Amazon announced on Tuesday that it will begin offering magazine publishers a 70/30 royalty split for Kindle subscriptions. The deal will give publishers a bigger percentage than they previously received for electronic magazine sales, and it brings Amazon inline with Apple’s App Store revenue sharing deals.
The new royalty terms will be available starting on December 1 for newspapers and other periodical publications that are available for reading on all Kindle ebook reader devices and applications, and are also available in all locations where the publisher has rights to distribute their work.
Amazon matches App Store royalty sharing
Amazon’s announcement is good news for publishers not only because they get to keep a bigger cut from their Kindle sales, but also because it will make it easier for them to distribute content through iPad apps. The terms Amazon imposed on publishers prevented them from offering much through the App Store because Apple offered a better revenue split.
With the change in Amazon’s terms, companies that offer magazines and newspapers for the Kindle don’t have to worry about stepping on the wrong side of their contracts by offering content through an Amazon competitor with a better deal.
Apple has been said to be working on its own in-app subscription service for newspapers, and Amazon may have just given the company a boost in wrapping up deals with publishers.