Non-game apps top game app installs on iOS due to subscription boom PLUS UK local publisher thinks free membership model will 'revolutionise' regional media

For the first time ever the sale of non-game apps outpaced those of game apps on Apple's app store, according to TechCrunch. The tech website credited the subscription boom and pointed to on-demand video apps, but subscriptions and membership have been key to the success of many publishers as well. It has helped take the sting out of the loss of advertising revenue to major digital platforms and provide a more reliable revenue stream than advertising, which tends to track very closely to economic cycles.

A close cousin to the subscription model is the membership model, which can be paid or free, with the free models using the information from membership either as something to sell or something to deliver more targeted advertising. In the UK, a local publisher in Gloucestershire believes that a free membership model is key to changing the fortunes of regional publishers. The membership model will allow users to share their interests and save their favourite stories, all giving extra bits of data for the publisher. The owners think that the model will 'revolutionise' regional media in the UK. It will be fascinating to watch and great to have another model to test.

As consumers grow more privacy conscious, platforms clamp down third-party data, and governments and regulators limit third-party data sharing, this kind of first-party data becomes even more valuable. McKinsey is saying that nearly $10bn in revenue is at risk, What's New in Publishing reports. Publishers are scrambling to make sure that this revenue doesn't disappear. Read on to find out how.

PLUS:

  • Vox may be the most successful publisher on YouTube

  • How Immediate Media developed a podcast that earned £1m in annual revenue

  • Fortunate magazine has debuted a platform on careers and lives

  • Claire Sanderson, EIC of women's health, on "purpose campaigns" and working with commercial partners

  • Google ties up more publishers in Canada for its news showcase. Google says that more than 1500 publishers have signed up for the programme that will see it pay them for their content.

  • Can taxing Big Tech save publishers?

  • And is news a utility? (An argument against paywalls).

A major shift in the U.S. app economy has just taken place. In the second quarter of this year, U.S. consumer spending in non-game mobile apps surpassed spending in mobile games for the first time in May 2022 and the trend continued in June. This drove the total revenue generated by non-game apps higher for […]

Press Gazette has been reporting on British journalism without fear or favour since 1965. Our mission is to provide a news and information service which helps the UK journalism.

Nearly $10B in publisher revenue is at risk, according to a McKinsey analysis, as Google prepares to phase out third-party cookies by the end of 2023. It will be the end of programmatic advertising as we’ve known it, states the latest Innovation in Media report from FIPP. However, this seismic shift presents a great opportunity …

Press Gazette has been reporting on British journalism without fear or favour since 1965. Our mission is to provide a news and information service which helps the UK journalism.

Press Gazette has been reporting on British journalism without fear or favour since 1965. Our mission is to provide a news and information service which helps the UK journalism.

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