“Apple’s tight control over media content on its iPad is about to fall foul of some of France’s most powerful newspapers and magazines, which hope that by teaming up they can stop the technology giant from dictating the terms of their distribution,” Leila Abboud and Gwénaëlle Barzic report for Reuters.
MacDailyNews Take: There is no “tight control over media content” by Apple on iPad as the reporters themselves will prove in just a moment.
“The bid by eight publications, including newspaper Le Figaro and sports daily L’Equipe, is the latest sign of growing disillusionment among some global publishers over what they consider Apple’s rigid terms and high commission of 30 percent,” Abboud and Barzic report. “The French publications, which also include business daily Les Echos and news weekly le Nouvel Observateur, have launched a digital kiosk to sell individual issues on the iPad and will soon add subscriptions and bundled offers. They are also negotiating with Apple as a collective, and will not sell their products on Apple’s own kiosk, dubbed the Newsstand, set to launch next month, without key concessions.”
MacDailyNews Take: Just shut up and go it alone if you think Apple’s offering isn’t worth the commission. A handful of French rags aren’t going to force Apple to do jacques sheet.
Abboud and Barzic report, “The highbrow daily Le Monde is the notable absentee. Chairman Louis Dreyfus said the paper believed that its brand was strong enough to attract users on-line without saddling itself with a slow group decision-making process… In June, the UK’s top business paper, the Financial Times, owned by Pearson , launched its own web-based application, which allows people to read and subscribe on the iPad without going through Apple’s online store. By using a new technology known as HTML-5, the FT created a way for its readers to access the paper while sidestepping Apple’s 30 percent commission and allowing the company to hold on to valuable subscriber data.”
MacDailyNews Take: Proving that there is no “tight control over media content” by Apple on iPad. We won’t hold our breath for an apology and retraction from Abboud and Barzic for their erroneous reporting.
Abboud and Barzic report, “Ken Doctor, author of the book ‘Newsonomics’ and media industry expert, warns that such groupings have a mixed track record because the individual business interests of the members often prove impossible to reconcile. For example, Next Issue Media was created last year by the five major U.S. magazine publishers Conde Nast, News Corp. , Time Inc., Meredith Corp. and Hearst to create a digital kiosk and earn more from paid online content. In the end, its members splintered and signed separate deals with Apple for distribution on the iPad, Doctor said. ‘It’s a cautionary tale,’ said Doctor. ‘”They were not able to use their old world market power.'”
MacDailyNews Take: Histoire doit répéter.
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Again, publishers who don’t like Apple’s terms are more than welcome to invest in the creation of Web apps if they mistakenly believe that will net them more profits.
Furthermore, with App Store subscriptions, Apple’s on the side of the consumer yet again. Anytime you read differently, it’s highly likely coming from a publication that wants to continue to be able to force your name, address, telephone number, email address, credit card number, credit card security code, job title, job responsibility, and industry from you at the time of subscription. We’d rather have Apple closely hold the data than have it strewn among media companies for them to sell to marketeers.