Apple has launched subscriptions on the App Store. So what?
This is described as
one of the boldest bets Apple has ever made. And it could backfire. Or it could be huge beyond belief. Either way, it’s going to be very controversial.
In short this will shake the foundation of the ones offering the services, because Apple demands 30% of every subscription. And they do NOT allow to link directly to a subscription service and thus bypassing Apple. Furthermore Apples customers are not allowed to offer at a lower price on their website than in Apple Store.
In Norway both Spotify and Wimp have ignored this.
This is understandable because they cannot increase their prices with 30 % "just like that". When you subscripe via an iOS App, Apple wants 30% - take it or leave it.
Now it is safe to say that Apple has tightened the grip on their customers balls. The very reason that people have been willing to pay for music on the net is that it has been cheap.
If the providers want to keep it cheap, they will simply give 30% of their profit to Apple. There probably is no room for that. The artists have been squeezed to the limit already, so they won't be able to compensate on the cost side.
Rhapsody has protested and so have a lot of other media providers who have been hyping Apple in what they thought was their own interest, believing they would earn the money generated by their Apps.
Apple know they are taking a huge risk here and Steve Jobs made the announcement himself:
He sure makes it sound good - still the main question remains: Who is going to pay it?
In the end - the iGadget owner! for sure.
Also Apple as the market leader is sending a clear signal to the competitors MS and Google:
"There is no need to fight over the profit" on these products. That is how it is done because it is plain illegal for them to talk together regarding prices and profit.
The App providers from TV and Newspapers or Magazines already have to share the Editorial responsibility with Steve Jobs because he gets to decide what his Apps can contain (no Nudity).
That is pretty unique. Imagine that it is not allowed to see porn on a Samsung TV! (may I suggest Philips?).
Even if that is morally correct and mainstream, it undermines the very function of the free media, namely the freedom to shed light on issues that are not morally correct and mainstream (wikipedia?).
To illustrate my point I will now show two naked women (one of them handicapped with no arms)
They are nude and thus illegal on Apple products. Luckily I did not have to ask Steve jobs and he cannot censor me on this hardware.
So who will buy Apple gadgets now? The very stupid ones and the very rich ones (the very stupid rich ones).
I have said it before and I will repeat it: You are buying the right to pay more.
Steve Jobs is ingenious - he knows that a lot of people need the successful and rich image. So he might get away with this. And if he does he will be the most powerful person on the planet. It is a gamble though. Those products have to be 30% cheaper on an Android tablet (unless Google takes the opportunity to fill their pockets).
One thing is for sure: The future just got a whole lot brighter for Android and whatever MS finally will have to offer in the tablet/smart phone market.
PS: Google has already reacted, one day after the Apple innitiative:
http://www.google.com/landing/onepass/