Apple has dropped its demands of publishers that they sell subscriptions to magazines and books to iPad and iPhone users through its App Store, presenting a major win to media conglomerates who no longer have to give Apple access to their customer data, nor share a portion of their revenues.
According to MacRumors, Apple changed the guidelines on pricing of In-App subscriptions on the App Store allowing content providers to set their own pricing for subscriptions, as well as allowing users to read magazines, books, music and videos bought outside of Apple’s App Store.
Revenues for approved content purchased on external subscriptions sites will also not go to Apple.
In the revision of its App Store Guidelines, Apple said: “Apps can read or play approved content (specifically magazines, newspapers, books, audio, music, and video) that is subscribed to or purchased outside of the app, as long as there is no button or external link in the app to purchase the approved content. Apple will not receive any portion of the revenues for approved content that is subscribed to or purchased outside of the app.”
Apple launched its subscription service for magazines, newspapers, videos and music in February, while taking a 30 percent cut of all content sold through its App Store.
Publishers could set the price of their subscriptions offered through their own websites, but were required to offer the same pricing or less to anyone signing through the App Store.
This allowed Apple access to publishers’ subscriber data, which publishers used to attract advertising revenue.
Although Apple made a partial concession by allowing consumers to decide how much personal data they supplied to publishers when they signed up for subcriptions, Apple’s rules had also raised AntiTrust issues because they didn’t allow publishers to direct readers to their own websites from within the app.
At the same time Google had also launched its ‘One Pass’ payment checkout service taking just a 10 percent cut of publishers’ revenue, posing significant competition to Apple.
Publishers had already begun taking action against giving Apple control of their subscriber data through its payment model.
Just this week the Financial Times dropped its iOS App, and introduced an external web app in order to take control of its own subscription pricing.
In effect, this presented a challenge for Apple, who was hoping to build its iPad and iPhone content portfolio.
Under the revised rules, publishers will now be able to set prices for subscriptions that could even cover the 30 percent taken by Apple for content sold thorugh the App Store.
The new rules will take effect from 30 June.
