Apple launches subscriptions on App Store for all publishers

CUPERTINO, Calif. — Apple launched a new subscription service that will allow publishers of magazine, newspaper, video and music content to sell subscriptions on the App Store, the company said in a statement Tuesday.

The new App Store billing system is the same service that News Corp.’s digital iPad newspaper The Daily was launched with in February.

The billing service allows customers to choose the length of their subscription with one click. Customers are then charged according to the publishers’ prices.

Apple takes a 30 percent cut from all App Store transactions.

“Our philosophy is simple — when Apple brings a new subscriber to the app, Apple earns a 30 percent share; when the publisher brings an existing or new subscriber to the app, the publisher keeps 100 percent and Apple earns nothing,” said Apple CEO Steve Jobs.

“All we require is that, if a publisher is making a subscription offer outside of the app, the same [or better] offer be made inside the app, so that customers can easily subscribe with one click right in the app,” he added.

News Corp. is the parent company of The Post and NewsCore.