Revolution is usually just round the corner in France and this time it's directed at Apple's vice-like grip on newspaper and magazine distribution through the Apple App Store.
Reuters reports that eight of the country's top publications, including newspaper Le Figaro, have teamed up to fight what they consider to be Apple's draconian rules over in-app subscriptions and its huge 30% commission rate. They're voicing concerns that are rife in the publishing industry worldwide.
Details after the jump:
You can follow IJSMblog on Twitter and FacebookThe French publications, which also include business daily Les Echos and news weekly le Nouvel Observateur, have launched a digital kiosk to sell individual issues on the iPad and will soon add subscriptions and bundled offers.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."In the Internet world, we face actors like Apple, Google and Facebook that are infinitely powerful, much stronger than us publishers," said Pascale Pouquet, the head of new media for France's second-biggest daily, Le Figaro."It just made sense to us to try to establish a more favorable power dynamic to try to have more equal relations with them."The consortium brings together publications that are usually fierce competitors.The highbrow daily Le Monde is the notable absentee. Chairman Louis Dreyfus said the paper believed that its brand was strong enough to attract users on-line without saddling itself with a slow group decision-making process.Since Apple started selling subscriptions in February, the media industry has won some concessions. In June, the iPad maker dropped a controversial plan to require media to offer their lowest subscription price within its online store.But Apple has not loosened its grip on subscriber data: publications only get access to a customer's information if he or she clicks on a button to allow it.
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