Does Apple plan a Books+ subscription service?
Apple has put a lot of thought into improving Books
As Apple chases services growth, it’s possible it plans a Books+ subscription service. There are some obstacles to doing so – the competitive environment, how much we will pay and the extent to which it will support those trying to make a living from their work to name but three.
What am I speculating about?
Apple’s freshly rumored plan to introduce a book subscription service called, presumably, Apple Books+.
The good, the bad, the other thing
I read a lot of books. Surprisingly, few concern technology as I like to give my brain a break when I can, so trashy fantasy novels and books around history, politics, dog care and the economy are more my thing. Hot tip: I’m currently reading the outstanding Book of Trespass, which I think anyone who wants to understand the UK’s exceptionality and self-congratulatory culture should explore.
I think books are valuable cultural products and I think the people who write them should be paid.
But I can still recall the original Napster, file-sharing and the impact of the ‘Net on artist incomes. Now, for various reasons books seem to have held up slightly better than music, perhaps because subscription-based book rental services have always existed (we call them ‘libraries’), and because Amazon Kindle and Audible (NB: Both the former are affiliate links) already offer these services.
Does Apple plan a Books+ subscription service?
Over the holiday season, a report appeared that claimed Apple wants to offer something similar via Apple Books. This makes complete sense, and it seems unlikely publishers could justify denying Apple the chance to offer such services, given others already do so.
In the event Apple did manage to launch such a service it would be very likely to brand it as ‘Apple Books+’. I also imagine the company would seek to charge around $9.99/month for the service and can easily speculate it may want to make use of Siri to offer up spoken word versions of every title, while also providing human-narrated books.
All of which makes sense in the context of offering the service.
Perhaps as an Apple One bundle?
It’s also reasonable to speculate Apple would make Books+ available to Apple One customers, though it’s hard to predict the price point. Perhaps the company will let subscribers who don’t have an Apple Watch dump Fitness+ to gain Books+ at the same price. I’d probably jump at that.
[Also read: Mac, iOS: 12+ ways to get millions of free books online]
Apple also has an advantage in that a Books+ for Education service would enable schools across the planet to provide pupils with access to the books they need at affordable and predictable cost using the digital devices they increasingly already provide to children and students. This would let Apple leverage its established presence in the education sector.
What’s in the way?
Apple will/would face challenges making this happen. Look at this report to see some of these.
One big challenge will be the battle between Amazon and Apple, which (conceivably, given previous history) may mean Apple never, ever, ever offers such a service.
Amazon ties authors up to limited exclusivity deals, the report shows.
The report also shows that authors can earn as little as half a cent for every page read by people, which means that for every writer making a living on book subscription services there’s gonna be a whole heap more making less.
Though perhaps an Apple invasion into the space might be a boost to some authors and may force some upward mobility in terms of what they earn from their work.
Don’t neglect that Amazon wasn’t at all happy when Apple first entered the market, when it took Apple to court – and won.
So, what next?
If you’ve not kicked Apple’s Books app around, you’ll find its interface a lot cleaner than Amazon’s. To be honest, Amazon’s UI is no way as good as Apple’s in any of their competing products – imagine how an Apple version of the Amazon retail experience might work? And the difference between Apple’s TV app and Prime Video is night and day.
Ultimately, it’s all about the content, though, and I’ve not heard enough muttering emerging from the publishing industry to make me think it’s particularly unhappy with its primary online subs models being run effectively by the same U.S. corporation.
Though things have changed
There are good reasons Amazon may want to nurture strong competition.
Given that regulators everywhere are targeting Big Tech it makes sense for publishing houses to hedge their bets and let a few new competitors into the space. Amazon likely knows this, too, so the debut of well-heeled alternative service provider such as Apple may help take the heat off its market dominant share.
Signing off, I will say that I think Books+ is a logical extension to a service Apple has never quite managed to grow to its full potential – it would also, I think, boost the number of people reading books on a global basis. I just hope the authors get paid. And that the rumored service introduction turns out to be this year.
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