Apple's new subscription model- the 30% solution
Apple's new paid content model has been announced.
Steve: "Our philosophy is simple — when Apple brings a new subscriber to the app, Apple earns a 30 percent share; when the publisher brings an existing or new subscriber to the app, the publisher keeps 100 percent and Apple earns nothing," said Jobs. "All we require is that, if a publisher is making a subscription offer outside of the app, the same (or better) offer be made inside the app, so that customers can easily subscribe with one-click right in the app."In a nutshell-- if you offer a paid subscription outside of the iOS world, you have to offer it inside, but it can't be more expensive-- and you can't link back to your outside (web hosted) subscription (so you have to buy through Apple, if you're on an iOS device). This puts the screws to companies like Amazon, or Rhapsody-- that 30% is their margin. On the plus side, as a consumer, If I can buy a subscription to the New Yorker for $39/year online for the paper version, I won't be stuck buying issues only for the newsstand price on my iPad. ... or I'll be able to get the flat rate Marvel comics sub in my Marvel app. Here's a roundup of the news spin on this:- Marketwatch: Kindle hit hard: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/apple-subscription-deal-in-apps-may-hit-amazon-2011-02-15?dist=countdown
- NYT: http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/15/apple-offers-subscriptions-for-all-ipad-publications/?partner=rss&emc=rss
- TechCrunch: http://techcrunch.com/2011/02/15/apple-in-app-subscriptions/
- Paid Content: http://paidcontent.org/article/419-apple-subs-some-publishers-relieved-they-dodged-a-bullet/
- Jean-Louis Gasee (kind of likes it, who would have thought):
Apple's new rules rile. But not me: I'm the paying customer and I resent the old model. The new rules are customer-centric.
— Jean-Louis Gassée (@gassee) February 15, 2011 - Rhapsody pulls out of the iOS world, goes to court: http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/rhapsody-wont-bend-to-apples-new-itunes-policy/
Sure to be a big topic of discussion at the next Bospdaug meeting this coming Tuesday February 22nd-- for sure, you should be there either in person, or online!
