The ongoing discussion between Apple and newspaper and magazine publishers is not progressing as the publishers are hesitant about sharing subscription revenue and ownership of subscriber information. Executives, familiar with the discussion, said that it is in “early stages.” Publishers are giving a lot of thoughts over Apple’s proposal because they would have to give up a third of their revenue.
Apple does not share anything except sales volume with its partner which is a
“dealbreaker” according to one of the senior media executives of a daily newspaper. Financial Times reports:
Publishers have spent decades collecting information about subscribers that influence marketing plans and, in some cases, the content of the publication itself. Apple’s policy would separate them from their most valuable asset, publishing executives said. “We must keep the relationship with our readers,” says Sara Öhrvall, senior vice-president of research at Swedish publisher Bonnier. “That’s the only way to make a good magazine.”
Revenue sharing is another big headache. Though Apple’s revenue sharing arrangement have been widely accepted by book publishers for they gained more control over pricing, periodical publishers are not happy with this system. They are saying that their “recurring charges should be treated differently than single-payment content offerings.” Still, publishers are very much interested about Apple iPad and its potential for creating new revenue sources.
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