Will this new subscription model benefit publishers?
Apple has announced that it will release ‘Newsstand’ in the fall of 2011. This launch, which will coincide with the launch of iOS 5.0, is expected to make newspaper and magazine publishers happier than before.
Newsstand will be similar to iBooks, as it will be a central ‘shelf’ where all newspaper and magazine subscriptions will be stored.
Furthermore, it’s reported that Newsstand will feature “background downloads” so all the latest issues will ready for users when they want them. These issues can be read offline if desired.
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No more price-matching required
Newsstand wasn’t the only big piece of news for publishers.
According to Apple’s latest App Store Review Guidelines, publishers no longer have to match their prices on external sites to the in-app prices.
In March, Apple started requiring publishers match the prices between external sites and in-app prices. Now, with this being revoked, publishers can offer special incentives on their own site, such as a lower price of additional products with purchase. Incentives would likely persuade users to buy directly from the publisher, which would help publishers avoid Apple’s 30% charge.
More change comes to online publishing with Newsstand and the revoking of price-match. Publishers have a direct line between their magazines and newspapers and Apple devices. The subscription model makes receiving content easier and gives it the feel of print subscriptions…perhaps easier due to portability.
The pricing structure is significant to publishers as creatively offering products allows them to generate the 30% they were originally giving to Apple. More revenue generation is bound to make any publisher happy.
The digital publishing environment may be a getting friendlier with these new adjustments made by Apple. What are your thoughts on these changes? Will it make life easier for publishers? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below.
