Report: Apple Offering Compromise on iPad Subscriptions

An obstacle blocking some publishers adopting the iPad may be just a minor issue, if a compromise offered by Apple is accepted. The Cupertino, Calif. company is now telling publishers they can send subscribers to a newspaper or magazine web site, so long as customers are given the option to sign-up through iTunes.

“Apple is basically saying, ‘Let the subscriber decide,’ knowing full well they will choose iTunes. After all, it’s simply easier for consumers to subscribe to digital publications from one place,” according to TechCrunch, citing unnamed sources.

For some time, Apple and publishers have fought over who would control valuable subscriber information. Publishers, who view such data as a goldmine for advertising and other promotional efforts, fear the tech giant would gain access to the data, as well as streamline the process for people to cancel subscriptions.

The News Corp.-run The Daily, the first newspaper built specifically for the iPad, was the first publication to offer one-click subscriptions, a feature Apple VP Eddie Cue promised would be available for other magazines and newspapers.

Reports surfaced earlier this month that Apple would March 31 begin requiring e-book publishers to offer in-app purchases, forbidding companies to only provide purchases via their own web sites.

[Barron's]

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