30% Apple

[Richard Pieri]

On Feb 17, 2011, at 1:28 PM, Tom Metro wrote:
> 
> http://techcrunch.com/2011/02/15/apples-digital-newsstand-just-disrupted-the-publishing-industry/
> 
>  Apple is taking a 30 percent cut of all digital subscription revenues.
>  ... Apple is saying if we deliver a paying customer, we will take 30
>  percent  of their subscription dollars in perpetuity as long as they
>  consume  your media on our devices. ...

Indeed.  As I noted this is the same share that Apple takes from its storefront for applications.  As an added point, this is close to Apple's 35% take from music and movies sold from the iTMS.  So, really, Apple is doing nothing substantially different with the subscription model than it's been doing for the past 8 years.

> And...
> 
>  Not only would [publishers] be handing over a substantial portion of
>  their revenues to Apple, but they get virtually no data in
>  return--data about customers. It's that credit card data they use to
>  do their consumer marketing and sell those readers to advertisers.

This is the other half of it, but Big Content isn't bitching as vocally in public about it as it is the "usurious" 30% take from sales.

>  ...new entrants with nothing to lose will build readerships on the
>  iPad. It's probably never been a better time to start a digital
>  magazine.

Indeed again.  Apple's business model has strongly favored independent artists and developers.  Now it favors independent publishers.

--Rich P.