Monday, November 08, 2010

Will Apple do to Publishers what it did to the Record Labels?

There is real concern over the power of Apple among newspaper and magazine publishers. From my day job at eMediaVitals:

The Audit Bureau of Circulations and ABC Interactive have released a new study, "Going Mobile: How Publishers are solidifying strategies and Adapting to the Mobile Market."

...Still, last year responders were somewhat divided as to which company would have the largest impact on the mobile publishing industry. In 2009, responders said Apple eventually would, but -- and this is key -- Amazon ran a close second.

What a difference a year makes. In 2010, 86 percent of respondents cited Apple as the e-reader company most likely to impact the publishing market. Google/Android was a distant second while Amazon came in at number three.

As Apple becomes an indispensable middleman for newspaper and magazine publishers in the e-reader space, the company is also creating unease, due largely to the increasing frustration publishers have with its subscription model. Only 11 percent of respondents said they were satisfied with Apple's handling of subscriber information and analytics, with 15 percent saying they were dissatisfied. Further, a paltry 19 percent of responders said they were actually satisfied with Apple's app business model.

Kind of interesting how perceived "hyperpower" affects both corporations and states. The full article here.

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