Apple’s Newsstand – friend or foe?

Apple’s new Newsstand service “is just starting to have an impact” on the magazine industry, according to the panel at MediaTel Group’s Future of Consumer Magazines event this morning.

Gill Hudson, editor in chief of Reader’s Digest, thanked Steve Jobs for encouraging users to pay for digital magazine content; while the panel agreed that the “simple” app – available on Apple’s latest iOS – makes it “hugely convenient” for consumers.

However, Peter Phippen, deputy chairman of Immediate Media Company (ex BBC Magazines), pointed to the “problems with Newsstand”. While he understands that tablets offer a “huge opportunity” for publishers to monetise content, he is also wary that Apple own and control the data on their audience.

“We are reluctant to lose data on our readers because you lose an opportunity to develop relationships, which go beyond selling them the one product,” he said.

Phippen talked of the importance of building long-term relationships with readers to ensure continued growth. On average, each reader is worth £30 per year, so the focus is on increasing the overall value of the relationship – which can only happen if publishers know who their readers are.

He said that the magazine industry is in a constant “argument” with Apple about how consumer data should be shared.

Meanwhile, Gord Ray, publishing director at Wallpaper*, explained that to overcome the “problem with Apple”, Wallpaper* have created a pop-up box that appears when people sign up to their app, which enables them to agree to share data.

Ray believes that “Apple holds the future to digital publishing” so the industry has to find a way to work with them.