It’s been said that the easy-to-read iPad can be a salvation for publishers of books, newspapers and magazines. News Corp chief Rupert Murdoch said so far the company has about 20,000 paying digital subscribers for its various publications. He was speaking at the company’s All Things Digital conference this week.
The Australian said it already has about 4,500 paying subscribers to its $4.99-a-month newspaper app, which launched the day before the iPad last Friday in Australia. The Australian deputy CEO Nick Leeder said the monthly rate is likely to increase as the paper adds more services.
The Times of London got about 5,000 downloads of its £9.99 ($15) per month app during weekend after the iPad launched in the UK.
The Wall Street Journal has 10,000 paying subscribers who pay $17.29 a month. The service is currently free to subscribers of the paper edition, which brings the total number of free and paying readers to 64,000.
Murdoch said the Internet and technology are not the enemy, but platforms that media owners could use to their advantage. Repeating his golden-age-of-journalism mantra, Murdoch said, ‘There is no great secret here in response to skeptics who say technology is killing the news business. I believe technology is ushering in a new golden age for those willing to embrace it. It’s giving us new ways to showcase our strengths, enhance our coverage and encourage interactivity.’
Murdoch pointed out that The Wall Street Journal was the only top 25 American newspaper to grow in average weekday circulation in 2009.
Murdoch introduced Apple chief Steve Jobs, who has maintained that consumers will pay for Internet content.
Jobs was very pro-publishing, saying, ‘I don’t want to see us descend into a nation of bloggers. I think we need editorial oversight now more than ever. Anything we can do to help newspapers find new ways of expression that will help them get paid, I am all for. What we have to do is figure out a way to get people to start paying for this hard-earned content.’
He cautioned publishing companies to keep prices low in order to attract a large audience.