Apple and Magazine Publishers Yet to Agree on Subscription Terms

[MisterK]

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I actually love Magazines and it's mostly for the editorial content. I get my news on the Internet. There's something to having a little time to digest what's happened and write something thoughtful. There's also something that makes having a bunch of stories in one place more fun. Like a little monthly birthday when I get my GQ and Wired magazines. I even enjoy the layouts.

That said, Apple just has to hold tight, wink, and say "when you're ready to meet our terms, we'll be ready to talk. We're not going anywhere." suggesting, of course that the magazines may not be around to negotiate.

 

[DevHound]

Apple knows what is is doing, the publishers not so much

The magazine and book publishers are acting just like the music industry. They are driving their industry into the ground because they can't adapt in even the simplest, most obvious ways to the changing world.

First, the publishers should be begging Apple NOT to give the publishers the names and email addresses of subscribers. If Apple releases them, then all publishers will suffer from the worst spamming practices of any of their competitors. I can assure you that it would completely kill sales of magazines if subscribers knew that their email addresses (and even worse, their names) would be released. Can you imagine what would happen to the App Store if every app developer was given the names and email addresses of people who bought their app. It would kill the whole App Store overnight. Apple is 100% correct in making this a non-negotiable condition.

Apple appears to be offering the publishers a golden opportunity to save their industry. For its 30% share, Apple handles all distribution, billing, and hand-holding of customers, and gives access to the incredible sales channel of the tens of millions iTunes customers who already trust Apple with their credit card details. If their previous practices are any guide, Apple would also do an incredible job of promoting the new content.

What is not made clear is whether Apple is offering to provide software to make reading easy and pleasurable. This is the other key, as the last thing that magazines or newspapers are equipped to do is create great reading software, and this is something Apple could do to save the industry. Its also essential that there be a standard reading platform to avoid the learning curve for each new interface.

 

[Porchland]

being close to 40 i have more wisdom than in my 20's. most magazine articles are crap that are either pushed by publicity agencies or advertisers. once in a while my wife will read some children's magazine and say how some toy is good because it won some award. i always tell her the the awards are BS. same thing with financial magazines and pretty much everything else.

only difference between blogs and magazines are that the latter use more words to say the same thing

The target market for digital versions of magazines is people who already read paper magazines, and it sounds like you're not in the target market.

 

[splashnader]

Just download the Zinio app for your iPad and iPhone. They have almost every popular magazine subscription you could ever want, and you can also buy individual issues and read them right on your iPad or iPhone. Zinio has Macworld, MacFormat, MacLife, National Geo, People, etrc.

I don't really see how Apple would be able to undercut Zinio's pricing by much. Plus Zinio already offers interactive content inside the emagazines they offer.

It's not like you can't get magazine subscriptions already on your mobile devices.

 

[BC2009]

Reading this a little closer, I see the reason the publishers are not going for it... it's not the revenue... it the user list!

The customer list is VERY valuable to publishers. It's a source of additional ad revenue for Publishers as they sell these lists to others for marketing purposes. Especially in the terms of vertical market B2B publications.

It's not the revenue share... it's the customer.

Yup -- its all about "owning" the customer -- or more importantly the marketing information. This is why Facebook is valued so highly. This is why Google is so happily giving away Android to mobile phone manufacturers. This is why Apple wants you to use their interfaces to access your content.

While Facebook does little to protect your personal information for third parties, Google and Apple like to keep that information to themselves. It's not because they are benevolent, it's because they realize the value in being the middle-man between the vendor and the customer.

Google pulled a judo move on the desperate mobile phone industry to basically become the middle-man between HTC, Motorola, Samsung, etc... and their customers. Apple did it with the music industry and their customers. Now the print media industry is trying to figure out if they can somehow stay alive long enough without Apple before selling off the relationship they have with their customers.

It's good to be the middle-man.

 

[carmenodie]

the American constitution gave us the freedom of the press. And it didn't say it had to come from Fox News or CNN exclusively. Got that!
If those clowns don't want to go with Apple then let Google help their a** out.
I'm sure Google would give them anything they want about you. Even the way you wipe the poop from your butt!
Here's what is going to happen, more and more, COMMON folk will create their own news content using ipad. It will be diverse and a huge business. Then it will be to damn late for the traditional news paper people.
Start working America. We have the device, ipad and so lets get busy!!!!

 

[blahblah100]

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Well that's really fair.. Agree to the same terms with Amazon and reject the same terms from Apple.

Wait, who said anything about fair? This is business.

The arguments you used at age 4 (typically) don't work in the business world.

 

[huntercr]

digital versions are cheaper than print, that's an advantage.

Indeed... to my point about having no ads. The medium is already far cheaper than print. In fact, as long as a print media company is creating their content with digital tools, it's a sunk cost... you just have a couple hours of 1 person doing layout nitpicking and you should be able to pop out an iPad edition. I know this won't happen... magazine people ( and Apple for some reason ) what "enhanced content" which is just a lot of added bells and whistles for no reaosn... and users... real readers who are willing to pay for it, just want the content. If it has true value adding inserts... relevent charts and data that gain real value from being presented in animated form or what-have-you then fine... otherwise it's just fluff.

 

[slffl]

If the publishers and anyone else were serious about saving print, they would have done this the same as music, videos, and books. There should be ONE magazine/periodical app and store with issues costing no more than $1.99 and subscriptions $10-$15 a year.

I would really like to see periodicals merged into the iBook app and store. And yes it would have all of the great tech features from apps like WIRED and Project.

 

[Eric5h5]

How about we have NO advertisements and just pay for the articles? What would be wrong with this?

It would be a lot more expensive without ads subsidizing the cost, and then it's really hard to get anyone to pay for it.

--Eric

 

[JGowan]

I don't know what the big deal is... Computer magazines... You put tech gadgets ads in it... Cosmo... You put makeup and frilly girlie ads. Sports magazines ads should be geared for dudes. What is the customer info they need to sell their ads to? You tailor your ads to fit your magazine! What's the mystery?

The arguments you used at age 4 (typically) don't work in the business world.

those are anti-competitive practices and courts of law have forced similar one-sided agreements to be leveled to be fairer for multiple competitors. Less sarcasm next time. The guy was just stating the truth (actually). It's NOT right for the deal to be given to Amazon and for Apple to be left out in the cold.

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

You know... when you think about it, why would the modern magazine wait and publish a once a month e-magazine?

The only reasons Magazines came out once a month was for Printing purposes... but now with instant delivery, i think if I had a subscription to something like "Road and Track" I would want daily content or articles to come up. More current info and also editorial does not have to schedule everything to come at once.

Anyway... just thinking out loud.

Good thoughts there for sure... sounds a bit of what SI hinted at with their magazine app - Not as far as you have taken it though.

I have zero desire to buy any magazine app for my iPad or iPhone. Magazines haven't been a part of my life for 5 or so years now.

Miss magazines here at times - even when there are websites from the publishers. Much prefer the layouts of printed magazines. I stopped subscribing to printed magazines mostly for inconvenience of carrying 3 or 4 with me...

Admittedly, I'm no expert Journalism, but this looks like a reasonable deal that Apple have on the table.

Surely, they get far less than 70% from a paper magazine etc. No?

They will have next to zero distribution costs.

OK, they will probably sell their eMags for less than the paper versions, but I'm sure they will come out better off than they were.

With, a paper version they don't get reader details unless they subscribe so I don't see much of a difference.

Journalism in paper form is dying so they need to change their attitude an roll with the new media, embrace it and exploit it. They have to learn new tricks are they will not survive.

I think that the sticking point with the publishers is that Apple is wanting have us as consumers opt-in on valuable marketing info like our names, addresses, and emails. I don't think publishers would even be happy with a mandatory opt-out option. Even then there is no assurance that data won't be used in some way.

I know that in Time magazine there are ads in the printed version that are tied to my local area. This means advertising dollars to keep them publishing.

So to that end I have an idea.

1 - The only info Apple would provide with an e-magazine subscription is the zip code without an opt-in.

2 - Publishers would be free to offer additional discounts based on how much information that we would be willing to share with them on a opt-in basis. I know that for the areas that I have an interest in (like photography) for the right price in a subscription - I MIGHT be willing to give up that info.

I know that working in advertising a few years back with the company I worked for; we might be willing to spend the $ for iPad advertising in magazines knowing just how much of the local audience was receptive to our ads.

 

[T-R-S]

If you behave like an ostrich - by sticking your head in the sand some day all your magazines that are being downloaded illegally now the internet will end and you can go back to your old business model.

 

[kiljoy616]

the whole idea of waiting a day, week or a month for an "issue" of media to come out to read something is obsolete. people want to read something today if it came out today.

i remember in the 1990's how i would read computer shopper and they would cover things 3 months after they happened. these days anything older than a week is in the archives section.

JAJA, so very true, ah I do remember those days and how I could not wait to get my hand as soon as it finally came out. Now a day seems to be forever.

 

[Ironduke]

Hang tough Apple. All you need is one deal And the rest will follow when they see how successful this could be.

the only swine here is applelittle mr fanboy

30% for doing nothing more then hosting is disgusting

 

[giosaccone]

I have zero desire to buy any magazine app for my iPad or iPhone. Magazines haven't been a part of my life for 5 or so years now.

I agree with you........

 

[jb1280]

I don't really have any sympathy for the publishers in this regard. There is already a perfectly easy way for magazines and papers to get onto the iPad with subscriptions and maintaining their subscriber information.

It is called having people subscribe in a browser and provide them login credentials and then offer a free app.

 

[pmz]

I couldn't care less about any dirty rag news outlets, magazines, or similar smut peddlers of that ilk.

 

[pmz]

the only swine here is applelittle mr fanboy

30% for doing nothing more then hosting is disgusting

Nothing more than hosting? 30% gets you the Apple name brand. It's worth about 90% of your cut, so i'd say its fair.

 

[pmz]

I have zero desire to buy any magazine app for my iPad or iPhone. Magazines haven't been a part of my life for 5 or so years now.

You must be a **gasp** mature adult. Didn't know there were any left round these parts.

 

[spitcoff]

its gotta be cheap

I really hope they get this deal done. But subscriptions have to be significantly lower than the normal rate. Why would i pay the same or more for a magazine that the publishers no longer have to pay to print or ship to me. Apple get this done but don't be greedy

 

[Loonytik]

well you can be safe in knowing you won't get any flash advertisements

I really don't mind the advertisements. There are tons of advertisements in print magazines already so having them in the digital version is a given. The biggest issue for me is having the exact same page that is in the print edition to be in the digital edition. The publishers can add whatever content they want but when I flip to page 86 of the print edition and 86 of the digital, I want them to be the same.

 

[manu chao]

I have no problem subscribing to the Economist on iPad. It's not an in-app purchase either. I'd rather have publishers take all the revenue rather than only making 70% of the revenue. 30% commission on magazine subscription is simply outrageous.

The Economist's model requires that you go to The Economist's website, enter all your details in there, including credit card (or do via physical mail or telephone) and then get your customer number and password via e-mail (or physical mail) and them into their iPad app. Sure, if you already are a subscriber, you already have given them all your personal data and you already have a customer number and if you registered on their website with them, you already have the password as well.

But if you are a new subscriber, The Economist's model is much more cumbersome then just 'clicking' a button in an iOS app and entering your Apple ID password to subscribe. And you still will have to download each issue manually with The Economist. The models of the Financial Times and the Wallstreet Journal are very similar to this.

What publishers want is a model where customers do not have to enter all their details (name, address, e-mail, payment details) again to subscribe to publication and where the download of new issues is automatic.

 

[manu chao]

30% for doing nothing more then hosting is disgusting

This 30% includes a 'one-click' subscription (instead of having to enter all your details, including credit card on a webpage served by the publication) and automatic download of new issues.
There are thus two benefits to the publication:
(1) It makes it much easier and appealing for the customers (which should be worth something to the publication)
(2) All hosting, pushing of new issues and payment handling is done by Apple.

There are also two downsides for the publication:
(1) The publication has forge over 30% to Apple.
(2) The publication does not have access to the subscriber data (at the very least they have name, address and credit card for conventional subscribers) and thus cannot use that to demonstrate to their advertisers what kind of demographic they will reach by advertising.

One can argue whether 30% is a fair deal (it goes beyond hosting, ease of use and payment handling come on top of that) and whether at least name and address should be shared with the publication.

 

[coolbreeze]

While AAPL is grappling to make a deal, I'm reading tons of magazines on my color nook.