd September), despite his attempts to cancel the contract he signed with the publisher for his autobiography. Julian Assange:... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In E-Books, Publishing Houses Have a Rival in News Sites

Swiftly and at little cost, newspapers, magazines and sites like The Huffington Post are publishing their own version of ebooks. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2011-09-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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River Publishing appoints new commercial director

Jacquie Duckworth, former associate publisher of Conde Nast's Easy Living, has joined River Publishing as commercial director. Continue reading at Media Week

[ Media Week | 2011-09-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Condé Nast Publisher Moves: Kremins to Condé Nast Traveler, Myers to Brides, Bloom to Lucky

This story appears first on FOLIO: sister publication, minonline. Today (Sept. 16), Condé Nast CEO Chuck Townsend and president Bob Sauerberg announced the shuffling of these executives: Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-09-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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AA Publishing expands into narrative travel

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 16/09/2011 - 16:15 Travel guide and maps specialist AA Publishing is moving into narrative travel writing for the first time, with publisher Helen Brocklehurst acquiring several titles in the area. The publisher also plans to publish in new... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Canadian Publishing 2011: Challenges and Changes

This year Canadian publishers face a triple challenge—tough economic conditions, the first big surge of ebook sales, and a dramatic shift in strategy at Indigo Books & Music, Canada’s largest book retailer. But, as is often said, no one goes into publishing unless he or she is an optimist,... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-09-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Canadian Publishing 2011: The British Columbia Alternative

It is, in many ways, a world away from Canada’s book publishing center in Toronto. But even three time zones, several mountain ranges, and vast forests away, the West Coast is home to Canada’s second-largest concentration of English-language publishers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-09-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Canadian Publishing 2011: BookRiff Set for Launch

The long awaited launch of BookRiff, the system that promises to let people mix and match content from various sources to create their own book, is now slated for the end of September. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-09-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishers rally to support Blackwell

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Fri, 16/09/2011 - 08:30 Publishers have heeded warnings that academic booksellers had "months to survive" by offering greater support during this year's academic season, the m.d. of Blackwell has reported. David Prescott said publishers have been... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Google Rolls Out New Tools for Publishers

Today on the official Google blog, VP of display advertising Neal Mohan announced the launch of two new tools aimed at helping publishers manage ads and maximize revenue. “Before now, it’s been difficult for publishers to manage all their video and mobile ad space from a single ad server—the... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2011-09-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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