Apple Inc. announced a subscription system for buying newspapers and magazines on iPhone and iPad applications on Tuesday, making it easier for publishers to mine the popular mobile devices for more revenue.
The update lets publishers sell subscriptions by the week, month, year or any other period of time, instead of asking readers to buy each issue separately.
The added convenience promises to help publishers sell more digital copies as smartphones and tablet computers become increasingly popular platforms for readers.
But publishers still won’t be allowed to automatically collect personal information about people who buy subscriptions through the Apple apps. That data is prized for marketing purposes.
Instead, subscribers who sign up through an app on an Apple device will be given the option to share their information with publishers, a choice most people don’t make. If people don’t share their information with publishers, Apple will still hold onto it, though it will not pass it on to third parties.
Apple will also take its standard 30% cut from all app and content sales made in its iTunes store.
Content providers who don’t want to automatically give Apple a slice of the revenue can try to sell subscriptions outside the app, too. One way to do that would be through the web browser, although that might prove too much of a hassle for people already used to buying apps, music and other things on iTunes.
Apple is insisting the financial terms of the digital subscriptions sold outside the app be no better than those offered in the iTunes store. And people must have the option to buy subscriptions within iTunes.
“We believe that this innovative subscription service will provide publishers with a brand new opportunity to expand digital access to their content onto the iPad, iPod Touch and iPhone,” Apple CEO Steve Jobs said in a statement. Jobs is on medical leave but continues to serve as chief executive.
Apple’s new subscription policy follows News Corp.‘s launch of the first iPad-only newspaper, The Daily, earlier this month. Its subscribers are charged through iTunes, making it the first iPad app to take advantage of this subscription feature.
Apple envisions a significant revenue stream from so-called in-app purchases. As part of its effort to ensure it gets a cut, Apple recently rejected Sony Corp.‘s e-book reader app for the iPhone because it let users buy books outside of the app store.
By insisting on an in-app purchase option, Apple believes it is making sure people using its gadgets get a familiar experience every time they buy something—a new level of a video game or a new issue of a magazine—through an app. Until recently, Apple had not enforced this rule universally.
