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 ]

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Private Eye retains the top spot among news magazines

Satirical title has a print circulation of more than 220,000, ahead of The Economist and The WeekPrivate Eye held on to the number one spot among news magazines in the second half of 2013 with a print circulation of more than 220,000, ahead of The Economist and The Week.Ian Hislop's satirical... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-02-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Richard Desmond's Star magazine enters top ten for women's weeklies

Bauer's Closer, Hearst's Best and IPC's Now, and OK! all record double-digit falls, year on yearRichard Desmond's Star magazine has jumped into the top 10 biggest sellers in the women's weeklies market, after reporting a 16.5% sales surge in the second half of 2013.But there were double digit... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-02-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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People on the Move | 11.26.13

Hearst Magazines Digital Media has appointed Tom Kirwan to the new role of vice president, national sales and key accounts. Kirwan was previously vice president of digital sales for Time Inc. Branded Solutions. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2013-11-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon releases MatchBook for Kindle

It has been nearly two months since online retail giant Amazon announced its MatchBook feature for Kindle, complimenting the previously unveiled Autorip service for music. Now, the company finally shows the feature the light of day, unveiling MatchBook availability effective today. If you aren't... Continue reading at Betanews

[ Betanews | 2013-10-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Charkin becomes IPA vice-president

Bloomsbury executive director Richard Charkin has been selected as the vice president of the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-10-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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First long-list of finalists for book awards

Kate DiCamillo and David Levithan were among the 10 authors who made the first-ever long-list of finalists for the National Book Awards, part of a new nominating process that prize organizers hope will lead to increased attention and sales.Ms. DiCamillo and Mr. Levithan were nominees in the... Continue reading at Crains New York

[ Crains New York | 2013-09-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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My Metonym for Self-Reference Weighs a Ton

Since 2008, the year that David Foster Wallace committed suicide, there has been a steady stream of posthumous publications, none of which, as a matter of strict biblio-taxonomy, would have any business occupying the same section of your local ink-and-paper bookseller. We’ve had This Is Water... Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2013-08-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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People on the Move | 8.8.13

Malcolm Campbell has been hired as vice president of business development at The FADER. Previously he had worked for more than five years as publisher at Spin Media. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2013-08-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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PC World magazine ends print version -- will focus on digital

Print media is dying; some may argue it is already dead. With the launch of the iPad and the current industry trend of tablet media consumption, consumers don’t want to clutter their homes with stacks of paper magazines and newspapers. Not to mention, there is the trend of "going green" which is... Continue reading at Betanews

[ Betanews | 2013-07-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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How Deep Has Digital Backlist Gone?

E-book reading is becoming more common, and one way publishers are trying to take advantage of the growth in the use of digital readers is by plumbing their backlists, refurbishing classic and forgotten literature with new digital editions. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-04-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Penguin produces app of Anne Frank's Diary

Penguin has released a digital version of Anne Frank's famous diary, with Penguin imprint... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-01-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Magazines Double Down On Tablet Commitment

The magazine industry’s faith in the future of tablets is not easing up, even though advertiser support for digital editions has been slow in coming and these platforms still represent a small fraction of overall distribution for most books. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2012-11-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Adobe Digital Editions 2.0 is now available

Adobe has released Adobe Digital Editions 2.0, its freeware application for managing ebooks on a PC or Mac. Digital Editions is required for transferring protected eBook files to compatible mobile eBook Readers using Adobe’s EPUB and PDF standards. Version 2.0 includes accessibility support for... Continue reading at Betanews

[ Betanews | 2012-10-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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After Great Year, Scholastic Tries For Encore

Fiscal 2012 was a good year made great by The Hunger Games,” Scholastic chairman Dick Robinson told analysts in a conference call last Thursday to discuss results in the year ended May 31, in which sales rose 14%, to $2.15 billion, and net income jumped from $39.4 million to $102.4 million. The... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-07-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Self-publishing fuels growth of print books

The romance with the printed word shows no signs of abating. Despite the rapid growth in ebook sales in recent years, print book output in 2011 grew by 6%, to 347,178 titles, compared to the prior year. The preliminary numbers released Tuesday by bibliographic database Bowker are "the most... Continue reading at Crains New York

[ Crains New York | 2012-06-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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GfK MRI Spring 2012 Report Reveals a 1.7 Percent Decline in Print Readership

GfK MRI's latest Survey of the American Consumer reveals an unsurprising drop-off in print readership, along with a glimmer of hope from digital editions. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2012-06-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Blanchard Systems Enhances SendMyAd with Virtual Publisher

Blanchard Systems, developer of SendMyAd, debuts its editorial solution Virtual Publisher. Virtual Publisher is a book planning and production tool for print and digital editions, and is compatible with Adobe InDesign Plugins. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2012-05-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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J.K. Rowling's Website Starts Selling Harry Potter E-Books

It didn't take a Hogwarts magician to know this day would eventually come. The bookstore feature of J.K. Rowling's Pottermore website went live Tuesday, enabling English-language readers to buy the digital editions of all seven Harry Potter novels—and the audiobook editions—from anywhere in the... Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2012-03-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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New iPad's Perk for Publishers

The new high-res iPad would, like so many things from Apple, seem a mixed bag for publishers. Its richer visuals raise concerns that consumers already frustrated by long download times for digital editions of magazines will have to suffer still more waiting. But some good news: Apple is... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2012-03-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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