Some Publishers Are Wary of Sales on iTunes
Newspaper and magazine companies rushed to prep their titles for the debut of Apple Inc.’s (AAPL) iPad last weekend. But while publishers hail how the tablet computer lets them showcase their wares, some are working to develop ways to sell their publications separately from Apple’s iTunes.
Tablet editions of Time and Popular Science magazines–each priced at $4.99–were among the most popular paid downloads for the iPad over the weekend. The thousands of iPad applications available so far also include editions from GQ, Outside magazine, USA Today, the New York Times (NYT) and The Wall Street Journal.
The majority of magazines and newspapers for the iPad are downloaded through iTunes, the channel to purchase music, movies, books and other entertainment for the iPhone and iPad. The more than 125 million iTunes account holders can order iPad periodicals with just a few taps on a screen, instead of pulling out their credit cards and signing into multiple Web accounts.
