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'


Publishers need to "stand firm" against digital giants

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Mon, 08/08/2011 - 16:08 Literary agent Andrew Wylie has said publishers need to "stand firm" in the face of digital companies like Amazon and Apple or risk being locked into an insupportable business model that is unable to reward writers. In an... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Looking Back—and Ahead: Printing in Hong Kong 2011

In 1985, Nintendo released Super Mario Brothers, Commodore launched the Amiga personal computer, Steve Jobs founded NeXT, and Bill Gates issued the first version of Windows. It was also the year PW launched the first report covering the Asian printing industry, of which you are now holding the... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-08-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Phonics rules "hurting publishers"

Written By: Caroline Horn Publication Date: Fri, 05/08/2011 - 14:16 Companies that publish phonics material have warned overseas sales are being lost as a result of a government listing of ‘approved’ phonics programmes. Last month the Department for Education published a new, slimmed-down list... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook buys innovative ebook publisher Push Pop Press

Written By: Philip Jones Publication Date: Wed, 03/08/2011 - 09:14 Facebook has bought the innovative ebook publisher Push Pop Press but will not use the company to publish ebooks. The giant social networking website will instead use PPP's platform and technology to give "people even richer... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Yahoo Ad Network Rolling Out Publisher-Friendly Features

Even though ad exchanges and networks were created to lubricate the buying and selling of digital ad inventory, the system is still far from slippery. One lingering issue is that of transparency: when online publishers can’t sell all their inventory directly to advertisers (often at a premium),... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2011-07-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Kobo Rebuffs Apple, Will Build HTML5 Bookstore

The ebook seller released an app meeting Apple's new policies but also announced plans to build an HTML5 e-reading app that will work in the iOS browser that it'll control itself, with no requirement that it follow Apple's rules. Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2011-07-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Indie publishers ready digital editions and reprints after Booker fillip

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Wed, 27/07/2011 - 09:10 The smaller publishers whose titles have been selected for the Man Booker longlist, including Seren Books, Sandstone Press and Oneworld, are preparing to reprint the titles and release digital versions to meet the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishing Revenue Slips 3.2 Percent for MSLO in Second Quarter

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. reported revenue of $54.9 million for the second quarter of 2011 compared to $55.3 million during the same period last year. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-07-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Paperback Publishers Quicken Their Pace

A new-releases display at the Elliott Bay Book Company in Seattle contains both paperbacks and hardcovers. Now publishers often don't wait the traditional year before bringing out paperbacks. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2011-07-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Google Books Bows to New Apple App Store Rules

The Google Books iOS app is now in line with Apple's newly enforced rules that ban links bypassing Apple's own in-app purchase mechanism, which means Apple can retain its 30 percent cut. Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2011-07-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Leather to be published by Amazon Encore

Written By: Philip Jones Publication Date: Tue, 26/07/2011 - 08:50 Stephen Leather's bestselling ebooks The Basement and Once Bitten are to be republished under Amazon.co.uk's Encore programme. He will join other indie writers such as Joe Konrath who have been picked by the initiative, which... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon, B&N comply with Apple app rules

Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Tue, 26/07/2011 - 09:14 Amazon has followed digital manufacturer Kobo and retailer Branes & Noble in complying with Apple's app purchasing rules. The retailer removed the "shop” button that sent consumers to its site to buy ebooks on Monday... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apple imposes app purchasing rules

Written By: Philip Jones Publication Date: Mon, 25/07/2011 - 09:45 Kobo has removed the direct e-bookselling links from its Apple apps, following new rules brought in by Apple earlier this year. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Summersdale buys An Apple a Day

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Mon, 25/07/2011 - 15:44 Summersdale has bought world rights to a book about anorexia by Emma Woolf, the writer of the Sunday Times column An Apple a Day. Commissioning editor Jennifer Barclay bought the rights from Sarah Such of Sarah Such Literary... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Orion to publish Where's Asterix?

Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Fri, 22/07/2011 - 14:05 Asterix the Gaul is the latest character to get Where's Wally?-style treatment, with the publication of Where's Asterix? (hb, £8.99) coming from Orion, the series' UK licensor, in September. The book has already been... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Indigo fires Canadian publishers' anger over changing terms

Written By: M J Deschamps in Ottawa Publication Date: Fri, 22/07/2011 - 15:02 Canadian publishers have attacked the decision by Indigo Books & Music, the country's biggest bookshop chain, to stock fewer books and evaluate returns on a shorter time frame. They claim it is putting extra... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Conde Nast, Other Publishers Look to Standardize Audience Metrics In Digital Editions

Digital editions, the oft-dubbed “Wild West” of the publishing world, may be charted in the near future. Many publishers are investing large amounts of time and resources to navigating user behavior in tablet editions of magazines, and this data is being used in a variety of ways. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-07-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Natmag poaches Grazia publisher Ella Dolphin for Cosmo

Ella Dolphin, the publisher of Bauer Media title Grazia, is to join Cosmopolitan as publishing director. Continue reading at Media Week

[ Media Week | 2011-07-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishers Association plans second digital survey

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Tue, 19/07/2011 - 17:41 The Publishers Association is launching its second digital survey this year and could introduce a quarterly digital survey by 2012. The trade body said the survey came in response to the "significant growth" in digital sales,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Children's publishing "haemorrhaging talent"

Written By: Caroline Horn Publication Date: Fri, 15/07/2011 - 08:46 The industry is "haemorrhaging talent" as authors and illustrators are finding it increasingly difficult to make a living in the children's sector. Agent Caroline Sheldon said that she estimated that fewer than half of the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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