Although many see problems with Apple’s new in-app subscription policy, some Wall Street experts view the mandate handed down as a boon both for the Cupertino, Calif. tech giant and businesses looking to attract iPhone, iPad and iPod users. Ticonderoga Securities analyst Brian White sees the subscription rule as an “incremental positive” while increasing the value of Apple’s “ecosystem.”
Subscriptions, White writes, will “extend the reach of [the] Apple ecosystem.” The new policy, requiring publishers to provide iTunes as an in-app subscription option, “offers content providers a deep customer base and a more innovative way to transact business.”
Early fallout from the Tuesday announcement came from music subscription service Rhapsody. The company declared the new rule “economically untenable” and potentially crippling. In a statement just a hair’s-breath from a lawsuit, “The bottom line is we would not be able to offer our service through the iTunes store if subjected to Apple’s 30 percent monthly fee vs. a typical 2.5 percent credit card fee,” Rhapsody charged.
Amazon’s Kindle app, which also relies on subscriptions, reportedly has until June 30 to support the in-app purchasing rules. Prior to the release of the guidelines, Apple barred Sony’s Reader from the App Store over offering out-of-app purchases.
[Barron’s]
