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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E-book sharing: Amazon and book publishers' stupid attempts to curtail lending sites.

As convenient as they are, I've long worried about the many ways in which ebook purveyors restrict readers' rights. You can't resell the books you purchase for the Amazon Kindle, and you can't read them on most other e-readers. We also don't really own ebooks in the same way we own... Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2011-03-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Implementing a Mobile Strategy as an Independent Publisher

A b-to-b publisher shares lessons from its first app launch including mobilizing Web sites and implementing QR codes. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-03-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Cader and Shatzkin ready Publishers Launch

Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Tue, 22/03/2011 - 16:40 Two of US publishing's leading commentators are moving into the conference business with Publishers Launch Conferences, which will "convene up to eight events in four cities over the next year", including New York, San... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Media Decoder: Noted Self-Publisher May Be Close to a Book Deal

Amanda Hocking, the darling of the self-publishing world who has sold more than 900,000 copies of nine books in the last year, has been shopping a four-book series to major publishers. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2011-03-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The New York Times Unveils Paywall Plan

The New York Times today introduced its new digital subscription plan for charging the heaviest users of its site. The plan takes effect with readers in Canada today, and in the U.S. and the rest of the world on March 28. The plan offers three digital subscription plans across a variety of devices. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-03-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Mitterrand slams EC raids on publishers as as 'out of proportion'

Written By: Barbara Casassus Publication Date: Fri, 18/03/2011 - 11:32 French culture minister Frédéric Mitterrand has said that he would not intervene in the dispute between publishers and authors over electronic rights for the moment. Mitterrand also hit out a the recent European Commission... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Library bodies warn publishers off 'retrenchment' over ebook lending

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Thu, 17/03/2011 - 09:23 The Society of Chief Librarians and the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council have signed a joint position on ebook lending in libraries, saying the Publisher Association's baseline position has "limited practical use"... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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More job cuts, closures in store for REDgroup

Administrators for Borders and Angus & Robertson have announced new lay-offs and warned that more bookshops could close. Continue reading at The Sydney Morning Herald

[ The Sydney Morning Herald | 2011-03-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Orange offers 23k ebooks for sale via Android app

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Thu, 17/03/2011 - 06:47 Orange has launched an ebook app for Android, with a "one-click buy" system which directly bills a user's Orange account. But the app will not be available on Apple's iPhone or iPad devices at the same time because of the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Big French publishing houses to return to Paris Book Fair

Written By: Barbara Casassus Publication Date: Wed, 16/03/2011 - 09:03 The new-look Paris Book Fair will open on Friday [18th March] for four days as five of the leading French publishers ponder the raids by the European Commission competition officials a fortnight ago. Hachette Livre, Bayard... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Media Decoder: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publisher Steps Down

Barry O'Callaghan, the chief executive of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, resigned on Tuesday after less than two years on the job. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2011-03-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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French authors happier with publishers

Written By: Barbara Casassus Publication Date: Wed, 16/03/2011 - 13:30 French authors are increasingly satisfied with their publishers, according to the third annual survey conducted by the Civil Society for Multimedia Authors (Scam). The latest results show that 71% of respondents are... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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As Library E-Books Live Long, Publisher Sets Expiration Date

While librarians are pushing for access to more ebooks to satisfy demand, publishers are reconsidering how much that access should be worth. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2011-03-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hearst Magazines is 2010 Group Publisher's Ad-Page Champ

With the explosion of magazine apps, social media and the resurgence of print advertising, magazine brands are showing a prominent face to their loyal and new readers and advertisers. A top 5 chart pulled together by FOLIO: sister publication min looks at the group publisher vanguards that had... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-03-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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French government says publishers should collaborate over ebook negotiations

Written By: Barbara Casassus Publication Date: Tue, 15/03/2011 - 09:23 French culture minister Frédéric Mitterrand has urged French publishers to speak with one voice in forthcoming negotiations with Amazon over supplying their ebooks for the Kindle. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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New iBooks update opens door to fully illustrated publishing

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Tue, 15/03/2011 - 15:45 Apple's latest version of its iBooks app, which allows ebooks to have a pictorial layout similar to printed books and supports full page illustrations, has been hailed by one publisher as being "the beginning of a... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Children's Books Publishing in Asia

In most parts of Asia, wizardry and fantastical plots have lost much of their magic after dominating the bestseller list for so long. The subsequent vampire and werewolf fever is, by comparison, not as rabidly welcomed in certain territories. As for that wimpy kid, well, his popularity suffers... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-03-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Continuum crowned indie publisher of the year

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Fri, 11/03/2011 - 09:04 Continuum has been crowned the Independent Publishers Guild's Independent Publisher of the Year at the IPG awards, in a night when it and Faber won two awards. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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IPG: Publisher and retailer relationships must change

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Fri, 11/03/2011 - 09:02 The relationship between publishers and retailers needs to change if physical bookshops are not to face a "bleak" future, the c.e.o. of Blackwell has warned. Andrew Hutchings was speaking during the Retailers Question Time... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Penguin plans peachy Dahl celebration

Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Thu, 10/03/2011 - 15:15 James, Aunts Spiker and Sponge, as well as the Centi­pede, Ladybird and Earthworm will be celebrated this spring as Puffin publishes a 50th anniversary edition of Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach, and launches a... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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