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Hearst and Apple come to terms on subscriptions
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Hearst and Apple have come to an agreement over iPad magazine subscriptions. According to the WSJ, Hearst will begin selling a range of its magazines through iTunes for US$1.99 an issue or $19.99 for an annual subscription. Three magazines will kick off the new subscription deal this July; Esquire, Popular Mechanics and O, The Oprah Magazine. Hearst also stated that it will begin selling newspaper subscriptions through the iPad later this year. I've written about magazines on the iPad several times in the past, and I, like many of our readers, have been baffled at the high prices magazine publishers have (until now) chosen to charge. With the Hearst announcement representing some of the best magazine deals on the iPad yet, hopefully other publishers will soon fall in line. But while I do think the Hearst subscription deal is a good thing for both publishers and consumers, I'm still holding on to the belief that there needs to be a unified iNewstand store before newspaper and magazine sales really take off on the iPad. Price-wise, however, today's news is a good start.
Making your own iPad magazine
A lot of publications are adding iPads and other portable devices to their distribution chains. As a result, we're beginning to see some solutions for small- and medium-sized companies that are starting to approach the idea of offering a self-publishing solution. You can always send people a PDF, but that's really not a magazine, and it won't show up in the App Store. One interesting product is from some former Apple employees who have started MagAppZine. You submit a PDF, and the company quickly converts it to a magazine and submits it to the App Store for you. You can see some customer examples in the App Store here. Using MagAppZine is not inexpensive, but it's far cheaper than hiring a programmer and managing an App Store submission. Costs are about US$3000 for a magazine, plus charges each time you add a new issue. You get to keep 75% of the revenue if your magazine is a paid creation, MagAppZine gets 25%. That's after the Apple's 30% cut. Naturally, MagAppZine can't guarantee that your app won't get rejected from the App Store, so customers need to understand Apple's rules on content.
Conde Nast decision exemplifies why publishers need to rethink iPad magazines
Today representatives from Conde Nast told AdAge that they are slowing the addition of any new Conde Nast magazines to the iPad. Why? According to AdAge, Conde Nast feels "conditions aren't quite right yet to deliver the ideal app editions at the kind of scale that advertisers want." In other words, sales aren't stellar. Sales won't get stellar until magazine publishers wake up and reduce the per-issue prices of their magazines by 60-80%. An issue of GQ on the iPad costs $4.99, but the same issue of GQ through a subscription is priced at little more than a buck. Everyone knows magazines don't make most of their money from selling issues to consumers; they make it from ad revenue, and that ad revenue is going to lack big time until more people start buying magazines on the iPad. That won't happen until magazine publishers lower their subscription prices.
Apple Xcode magazine template could streamline iPad publishing
Magazines and newspapers on the iPad would appear to be a perfect match for the device, but attempts such as Rupert Murdoch's The Daily and Sir Richard Branson's Project have met with limited success. There are many possible reasons for this, ranging from Apple's demands for 30 percent of all revenues from in-app purchases of subscriptions to the lack of a consistent user experience. The latter seems to be the biggest problem for many potential readers, since each magazine or newspaper seems to have its own unique method of navigating pages. Gadget Daily News is claiming that Apple has an answer in the works: a magazine template for the Xcode development environment that will provide a consistent, manageable user experience. The template will not only provide a familiar look and feel between all magazines and newspapers that are developed using the code, but also make it simple to sell subscriptions and back issues from within the app. According to Gadget Daily News, this should open up iPad publishing considerably, since people who wish to create and sell their own content need only get together with a developer to get their magazines or newspapers into the App Store in a short amount of time. The template could open up a huge new market for what blogger Anthony Morganti calls "Garage Magazines" -- self-published magazines that target a specific market. That's an apt moniker, considering that the company making this possible began its life in a garage. The template is expected to arrive before the end of 2011. Let's just hope that self-titled magazines like the one shown in the illustration above don't become commonplace. [via Electronista]
Elle, Nylon and Pop Sci gladly adopt Apple's subscription terms
Not every publisher's feathers were ruffled by the changes Apple made to its subscription policy earlier this week. While Rhapsody may have responded negatively to the changes, some publishers are accepting the new terms and adopting Apple's new subscription model. According to Advertising Age, three popular magazines, Elle, Nylon and Popular Science, will let customers subscribe via the App Store and, in return, will concede some of their valuable customer data to Apple. The trio believes the advantages of distributing content via Apple's mobile platform outweigh any potential disadvantages. Nylon is the smallest magazine of the bunch and will be least affected by the loss of customer information. The independent magazine eyes the monetary reward of increased subscriptions and assumes its customers will still provide demographic information via other methods. Popular Science shares a similar approach and may prompt users to share their information after they have purchased a subscription and received their second or third issue of the digital magazine. Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., the publisher behind Elle magazine, is taking a wait and see approach. Rather than become enemies with Apple, the magazine is going to adopt the model and see how it turns out. The publisher also sees the model as being very fluid and one that Apple and publishers can modify over time. "I don't think this is something that is set in stone either for us or for Apple. I'd rather work with them to improve it over time than just sit on the sidelines," said Philippe Guelton, Executive Vice President and COO at Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S.
Google may introduce in-app purchasing to compete with Apple's model (Updated)
Google may debut its new in-app purchasing and subscription system to compete with Apple's controversial model. Similar to Apple, the Google system would let users purchase upgrades and other digital content within an application using Android's built-in payment system, Google Checkout. The new system for Android would give developers a 90 percent cut, while Google would grab the remaining 10 percent. This revenue split is more attractive than Apple's current 70:30. Google is reportedly rolling out this system as soon as today and is possibly introducing it early to capitalize on the dissatisfaction that is brewing over Apple's recent changes to its subscription and in-app purchasing policy. These changes now require content providers like Amazon to offer in-app purchases of content that is offered for sale via another channel. Application developers have until June 30 to comply with this new requirement or risk having their application removed from the App Store. This change would affect a wide variety of applications including the Kindle app, Hulu, Rhapsody and others. Rhapsody has already responded negatively to these changes, and other developers may follow suit. Will Google's Android model be enticing enough to get developers to jump ship or is everyone blowing this out of proportion? [Update: The original rumor is slightly incorrect. It is not Google's in-app purchasing model that is rolling out today. Instead, Google announced its One Pass subscription service for publishers. The service lets publishers set their own rates for content, which will be accessible via the web, tablets and smartphones. In-app purchasing will be available but only through mobile applications that can process an in-app purchase outside of the app store (i.e., probably not iOS). Revenue sharing is set at 90:10, and the service provides direct access to subscriber's data. It is designed to help publishers promote and distribute digital content.]
Apple's subscription model is boon to consumers, bad for publishers
As we reported earlier, Apple announced the arrival of new subscription services for apps in the App Store today. According to the press release, subscriptions purchased from within the App Store will utilize the same billing system currently employed for app and in-app purchases. Publishers are free to set the length and price of the subscriptions, which can be weekly, monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly, bi-yearly or yearly. Then with one click, customers choose the length of their subscription and are immediately charged for it. The great thing about these digital subscriptions for customers is that they can cancel their subscription at any time with very little hassle. They simply need to go to their personal account page to stop re-billing or cancel a current subscription. Anyone who has ever dealt with the headache of getting out of a magazine subscription will recognize this as a huge benefit of Apple's subscription model. However, as we've already seen, many content-based app publishers might not like all the new terms that Apple has laid out. All publishers of content-based apps (like Netflix, Hulu, etc.) must comply with Apple's new subscription service guidelines by June 30 or risk removal of their app from the App Store. The guideline compliance was originally rumored to go into effect March 31, but it seems that app publishers have four more months to make their apps compliant. Content-based app publishers are still free to sell content outside of the apps (like buying a Kindle magazine subscription from Amazon.com), but they now must offer the same content available for purchase directly within the app itself at the same or better price.
Time inks deal with HP to bring magazine subscriptions to the TouchPad
Time Inc. has been trying to work out a deal on tablet magazine subscriptions for some time now, and it's just made a fairly big move in that direction with the help of HP. It confirmed at its "Think Beyond" event today that it has teamed up with the publisher to offer subscriptions to some of its magazines on the TouchPad when it launches this summer. That will apparently include Sports Illustrated, Time and People initially, with Fortune and other Time Inc. titles to follow further on down the road, according to AdWeek. Still no word on pricing, but HP promises they'll deliver an "immersive reading" experience. Update: Palm's Lisa Bewster has confirmed via Twitter that this deal also involves Time getting its big wish: subscribe to the print magazine and you'll get full access to the tablet version. For more on all of HP's webOS announcements today, click here!
App Store terms and conditions updated to cover subscriptions
If you download The Daily (or any other app) from the App Store today, you'll be prompted to read and accept new terms and conditions. The update addresses subscriptions; something we and publishers have been anticipating and debating for a long time. According to the new T&C, "Purchases of subscriptions to access the Services available through the Licensed Application are controlled, handled and processed by Apple and all payment and all other matters regarding such purchases (including any information you submit or that may be collected in connection with such purchases) are subject to and governed by the applicable Terms of Service and Privacy Policy of Apple. Accordingly, we encourage that you review Apple's policies prior to making any purchase." During this morning's announcement, The Daily became the very first newspaper app in the store to offer customers a subscription option. Users can opt to pay either US$0.99 per week or $39.99 annually as a one-time payment from within the app. During the question and answer session that followed, Apple's Eddy Cue was asked if and when this model would be extended to other app store publishers. His only answer was "very soon." We can only assume that publishers' ears perked up at that comment. For example, Time, Inc. and Apple have been at odds over the very model that The Daily uses for some time. In fact, Time went so far as to say that cost-cutting and other related problems have actually hindered the development of its Sports Illustrated app. Now that the cat is out of the bag, we expect to see subscriptions roll out within the month, maybe even the fortnight. Eliminating per-issue costs should help to reduce the slide that iPad magazines are currently experiencing.
EON Magazine issue 22 tackles Incarna, surviving the EVE fanfest and more
These days it seems like every MMO has some form of microtransaction system or merchandising deal. It's clear that players don't seem to mind spending a little extra on their MMO hobbies now and then, whether it's for an in-game item to cut out some of the grind or a geeky T-shirt to show off to friends. Several online games even have their own dedicated magazines, and EVE Online is no exception. Published four times per year, EON magazine by MMM Publishing provides guides, interviews, sneak peeks at upcoming expansions, fan-written chronicles, and big news from across New Eden. Issue 22 of EON popped through my letter-box a few days ago, and I've spent most of today thoroughly absorbed in its pages. This quarter's mag focuses on the Sansha incursions happening across EVE and the upcoming Incarna expansion with its long-awaited walking-in-space feature. Also in this edition is a featured look at the rise and fall of the Band of Brothers alliance, a guide to surviving your first time at the annual Fanfest in Iceland, and all the usual features. This issue will be the first officially released under the name EON -- the previous name of the magazine being E-ON. Skip past the cut for a roundup of what you'll find in EON magazine issue 22 and my impressions of its content.
The French gain a 3D iPad Newstand
We've heard much talk of a virtual NewsStand for the iPad, but have yet to see one, until now. It seems, the French are the first to get a selection of magazines available on the iPad all from one app -- in virtual 3D, no less. Le Kiosque, by LeKiosque.fr, is a free iPad app that sells magazines via in-app purchase. According to the Le Kiosque iOS App Store description (with the aid of some nifty Google translation in tow), the app has a 3D kiosk interface with more than 400 magazines available at up to 70% off the real-world, glossy-paper equivalent. Once you've purchased your favourite mag, you can view it straight away via "streaming playback" -- no download wait times. There's also an off-line mode as well as access to archived back issues. From what we can gather (with the aid of Google Translate, once again), according to a telephone interview conducted by FRECHWEB.FR with Le Kiosque's head of marketing, Michael Philippe, two months of negotiations were held between Apple and the Le Kiosque team before the app was approved. Apparently, Le Kiosque was hoping to offer subscription-based content, but Apple refused. Where've we heard that before? Though in French, Le Kiosque is available in the US and UK iOS App Stores with some daily news content in English. Check out a video of the app in action after the break. [Via 9 to 5 Mac, FRENCHWEB.FR]
WSJ: Google plans a 'digital newsstand' to unite all newspapers and magazines under Android's umbrella
The Wall Street Journal has rounded up its cabal of sources today to present another delicious new battlefield in the struggle between Google and Apple for mobile supremacy. Specifically, it reports that the Mountain View team has approached Time Warner, Condé Nast and Hearst -- three of the biggest publishers of periodicals in the US -- with a view to offering their content through a Google-operated "digital newsstand" for Android devices. The appeal for media companies will be an easier route to monetizing their content, apparently, including the possibility that Google could take a smaller slice of revenues than the 30 percent charged by Apple and Amazon. There's also word of developments behind the scenes at Cupertino, where "several changes in iTunes" are expected to improve the publisher's experience of using the service, including making it easier to offer long-term subscriptions and related discounts. Apple's had nothing to say on the matter, while Google's responded by noting it's always in discussions with publishers and has nothing to announce at this point.
Despite strong start, iPad magazines not faring well over time
There's good news and bad news on the iPad publication front. First of all, lots of iPad magazines seem to be having respectable launches -- Wired's first iPad edition did a full 100,000 downloads earlier this year, and other magazines have seen similarly large numbers at launch, as customers download the app or content just to see what it's like. But that content doesn't seem to be holding anyone's attention, as most publications are seeing major drops over the rest of the year. Magazines like GQ, Vanity Fair, and Glamour have seen about a 20 percent user drop off per month from September to November, at a time when there were more iPads available than ever. Reports say publishers are still hopeful -- they believe that solid holiday sales of Apple's tablet device could bring customers back after the new year. But numbers like these won't get anyone excited in publishing more iPad content, unfortunately. By the time there are enough iPad customers out there to make a digital publication on that platform worth it, publishers may have lost interest. [via Engadget]
iPad magazine sales numbers show steep decline over a few short months
Uh oh. Since its debut, the iPad has been variously hailed as the final nail in the coffin of all physical media and the savior of the magazine and newspaper industries. A few magazines, such as Wired, had truly impressive digital launches, with over 100,000 downloads of its first issue in June. It doesn't seem, however, that the stellar start was in any way sustainable. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, which collects magazine circulation data from companies willing to furnish numbers, all iPad magazines have seen fall offs in downloads over the past few months. Wired was averaging 31,000 downloads from July through September, had 22,000 and 23,000 respectively in October and November. Other magazines have seen similar declines: Vanity Fair sold 8,700 downloads of its November issue, down from an average of about 10,500 from August through October; GQ sold 11,000 copies, its worst showing yet. Now, not all magazines release their numbers, of course -- including The New Yorker, People, and Esquire -- but the numbers we do have seem to be indicating a trend of general decline after a short burst of excitement.
Apple, publishers still debating magazine subscriptions
There's yet another standoff between Apple and established media companies. While Apple and the recording industry seem to have finally reached something approaching détente if not peace, magazine publishing companies are still wary about letting Apple become the ultimate power in their universe. Apple is offering the same deal for magazines that they offer for books and app developers: you get 70% of the profits, we take 30% to take care of billing, downloads, etc. Magazine publishers want more: namely, they want access to customer information, especially tidbits like credit card information and email addresses. It's safe to say that app developers would like that too, especially the email addresses. According to AllThingsD, that offer has been "on the table for a couple of months," but no publisher has bitten yet. There are a variety of publishers trying different things, but mostly they seem to be waiting for Android tablets to be released so they can exert some market pressure on Apple. To which I say: good luck with that. I suspect that the only real pressure will be similar to what we've seen with audiobooks and music files. Audible.com puts DRM on their files, but they are playable on just about any device you can imagine (I even have a voice recorder that supports Audible playback). Amazon's music store is the only significant challenger to the iTunes Music Store, and that only happened because they provided DRM-free MP3s, something Apple had wanted to offer for some time. The music industry finally conceded the lack of DRM in return for Apple's willingness to give "flexible pricing," which resulted in higher prices for most songs that you'd actually want to buy. While magazine publishers either roll their own apps or wait it out, more and more readers will find content to read on the devices they already own, and if that isn't the content magazine publishers are selling, they'll find something else. Personally, since the creation of Instapaper the idea of a magazine subscription strikes me as quaint. I find more content than I can read already, just through Twitter and Tumblr.
Report: Game Informer bigger than Time, People and O, more circulated than Family Circle
Game Informer is bucking the death of print, increasing its audience over the past year by another 800,000 readers and topping out at a "paid and verified" circulation of 4,364,170, according to a new report by media monitoring service BurrellesLuce. The magazine is just a measly 100K-and-change subscribers away from surpassing National Geographic and landing in the top five of most-circulated U.S. consumer magazines -- and it's not even for old folks! Published by GameStop Corp., a one-year Game Informer subscription is included with the mega-retailer's PowerUp Rewards Pro membership (and was previously bundled with its now defunct Edge card). So, yeah -- we're all subscribers. You're welcome, GameStop.
Playboy releases not-so-discreet 250GB 'cover to cover' hard drive
Well, you can finally throw out that trunk in your grandfather's garage. Hugh Heffner's legacy has taken a cue from National Geographic -- in an arguably non-horrifying way -- and partnered with publisher Bondi Digital to release a (presumably Seagate-branded) 250GB external hard drive packed with every issue of Playboy released since 1953. Its $300 asking price is roughly four times what you'd pay for a fresh G-rated 250GB drive today, but compared to a 57-year subscription, the digital vault is certainly a bargain. In contrast to their trail blazin' efforts with the iBod though, thanks to the prominent placement of the brand's iconic bow tie-wearing bunny and name, there's no chance of using this device for practical tasks such as backing up TPS reports at the office. Like the decision to phase out DVDs in favor of VOD however, the move does prove the magazine isn't afraid of staying abreast of today's content consumption trends. Next stop, Nook Color?
Copia's 'social reading' platform goes live, abandons hardware plans
We might be busy refilling our inkwells in preparation for CES 2011, but let's not forget that some of the CES 2010 exhibitors are still working feverishly on bringing their innovations to market. Copia is one such company, though in the time between its January debut and today it's had to abandon its plans for own-brand e-readers and has fully transitioned itself into a software offering -- with apps available for the desktop, iPad, Windows Phone 7 now, and Android and other touch devices following soon. Copia allows Facebook Connect logins, which should give you a hit at its premise -- it aims to meld an ebook store in with a vibrant and active online reading community, with a litany of social and sharing features making it perhaps more attractive than the somewhat more limited social skills on offer from the current ebook market leaders. Unannounced OEM partners have been engaged to deliver the Copia platform on upcoming e-reading devices, though whether the whole thing sinks or swims will be entirely up to you, the user. See a video demo of what Copia's about after the break.
New Yorker, Gourmet iPad apps debut
Two highly-anticipated iPad app releases have finally hit the App Store, and they're both magazines: The New Yorker and Gourmet Live. The New Yorker (free for the app, US$4.99 per issue) joins Gourmet Live as the latest magazine apps from publisher Condé Nast. The navigation is simple: tap anywhere on the screen to bring up the controls. You can quickly move between sections and articles with the scrubber or table of contents. For more leisurely reading, swipe between pages. One unique feature is how the magazine's famous cartoons are handled. Tap anyone to bring up a scrollable cartoon gallery. Plus, you can enter the regular caption contest right from within the app. It looks great, and we're eager to try it out. Meanwhile, ill-fated Gourmet Magazine has been reborn as the iPad app Gourmet Live (the current issue is free; there's no word of future pricing). As John Gruber points out, Gourmet is now in the unique position of existing as an iPad app only. Its content is organized by topic and theme, and it features recipes, slideshows, video and a lot more. For now, there's no subscription option for either, but rumors suggest that could change soon. WIRED has come down in price since its introduction, but it remains to be seen if customers will embrace the per-issue pricing model. Other Condé Nast properties have transitioned to the iPad well, like WIRED, Epicurious and GQ. Finally, Jason Schwartzman and Roman Coppola have produced a hilarious short film introducing The New Yorker's app. Check it out on the next page (Flash, sorry).
E-ON Magazine issue 20 hits the shelves
The magazine industry is a behemoth, catering to practically every hobby there is. No matter how obscure the hobby, you're sure to find a magazine on the shelf all about it. While there are plenty of magazines dedicated to gaming, only a few MMOs have their own dedicated magazines. Despite the rise in popularity of web-based publications, there's something special about having a physical magazine you can flip through. Since I am a massive nerdy fan of EVE Online, each issue of the quarterly E-ON magazine feels like a proper treat. The production values are very high, and it's pure EVE from cover to cover. The publishers even go so far as to include advertisements for EVE corporations and services rather than paid ads for other games or gaming services. Issue 20 of the magazine was released last month, but the postal fairy decided I had been naughty and didn't deliver it until this week. I've spent the majority of today reading this magazine all about internet spaceships, and I've loved every nerdy moment of it. This quarter's issue has a strong focus on the impact of EVE's recent Tyrannis expansion and its planetary interaction feature. In addition to a guide on setting up planetary harvesting infrastructure, the magazine's editors ask whether Tyrannis was everything we hoped or a missed opportunity to breathe new life into the planets of New Eden. Other topics discussed in this issue include EVE's controversial Council of Stellar Management, the history of the alliance tournament, and a look at the new rebalanced supercarriers. Skip past the cut for a breakdown of what you can expect in E-ON issue 20 and my impressions from reading it.
