You want to play, you have to pay. That was the message Apple sent to publishers looking to offer subscriptions to content via the company’s App Store.
Apple’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) terms for publishers looking to sell content subscriptions for the iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad via the company’s App Store were spelled in a release that included comments by CEO Steve Jobs. Specifically, Apple said publishers will have to pay the company the same 30 percent cut for subscriptions to online magazines, newspapers, videos and music that developers pay for selling apps in the App Store.
“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. The Apple cofounder is on an extended medical leave, but still involved in key decisions.
Analyst Rob Enderle said Apple can afford to force the commission structure on publishers as long as it holds a market leading position.
“Right now Apple’s in the catbird seat because it’s the leading platform that everyone else is chasing. Until we get a compelling competitor, Apple will probably get away with this,” Enderle, who heads the Enderle Group consulting firm, told InternetNews.com.
Check out the full report on Apple’s news, including comments by an Apple developer, in Enterprise Mobile Today.
