["When I am abroad, I always make it a rule to never criticize or attack the government of my own country. I make up for lost time when I come home." - Winston Churchill (British Orator, Author and Prime Minister during World War II. 1874-1965)]
Publishers Warily Criticize Apple and iPads
Publishers assess iPad economics, launch of other devices.
By Tony Silber
http://www.foliomag.com/2011/magazine-publishers-warily-criticize-apple-and-ipads
If, as seems likely, 2011 is the year when tablet devices take off and reach an unprecedented level of ubiquity, magazine companies are surprisingly circumspect about their future in the emerging order.
All over the media-industry media over the last few weeks, publishers have been voicing concerns about Apple’s present dominance of the space, and its policies regarding subscriptions and information sharing. Two days ago, for example, in a New York Times report, some publishers complained that Apple doesn’t allow magazine-applications to be sold by subscription-only monthly.
In some cases-many cases-the economics simply don’t work. Consumers conditioned to spending $5 on a copy of a magazine don’t want to pay $5 for an app-version of that same magazine. And consumers conditioned to paying $12 for a year-long print subscription certainly aren’t willing to spend $5 per month on an app. Nevermind that the cost to the publisher of developing the app is significant, usually in the tens of thousands of dollars.
In addition, Apple has been proprietary about sharing data about customers, meaning that database development efforts are severely hampered, the report noted.
And publishers are said to be mystified at the preferential treatment of News Corp., which is developing an iPad-only daily newspaper and which has been granted thhe ability too sell subscriptions.
Conde Nast president Bob Sauerberg is quoted stating that other tablet devices coming in the next several months may help level the playing field.
Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reported this week that Next Issue Media, a consortium of five media companies including four magazine companies, is going to roll out an online newsstand in the next few months.
The promise of NIM is that it allows media companies, rather than technology developers, to control the sale and distribution of their media products. Publishers, the report said, hope to avoid what happened with the digital-music industry, where Apple controls the terms of the sale of digital songs.
NIM is comprised of Hearst, Time Inc., Conde Nast, Meredith and News Corp
___________
Publishers push for iPad subscriptions
Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal
Publishers are jealously eyeing a deal that Rupert Murdoch and News Corp. have worked out with Apple Inc. to allow subscription sales of its upcoming iPad Daily.
A number of magazine publishers are unhappy that they have been restricted to single-copy sales only of their magazines for the popular tablet computing device.
David Carey, president of Hearst Magazines, told the New York Times, “If you look at the Apple store, the most common reason that people give an app a low rating is that it lacks a subscription option. They want to subscribe, and they don’t like the idea of paying $4.99 a month.”
CNet reports that Apple is working on a subscription model in Europe that could be rolled out soon. But it says publishers there are unhappy that they are being required by Apple to charge for a separate subscription for the iPad even if readers are already subscribed to their print editions.
They are also unhappy that Apple isn’t sharing personal information about people who buy their publications.
Publishers reportedly hope that the arrival of iPad rivals that use Google Inc.’s Android operating system will give enough leverage to make Apple change its policies.
“I think that the new devices and the new Android-based devices will be as good or better than Apple long term,” said Bob Sauerberg, president of Conde Nast, told The Times. “We feel strongly that it’s too early to pick a winner. The iPad is a great device with an early lead. We see a lot of other great devices.”
iPad is Driving 10 Percent of New Digital Subscriptions for the Financial Times
The Financial Times is enjoying a big rise in digital revenue, the publisher announced on Friday. As much as 10 percent of new digital subscriptions are coming from iPad users alone, says Richard Edgar, Global Head of Video for the paper, in this video interview with Beet.TV
We spoke with Edgar in the New York bureau of the Financial Times on Friday.
Also in this interview, he says that the publisher is expanding its video operations with the opening of a television studio in London, recent hires of view producers in New York and plans to hire a video production staff in Hong Kong.
This is the first of two interviews with the FT’s head video editor.
