Why Apple Backed Down in Fight With Publishers

Maybe Apple isn’t so untouchable after all. The device maker, which has been locked in a battle with publishers, made a surprise concession recently, dropping a pricing requirement for its App Store that irked publishers. Before, publishers couldn't undercut the subscription price they offered in the App Store—the new guidelines do away with that requirement. The previous guidelines, issued in February, seemed aimed at ensuring Apple had a pricing advantage. They also presented a complication for publishers who are used to testing various price points to hook new subscribers and reward existing ones. Apple doesn’t say a lot about why it does what it does. But while it had gotten a few big publishers to agree to its subscription terms, it’s had pushback from companies over its terms, including the 30 percent it skims off App Store purchases and its refusal to share customer data, and it's likely this move is related to that. Other devices are coming to market, presenting new competition for Apple, and loosening the stranglehold that the company has had over content producers to this point. Plus, publishers are exploring browser-based apps that would skirt the App Store altogether. This week, The Financial Times made waves when it did just that after having rejected Apple’s subscription terms. Outsell’s Ken Doctor believes other publishers, like The New York Times and Wall Street Journal, marquee brands that are important to Apple, see the FT as a potential model to imitate... Continue reading at 'AdWeek'

[ AdWeek | 2011-06-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #digital editions #gregg hano #vice president #popular science #digital version

Other Publishing stories related to: 'Why Apple Backed Down in Fight With Publishers'


London Book Fair 2014: Helping Publishers to Sell Direct: The Qbend Story

Powering more than 50 e-bookstores for publishers specializing in such subjects as fiction, academic, professional and romance has given Qbend COO Kaushik Sampath many unique insights on e-retailing. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-04-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #helping publishers #sell direct


Liberty Media Scales Back its B&N Holdings

Liberty Media Corp. has sold most of its stake in Barnes & Noble to what the company called “qualified institutional buyers.” Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-04-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #barnes noble


Norton Back to Press on 'Flash Boys'

After a much-talked about "60 Minutes" appearance by Michael Lewis, Norton has gone back to press for 50,000 more copies of the author's new book, "Flash Boys." Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-04-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #flash boys #michael lewis


Headline to publish Flea memoir

Headline is to publish the memoir of Flea, the bassist and a founding member of the Grammy Award-... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-04-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #founding member


Turner Publishing Buys Hunter House Assets

Turner Publishing has acquired the assets of Hunter House Publishers. The deal involves over 225 titles. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-04-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #turner publishing #deal involves


Samuel Beckett story to be published 80 years after it was rejected

Nobel laureate was told by publisher that 'people will shudder and be puzzled and confused' by reading Echo's BonesA previously unpublished story by Samuel Beckett will go on sale in bookshops for the first time, 80 years after his publisher rejected it as a nightmare read that gave him "the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-03-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #nobel laureate #final story #chatto windus


Judge approves class-action suit against Apple in ebooks case

A New York judge has given the go-ahead for a group to collectively sue Apple for damages over its collusion with publishers to fix the price of electronic books.Denise Cote, a judge at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, wrote in her approval of class status that... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2014-03-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #york judge #ebooks case #harpercollins publishers #electronic books #district court #southern district #class status #simon schuster


Apple Loses Two Key Decisions in E-book Case

The rulings are a double whammy for Apple, paving the way for the class action suits to continue, while all but knocking out Apple’s defense. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-03-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #apple loses #e-book case #double whammy


Green Apple Named PW Bookstore of the Year

The 47-year-old San Francisco store behind California Bookstore Day is this year's winner. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-03-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Kobo Inks Deals with Nickelodeon, Blue Apple Books

In separate announcements, Nickelodeon Publishing and Blue Apple Books reached agreements to make their children’s titles available for sale through ebook retailer Kobo. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-03-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Fighting Racism at Home and Abroad: PW Talks with Max Brooks

Brooks’s graphic novel "The Harlem Hellfighters" documents the suffering and courage of African-American troops in the Army’s legendary 369th Infantry Regiment of Harlem, N.Y. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-03-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #max brooks #harlem hellfighters


Content Aggregator Apps and Publishers: A Complicated Dynamic (Infographic)

Many publishers already have their own native apps, while others are in development. Although they can be expensive to launch, apps have helped some publishers establish a foothold within the mobile frontier. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2014-03-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #native apps


Humanoids Debuts Comics App for Apple and Android

Humanoids, the famed French comics house now based in Los Angeles, has released the Humanoids Comics app for iOS and Android. The app offers retail access to more than 60 Humanoids titles. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-03-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Bologna 2014: E-Publishing and 'Nimble Thinking'

TOC Bologna may be no more, but book fair attendees had a chance to get several perspectives on the ongoing impact of changing technologies on children’s publishing at the fair's first Digital Rights Workshop. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-03-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #toc bologna


Facebook Algorithm Tweaks Hurt Viral Sites More Than Other Publishers

Publishers are claiming that content they share on Facebook pages isn't reaching as many readers as it used to. Adweek reached out to comScore to find out how referral traffic through Facebook has changed from Nov. 2013 to Feb. 2014 for several top properties. For reference, we also tracked the... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2014-03-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #ad spend


Say Media Slows Payments to Publishers in Its Ad Network, Blames Advertisers

Say Media told publishers in its ad network that it will begin paying them on a 120-day payment schedule effective Apr. 1, slowing payment from an average of 85 to 90 days.The move is a response to similar slowdowns from marketers and agencies, the company told its publishing partners. Procter... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2014-03-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #publishing partners #procter gamble #ripple effects #production companies


LinkedIn Launches Insights Tool to Help Brands Become Better Publishers

For going on a year, LinkedIn has been repositioning its ad business around content marketing. Now it's launching new tools to let advertisers see how they're faring as publishers within its walls.LinkedIn will now start assigning brands content-marketing scores to gauge the effectiveness of... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2014-03-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #ad business #content marketing #publishing program


5 charts that describe the state of digital publishing

In its 2013 State of the News Media report released today, Pew found that while digital publishers are clearly growing fast, they're going to need to grow a lot more to make up for the losses elsewhere. The post 5 charts that describe the state of digital publishing appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2014-03-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #digital publishing #digital publishers #growing fast


NYT boss attacks Bloomberg for saying it shouldn't publish anti-China stories

Mark Thompson says New York Times journalism will remain impartial and won't be swayed by commercial considerationsMark Thompson, the chief executive of the New York Times, has hit out at rival Bloomberg for saying it shouldn't have published investigative news stories criticising China, because... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-03-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #mark thompson


Amazon paying ebook settlement cash back to Kindle users

Remember that antitrust suit concerning publishers, ebooks and price rigging? The good news, at least if you bought one of the affected titles between April 2010 and May 2012, is that Amazon is sending some money your way. If the book you purchased... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2014-03-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #kindle users #antitrust suit