French Newspapers Teaming Up in Digital Content Negotiations with Apple
With Apple set to broaden access to digital subscription content with the debut of its prominent Newsstand feature in iOS 5, Reuters reports that a group of major French newspapers are banding together to strengthen their positions in negotiating with Apple over digital distribution.The bid by eight publications, including newspaper Le Figaro and sports daily L'Equipe, is the latest sign of growing disillusionment among some global publishers over what they consider Apple's rigid terms and high commission of 30 percent.The report notes that media companies have already made some headway in resisting Apple's demands, with Apple backing off on its pricing demands for in-app purchases and subscriptions earlier this year. Prominent business newspaper Financial Times has also made a stand by pulling its iOS application and utilizing a well-regarded web app to offer its content without being subject to Apple's rules.
[...]
They are also negotiating with Apple as a collective, and will not sell their products on Apple's own kiosk, dubbed the Newsstand, set to launch next month, without key concessions.
Le Figaro executive Pascale Pouquet said the French publications were still in talks with Apple over whether it would accept the changes to the kiosk, but insisted that the papers would not fold on their key demands such as a reduction in the 30 percent commission and access to the customer data.The publications have come to terms with Google to sell their content for Android, with Google charging only a 10% commission on sales and allowing publishers to have control over pricing and customer data collection.
"We'll have to be ready to accept to lose some sales if we cannot come to terms with Apple," he said. "But sometimes it's better to cut off a finger than to sever the whole arm."
Apple has been firm in its stance regarding a 30% commission as has become standard for many types of content on the iOS platform, and has insisted on users retaining control over whether their personal information is shared with the publications.
Top Rated Comments
(View all)
22 months ago
And while the 30% commission to Apple is expensive, I'm still very happy that they refuse to allow anything that takes user data for advertisers.
Sharing data is a separate issue that's not really relevant in the EU since it's illegal without user's express consent.
22 months ago
Finally the french do something useful.
In addition to providing the world with something in the region of 400 types of cheese.
22 months ago
Finally the french do something useful.
I guess what de Grasse's navy did at the Battle of the Chesapeake in 1781 wasn't really all that important.
It only ensured that the Americans would be able to win at Yorktown (using French naval and ground forces under Rochambeau, who commanded them.) No biggie.
22 months ago
with Google charging only a 10% commission on sales and allowing publishers to have control over pricing and customer data collection.
Forget the 10%, 30% numbers, that's a distraction. The customer data collection is key here. Google is more than happy to give away all your information, after all, that is their core business. Apple are not, so saying that "The French are doing good" here is misguided in the extreme. Apple is protecting your rights.
22 months ago
I don't understand why people are so upset about giving their information to a paper they subscribe to. That's how ALL subscriptions work. That's how newspapers / magazines know what ads to run in their products.
For people that think that Apple uses their information for financial gain, I guess you don't use iTunes. iTunes is always recommending songs that I might like to purchase based off past purchases and songs in my library ripped from CD's. Yes, you can turn that off, but why would you? I don't care if iTunes knows that I like this song or that artist. But that's a different topic.
Bottom line, Apple is charging too much for newspapers and magazines. They should drop the Apple cut down to 10% and give the user the option to share data with the newspaper or not.
For people that think that Apple uses their information for financial gain, I guess you don't use iTunes. iTunes is always recommending songs that I might like to purchase based off past purchases and songs in my library ripped from CD's. Yes, you can turn that off, but why would you? I don't care if iTunes knows that I like this song or that artist. But that's a different topic.
Bottom line, Apple is charging too much for newspapers and magazines. They should drop the Apple cut down to 10% and give the user the option to share data with the newspaper or not.
22 months ago
thats right. 30% for them is a lot of money. and very little for apple. why not make just 15% so more publishers come aboard and more people would like to give apple money and read more?
just wondering.. may be wrong..
just wondering.. may be wrong..
22 months ago
Google don't give away or even sell their customer's data, I don't know where this myth comes from. They collect and use it for targeted advertising but you can't go and buy it from them.
You don't actually believe that, do you? Google's main business is data mining and brokering. Every service they offer, from search to Google+, is designed to harvest, store, and analyze data so that Google can sell that information or products based upon that information. Simple user lists, with real names and telephone numbers can be had relatively cheaply from Google, with more in-depth data available for an appropriate price.
[ Read All Comments ]
The Daily Show host Jon Stewart ran a satirical segment (via Apple 2.0) on last night's show about Apple CEO Tim Cook's appearance in front of a U.S. Senate Committee examining the tax...
Rovio's Angry Birds Space has been named Apple's App of the Week, and as a result, both the full iPhone and the iPad version of the game can be downloaded for free for the first time ever.
...
Evernote has added the ability to set reminders and alarms to its note-taking and organizational app, a popular new feature request the company says.
For the millions and millions of people around...
Shazam was one of the early App Store success stories, offering users the ability to easily identify music by capturing a snippet of the song and matching it against a database to provide title and...
Popular email app Mailbox, which launched for iPhone in early February with a reservation system that saw well over one million users sign up before the company eliminated reservations last month,...
As noted by The Verge, Microsoft has released a new Windows 8 tablet ad that uses Siri to highlight a few of the iPad's shortcomings, depicting the ASUS VivoTab Smart tablet as a robust...
Realmac's gesture-based list making iPhone app Clear has been updated to version 1.2.2, adding a feature that allows users to email their lists to other people. When viewing a list, Clear users...
In an event today at the CTIA conference, case maker OtterBox announced it was acquiring waterproof case maker LifeProof.
OtterBox will keep LifeProof's San Diego location and employees will...
