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'


Amazon's new imprint StoryFront will publish short stories

The new imprint of the online bookseller has already released works by authors including William Lashner and Rebecca Adams Wright. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-12-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #online bookseller


Tribune files plan with SEC ahead of publishing unit spinoff

Tribune Co. took a key step in the planned spinoff of its publishing business on Monday, filing a Form 10 registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Continue reading at Baltimore Sun

[ Baltimore Sun | 2013-12-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #key step #publishing business #exchange commission


Storm8 Gets Into the Publishing Business, Too

Social mobile games studio Storm8 announced today that it will start marketing, distributing and advising on third-party games via a new arm, Storm8 Publishing. Its first title, War of Dragons for iOS, is a Puzzle & Dragons-esque match-three game originally released as Tower of Saviors.... Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2013-12-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #publishing business


How publishing fiction online launched the career of this young writer | Beth Reeks

Indie publishing via online writing communities and ebooks can provide valuable feedback, and even set you on the path to mainstream successNews that a quarter of the top 100 Kindle books on Amazon.com are from indie publishers doesn't surprise me. I started out writing online. Fed up with the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2013-12-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #twitter account #revolution afoot


Sir Harold Evans backs plan for new press regulator to rival Ipso

The Impress Project aims to attract newspapers and publishers that want a regulator 'independent of owners and politicians'The former editor of the Sunday Times, Sir Harold Evans, is backing an initiative to set up a press regulator to rival the body being launched by the publishers of the Sun,... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2013-12-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #royal charter #lobbying hard


Like This if You Like Pandas! Facebook Says Publishers Shouldn't Fret About News Feed Changes.

The guy who runs Facebook's most valuable real estate explains why the company just changed its rules. Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2013-12-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


U.S. Publishers Increase Presence at Guadalajara

The first ever "USA Pavilion" contributed to an increase in American publishers' participation at this year's Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL). Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-12-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #american publishers


Japan's publishers protest over secrecy threat

Japan’s new “authoritarian” Designated Secrets Bill will have dire consequences... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-12-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #dire consequences


GameStick lands first major publisher deal with Ubisoft

When we reviewed the GameStick Android console, one of our main concerns was how the library of titles on offer would pan out over time. Today, it's just been announced that Ubisoft will be bringing its Prince of Persia franchise to the platform. .. Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2013-12-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #main concerns


Amazon reveals quarter of Kindle ebook sales in US were for indie publishers

Figures from world's biggest bookseller trumpeted as sign of how self-publishing and smaller labels are changing the industryAs many as a quarter of the top 100 Kindle books on Amazon.com are from indie publishers, according to data revealed at a trade presentation by the retailer.A chart... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2013-12-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #leading position


Medium brings design and photo improvements to its social publishing platform

Medium is debuting a slew of new look-and-feel tweaks designed to let would-be columnists pretend they're working for a well-designed print publication. The site says that one of its initial goals was to empower writers with "dead simple" tools to ... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2013-12-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


December’s Top Reviews of Self-Published Books from BlueInk Review

This month's starred reviews of self-published books includes a "stellar" historical novel and a "touching" memoir of life as a teacher of disadvantaged students. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-12-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #top reviews #self-published books #blueink review #starred reviews


Ipso becomes a facto as 90% of publishers leap aboard their own train

I can't repeat my Ipso facto joke yet again. But there, I just did. The announcement that almost all of the major publishers have signed up to fund the Independent Press Standards Organisation, and agreed therefore to be regulated by it, is hardly a shock.But Paul Vickers, the Trinity Mirror... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2013-12-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #consistently argued #concerned parties


Publishers, Book Fair Help Revive Cambodia’s Love of Reading

Under the Khmer Rouge, Cambodia's reading culture was destroyed, but over the past five years it has returned with the help of a revitalized publishing industry. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-12-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #reading culture #book fair


Newsweek to Bring Print Edition Back From the Dead

Newsweek's new owners think they can succeed at something its previous owners failed at: printing a weekly magazine in the United States. IBT Media, the obscure media company that bought Newsweek in August, said Tuesday that it intends to rev ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-12-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #weekly magazine #ibt media


Are Nonprofit Publishers Smiling?

Amazon's new charitable Web site, AmazonSmile, offers challenges for presses that would like to earn 0.5% on purchases. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-12-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Does Web Publishing Have a Looming DVR Problem?

Publishers like to think that their content is getting read. But at the expense of advertising dollars? Not so fast. Increasingly popular apps like Pocket, Instapaper and Evernote’s Web Clipper have been billed as a way to help publishers combat fragmentation by letting users read bookmarked... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2013-12-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #advertising dollars #web publishing #avid readers


Why Facebook Is Wooing Publishers

Facebook says it wants to continue sending traffic to publishers, citing how news stories perform well in the News Feed. Facebook said it would start showing more links to news stories in particular to mobile users. And it would begin resurfacing articles in News Feeds that have attracted... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2013-12-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #news stories #mobile users #news feeds


A Facebook Tweak Gives Publishers a Traffic Boost

Facebook has altered its newsfeed algorithm, which is turning out to be great news for online publishers. Major sites say the social network has driven more referrals in the past month than ever before.The post A Facebook Tweak Gives Publishers a Traffic Boost appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2013-12-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #online publishers #traffic boost #great news #past month


Publishers offer online advent calendars

Publishers have launched online advent calendars offering readers prizes in the countdown to... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-12-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |