Subscription service insists on 30 per cent of everything

Newspaper industry cries foul on Apple subscription lock down

iPhone-maker Apple announced the launch of a new subscription service but has also moved to lock down publishers selling subscriptions outside of the Apple ecosystem.

The new service allows content publishers to set the price and length of subscriptions of content sold through the App Store. 

However Apple is also demanding that content publishers that offer subscriptions outside of the iOS applications must also offer the same or better deals for buying subscriptions inside the application. 

The European newspaper industry body, ENPA, issued a statement calling on the elimination of "restrictive conditions", citing the fact that newspapers want the freedom to choose their own payment systems and negotiate pricing for digital subscriptions.

ENPA also cited the industry’s desire to maintain lines with readers through their own subscriptions services, something they are less easily able to do via subscriptions sold on the iTunes store. 

"The print edition of a newspaper remains the engine room creating an incredible range of news and informative content," said ENPA ‘digital task force’ boss Valdo Lehari. 

"In the current environment, new online and mobile business models often operate in combination with the print edition."

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