Developers of magazine and newspaper apps have received notice from Apple Inc. that beginning on March 31, any app that does not take payments through its iTunes store will be rejected.
The move could have major implications for a number of vendors that live on iTunes but route customers through their own billing systems. By circumventing Apple’s payment platform, those vendors avoid having to share 30% of sales with Apple.
While the rule is not new, strict enforcement of it is. Apple’s push to crack down on developers may be a reflection of how important these revenues have become for Apple. Apple rejected a digital-book application from Sony Corp. in a sign that Apple already is enforcing stricter terms for booksellers.
Yudu, the UK developer of digital editions for publishers, recently was alerted to the impending change for periodicals when it submitted an application for a new app and promptly received an email outlining Apple’s plans, Yudu Chief Executive Richard Stephenson said. Yudu’s system already processes all transactions through iTunes so there would be no change to the way it operates. Mr. Stephenson said he was told the only exception would be that publishers will be allowed to give print subscribers free access to an iPad edition.
Among the publishers that currently process iPad transactions through their own systems are The Wall Street Journal, Pearson PLC’s Financial Times and Zinio, which sells thousands of magazines through its digital-newsstand app. It was not clear whether and how publishers like those would be impacted by new enforcement of the rule.
Apple declined to comment.
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