Apple Newspaper publishers are Apple’s new music labels for the tablet
By Jim DalrympleNovember 6, 2009, 9:21 am PT
There’s been a lot of talk lately about Apple approaching newspaper and magazine publishers around the world about making their product available on a yet unannounced device. This makes a lot of sense if you look at it the right way.
Image Credit: Gizmodo
I think that a lot of people are thinking too narrowly about what this all means. Because of the discussions Apple is having with publishers, some have come to the conclusion that the tablet will be a Kindle killer — way too narrow thinking.There is no doubt that Apple’s tablet can kill the Kindle, but that’s not Apple’s objective. If that was the largest goal Apple had with a new product, they should just close up shop now. Steve Jobs and the talent at Apple could kill the Kindle in a weekend with both hands tied behind their backs and blindfolded.
However, Apple does need a new hook for the tablet. That hook will, in part, be the worldwide publishers.
Think of it like this. Part of the overwhelming success of the iPod was the iTunes Store and the deals Apple was able to forge with the music labels. Part of the success of the iPhone is the App Store and what Apple has been able to do with developers.
Part of the draw for the tablet will be newspapers and magazines and the subscription deals they can offer users for publications around the world.
When Apple approached the major music labels to sell music online, the music industry was in shambles. Piracy was rampant, CD sales were down, musicians were publishing their own music and the labels were failing to keep its grip on the industry.
In 2009, newspapers find themselves desperate for readers and more importantly, revenue. Some have tried to block off their content and become an online pay service, but despite their best efforts, they are failing. Hundreds of newspapers closed in 2009 as pressure to be profitable continues.
Along comes Apple and offers a way for newspapers and magazines to join the digital publishing market. The parallels are clearly there.
Having newspapers and magazines from around the world available for the tablet will help save the floundering publishing industry, but it’s not the only thing the tablet will do.
Obviously, video, music and apps will be a big part of the tablet’s business as well. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Apple come up with a few other things to make the tablet a must-have device, as well.
When all is said and done, Apple will have propped up the music, television, movie, mobile app, and publishing industries.
While other companies are fighting to sell cheap netbooks, Apple will offer several devices that will be cool and do everything we wanted and more. That’s the way to win a war.
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Discussion 8 comments so far
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As someone who has been experimenting getting the paper delivered for the past 2 weeks, I hope you are right about this. In just two weeks I’ve got a stack 3 feet high of newspapers that need to be recycled. I hate that and being able to read it on a tablet every day…well, I’d definitely pay for that (I’m getting the paper as a free trial and that’s the only reason I was willing to “pay” for that).
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Not to mention the convenience of being able to read it on transit or sitting in the park while taking a break from work. There are a lot of advantages that people from all walks of life could enjoy.
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I can hear Jobs saying to Bezos, you want to sell books cheap, or do you want to change the world?
I wonder if this is why Amazon chose to buy Audibe.com. It gives them leverage with Apple because that’s the main source of their audio books.
I go to Audible.com directly because it costs way less to get my books that way. If Apple changes the game, I hope that it doesn’t mess with my Audible subscription.
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I suspect that you’re right about this. I don’t have any empirical evidence, but my intuition is telling me that 2010 is going to be the year that ereading in general takes off. The B&N Nook is (to me at least) 90% of the way to being my ideal ereader, If Apple’s history regarding digital music players and smartphones is any indication I think that they have a real chance to snipe this market too.
-
Good. Apple as the ultimate content publisher. Or is it distributor? Or marketer? Answer: All of the above.
With its quicktime and itunes technology, Apple can market and distribute titles from music, video, app, and print publishers.
With its developing genius technology, Apple becomes itself a publisher—defined as involving the responsibility to vet content, not just market and distribute it.
Here’s how it looks: Regardless of the size and shape of displays, in the future is about app publishing. Apps involve music, video, audio, print, and programs in all sorts of combinations. Outside the physical, atomic world, which will be Amazon’s selling territory, digital, electronic publishing will become app publishing.
Apple and Google can figure out who does what apps. Just to say: Apple’s App Store is already up and running with a legion of developers, a host of buyers, and a successful (not perfect) approach for marketing, distributing, purchasing and profiting off apps.
-
As someone with a daughter at college, I hope that the textbook publishers grab onto this. Textbook prices are outrageous and the books often become obsolete in a short amount of time. With epublishing, these publishers could update their textbooks far less expensively than the current paper-based product, not to mention they could even amend it during the semester.
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I think it will go way past textbook publishing. Higher ed is ripe for the picking. Its pricing structure, certainly for a BA, is ridiculous. Makes the music industry look abstemious. Nor does it seem to have noticed the presence of godzilla sized library called the web. Absolutely Apple’s cup of tea. And wouldn’t Jobs love to stick it to academia? How soon before we see an accredited $5,000 to $10,000US degree? Unless your kid is Ivy League bound, it’s all about moving on to a masters degree and, ideally, two or three specific to a job-related knowledge and skill base. For the $100K a BA costs today, kids could rack up several degrees and get on with life without mortgaging their careers to pay the toll.
-
Damn right it is! Well said Jim.
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Newspaper publishers are Apple’s new music labels for the tablet
By Jim DalrympleNovember 6, 2009, 9:21 am PT
There’s been a lot of talk lately about Apple approaching newspaper and magazine publishers around the world about making their product available on a yet unannounced device. This makes a lot of sense if you look at it the right way.
Image Credit: Gizmodo
There is no doubt that Apple’s tablet can kill the Kindle, but that’s not Apple’s objective. If that was the largest goal Apple had with a new product, they should just close up shop now. Steve Jobs and the talent at Apple could kill the Kindle in a weekend with both hands tied behind their backs and blindfolded.
However, Apple does need a new hook for the tablet. That hook will, in part, be the worldwide publishers.
Think of it like this. Part of the overwhelming success of the iPod was the iTunes Store and the deals Apple was able to forge with the music labels. Part of the success of the iPhone is the App Store and what Apple has been able to do with developers.
Part of the draw for the tablet will be newspapers and magazines and the subscription deals they can offer users for publications around the world.
When Apple approached the major music labels to sell music online, the music industry was in shambles. Piracy was rampant, CD sales were down, musicians were publishing their own music and the labels were failing to keep its grip on the industry.
In 2009, newspapers find themselves desperate for readers and more importantly, revenue. Some have tried to block off their content and become an online pay service, but despite their best efforts, they are failing. Hundreds of newspapers closed in 2009 as pressure to be profitable continues.
Along comes Apple and offers a way for newspapers and magazines to join the digital publishing market. The parallels are clearly there.
Having newspapers and magazines from around the world available for the tablet will help save the floundering publishing industry, but it’s not the only thing the tablet will do.
Obviously, video, music and apps will be a big part of the tablet’s business as well. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Apple come up with a few other things to make the tablet a must-have device, as well.
When all is said and done, Apple will have propped up the music, television, movie, mobile app, and publishing industries.
While other companies are fighting to sell cheap netbooks, Apple will offer several devices that will be cool and do everything we wanted and more. That’s the way to win a war.
Email This Post ⋅ Print This Post ⋅ Post a comment
Discussion 8 comments so far
-
As someone who has been experimenting getting the paper delivered for the past 2 weeks, I hope you are right about this. In just two weeks I’ve got a stack 3 feet high of newspapers that need to be recycled. I hate that and being able to read it on a tablet every day…well, I’d definitely pay for that (I’m getting the paper as a free trial and that’s the only reason I was willing to “pay” for that).
-
Not to mention the convenience of being able to read it on transit or sitting in the park while taking a break from work. There are a lot of advantages that people from all walks of life could enjoy.
-
-
I can hear Jobs saying to Bezos, you want to sell books cheap, or do you want to change the world?
I wonder if this is why Amazon chose to buy Audibe.com. It gives them leverage with Apple because that’s the main source of their audio books.
I go to Audible.com directly because it costs way less to get my books that way. If Apple changes the game, I hope that it doesn’t mess with my Audible subscription.
-
I suspect that you’re right about this. I don’t have any empirical evidence, but my intuition is telling me that 2010 is going to be the year that ereading in general takes off. The B&N Nook is (to me at least) 90% of the way to being my ideal ereader, If Apple’s history regarding digital music players and smartphones is any indication I think that they have a real chance to snipe this market too.
-
Good. Apple as the ultimate content publisher. Or is it distributor? Or marketer? Answer: All of the above.
With its quicktime and itunes technology, Apple can market and distribute titles from music, video, app, and print publishers.
With its developing genius technology, Apple becomes itself a publisher—defined as involving the responsibility to vet content, not just market and distribute it.
Here’s how it looks: Regardless of the size and shape of displays, in the future is about app publishing. Apps involve music, video, audio, print, and programs in all sorts of combinations. Outside the physical, atomic world, which will be Amazon’s selling territory, digital, electronic publishing will become app publishing.
Apple and Google can figure out who does what apps. Just to say: Apple’s App Store is already up and running with a legion of developers, a host of buyers, and a successful (not perfect) approach for marketing, distributing, purchasing and profiting off apps.
-
As someone with a daughter at college, I hope that the textbook publishers grab onto this. Textbook prices are outrageous and the books often become obsolete in a short amount of time. With epublishing, these publishers could update their textbooks far less expensively than the current paper-based product, not to mention they could even amend it during the semester.
-
I think it will go way past textbook publishing. Higher ed is ripe for the picking. Its pricing structure, certainly for a BA, is ridiculous. Makes the music industry look abstemious. Nor does it seem to have noticed the presence of godzilla sized library called the web. Absolutely Apple’s cup of tea. And wouldn’t Jobs love to stick it to academia? How soon before we see an accredited $5,000 to $10,000US degree? Unless your kid is Ivy League bound, it’s all about moving on to a masters degree and, ideally, two or three specific to a job-related knowledge and skill base. For the $100K a BA costs today, kids could rack up several degrees and get on with life without mortgaging their careers to pay the toll.
-
-
Damn right it is! Well said Jim.
