Apple Responds To Sony Over Policy
0
In the past, we have talked about how publishers, authors, and e-reader makers tend to shoot themselves in the foot just when the e-book industry has got a huge momentum behind it. We can now add Apple to that list. As if e-book prices were not high enough, Apple may now be going after e-book apps such as Kindle and Nook to force the companies behind them to adopt its in-app purchasing system (to increase its own profits).
Apple has confirmed that it has not changed its policy towards e-book apps recently. Apparently, the policy was always vague enough for Apple to enforce it anytime it needed to:
We have not changed our developer terms or guidelines… We are now requiring that if an app offers customers the ability to purchase books outside of the app, that the same option is also available to customers from within the app with in-app purchase,
Apple spokesperson Trudy Muller told Ars Technica. This is quite a revelation considering that Amazon and B&N could be forced to support Apple’s in app purchasing system just to have the right to sell e-books outside their apps. Apple is clearly after its 30 percent share for each e-book sold on its devices but is being quite dishonest about its intentions.
Daring Fireball brought some interesting questions to the table:
What about pricing? Can Amazon comply with these new rules by selling its Kindle books through Apple’s in-app purchasing system with a 43 percent markup, to account for Apple’s 30 percent cut through the in-app API? Consider a Kindle book that Amazon sells for $10. Can they sell it for $14.30 through in-app purchasing? That way Amazon’s cut would remain $10. Or will Apple insist on price matching, meaning Amazon can only comply by accepting 30 percent less revenue on books purchased in-app compared to those purchased from Amazon directly?
We can’t blame Apple for wanting to make more money from the platform it has worked so hard to develop. At the same time, this can’t be good news for those who are already complaining about the prices of e-books on Amazon and other e-book sellers. Let’s not forget that this move can further complicate things for those hoping to fully adopt e-books (using their idevices). At this point, Amazon or B&N pulling their apps from iOS App Store seems unlikely. It will be interesting to see how these companies settle this issue with Apple.
Your thoughts: what should Amazon and B&N do here?
