Apple may soon enter the magazine distribution industry. At least that's what the Cupertino-based company’s purchase of Texture indicates. It's kind of like magazine Apple Music: it gives subscribers unlimited access to 200+ titles for $ 9.99 a month.
At the same time, you can read them in full, or download and view individual articles. Again, you can draw the analogy with Apple Music, where you can download entire albums or individual tracks. Eddie Cue, VP Apple Internet Services (responsible for iTunes Store, iCloud and other business units), noted:
We are committed to quality journalism from trusted sources and will enable magazines to continue delivering compelling and beautifully designed stories to readers.
The cost of the deal was not disclosed. However, Texture recently raised $ 90 million, which may indicate the price it paid Apple (or at least a fraction of it).
Texture app for iPad
Texture was founded in 2010 in collaboration with publishers including Condé Nast, Hearst, Meredith, Rogers Media and KKR. In 2016, the App Store editors included Texture's annual 'Best' compilation, highlighting the most innovative apps and games for iOS.
The audience of this service looks tiny against the background of Apple Music. Dubbed 'Netflix for magazines', Texture has only hundreds of thousands of subscribers, while Apple Music is enjoyed by millions of people around the world.
However, the acquisition of this company makes sense Apple. Since the launch of the very first iPad Apple I have tried to develop electronic publishing for my tablets. In particular, one of Steve Jobs's favorite projects was The Daily newspaper, which for a short time came out exclusively for iPad and became the first service Apple to work by subscription.
Most recently Apple launched Apple News, which is not yet very popular. Considering that owner Amazon Jeff Bezos bought The Washington Post a few years ago, we are definitely witnessing a new trend: most likely, in the coming years, tech companies will take over or partner with traditional media.
Will Texture help you move in this direction Apple? It seems that for now we can only wait.