Apple: App Store Subscriptions For Everyone

First came The Daily. Now Apple says all content publishers will have a subscription option available in the App Store.

Apple says the App Store subscription service will be sold using the same App Store billing system that is already in place. Publishers will be able to set their own price and length of subscription. Customers will then able to pick their own incremental payment schedule. They will be able to review and manage all of their subscriptions from their personal account page and cancel automatic renewals.

Our philosophy is simple-when Apple brings a new subscriber to the app, Apple earns a 30 percent share; when the publisher brings an existing or new subscriber to the app, the publisher keeps 100 percent and Apple earns nothing, said Steve Jobs, Apple's chief executive officer, in a statement.

The move comes after a report stated Apple rejected the Sony Reader app because allowed users to bypass the App Store. Apple later said purchases must also be offered through its iTunes-based system, but it had not strongly enforced that rule.

All we require is that, if a publisher is making a subscription offer outside of the app, the same (or better) offer be made inside the app, so that customers can easily subscribe with one-click right in the app. We believe that this innovative subscription service will provide publishers with a brand new opportunity to expand digital access to their content onto the iPad, iPod touch and iPhone, delighting both new and existing subscribers, Jobs said.

Apple says content creators will also be able to sell digital subscriptions on their web sites, or choose to provide free access to existing subscribers. It notes because Apple is not involved in these transactions, there is no revenue sharing or exchange of customer information with it. All it requires is its own authentication and that the same subscription offer must be made available, at the same price or less, within the app.

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