From dominating the front page of the the Herald Sun and the Daily Telegraph to dominating the websites for the titles and getting feature coverage on the Sunrise TV program this morning, News Limited is pulling out all stops for the new iPad apps which go on sale today. Newsagents who have been in denial about the digital channel have the new competitor staring them in the face every time they sell a newspaper.
The most common question newsagents who now realise the impact of tablet computers ask is how can we make money off of this new channel?
You market the Apps’ to your subscription and delivery databases, taking commission on those that are taken up. Of course, then you have to say goodbye to the renewals and future worth of those databases once they are in the hands of the publisher/iTunes. You’ll have cannibalized your business with short-term-ism.
Good luck.
keys, wallet,IPAD,I don’t think so
Keys wallet phone yes.
If someone gives me an IPAD i will give them a stick em’s for $2
I Don’t think anyone is in denial . it is more of a time frame difference
I’ve had my iPad for some months now. I no longer buy one or two newspapers at the ariport when I travel. Same with magazines. Oh, and books.
do you not think you should support the industry Mark ? I know you do in a big way but i am talking about buying from a fellow newsagent while the papers and books are still out there . i don’t see any positive helping the ipad along its way unless there is a way of making money out of it
Mark I bet your one of those people that first patrol the book/news section and then buy online
has anyone thought about the mass job losses in the paper industry with out including anything to do with newsagents every position from printers to the end line with truck drivers . the goverment better be prepared for mass job losses
No Shaun.
No Fred.
no – you don’t think you should support other newsagencys –
sound like you can’t wait to end the paper side of things
waste of money i’d rather read a book or a newspaper than a tiny little computer screen that
i have to buy then pay for broadband then pay for subscription and pay to download books and mags and read em on a tiny screen it is just not the same as the real thing
Shaun,
Like Mark I also consume news/books on my iPad. Why would someone, as a consumer, choose an inferior product/experience simply because their business is involved in selling a competing product?
Would you insist that McDonalds franchisees take their partners out to dinner at their own store? or that Telstra shareholders only use Tesltra telecommunication services? or that Wesfarmers shareholders only shop at Coles?
There are plenty of jobs created as more consumers embrace tablets. Startup tech businesses are appearing everywhere and are booming on the back of the tablet market.
no but i would expect the owners of macca and alike at least eat real food and not live on energy tablets and food smoothies . sorry Jarrod but you are not even close to comparing the samer kind of dealings . if you think that jobs created with the ipad are going to be anywhere near the same as all the pople working to produce a paper you are joking yourself . Look ,a few of us will never agree on this ipad issue and i accept all your views and so i shall try and let my views rest as it is just like the old record player it is just going round and round and getting no where .
It’s not whether they’re better or worse, it’s about whether that’s the direction we’re heading. Sadly the next generation are getting most of their news through electronic means and are unlikely to discover the joys of quality print journalism.
The two big questions for the likes of Fairfax and News are:
i. Will they be able to enjoy the market dominance in the low cost electronic world that they enjoy in the paper world? (Do they really want to push everyone onto iPads where there’ll likely be a million other competitors?)
ii. Will they be able to achieve results for their advertisers in the electronic world? (If no one responds to my electronic ads for crazy outdoor furniture sales the way they used to respond to my print ads I’ll likely stop writing out big cheques to Rupert Murdoch)
independent news media will thrive in webs not news ltd, of course
I think someone should come up with the “Slow news movment”
Shaun, don’t make this post about me and my shopping habits while transiting at airports. I am sure that the European owned Newslink outlets will not miss my newspaper and magazine purchases.
This post is about fundamental change which is occurring across age, gender and social boundaries, changes which go to the core of our model.
How and where Mark Fletcher shops is not trend setting.
Wake up and take a look at what is happening.
These are excisting times filled with opportunities for newsagents. I have beenw riting about it here for six years. It is nothing new.
Shaun,
Not sure what energy tablets have to do with the scenario I posed? Nonetheless I stand by the comparisons made. The logic used is the same.
The jobs created by the iPad are likely to be well in excess of that which exist because of print. You have the manufactures who have both either own people and entire companies they outsource to develop hardware. Developers, customer service, public relations, etc employed by the operating system owner. Then there is the entire mini-economy the platforms create. Software developers in their countless thousands and all the people they employ to promote, maintain and mange their product. Then there is the companies that provide services to the software development companies. Increased use in mobile networks, data storage, CRM software, accounting, etc all create jobs. The retail stores that sell the devices and provide support to end users .. again more jobs. Each layer of the commercial ecosystem that underpins these devices combines to create an overwhelming amount of jobs – far in excess of that which print provides. One only has to look at the boom the music industry experienced due to portable music players to see these devices create far more than they destroy.
Eric,
I agree, independent media will find new strength in the digital medium. Mass media will always exist and provide the larger percentage of news, but smaller media providers will find it easier to compete in a market where existing readership, although still important, plays a less important role in determining success.
Digital platforms also enable conversations. Look at this blog for example compared to the National Newsagent magazine. This place is a living and evolving thing whereas Nat News is out of date when it is printed.
News and Fairfax are not going down the same path as the music industry – denial of technology. They have decided to embrace tablet technology. The ipad is a niche market tool. Will it become the newspaper of the future? I suspect even News and Fairfax aren’t sure – yet.. We all need to remember, newspapers only exist because of advertising – display, classified and inserts. Until News and Fairfax can at least equal the currect advertsing revenue streams on an tablet, newspapers will be here.
John
Mark , you brought up your shopping habbits not me .If you don’t want a comment don’t bring it up , anyway don’t care i was just asking the question thanks for answering .
Again Shaun has a point which should aslo be considered like everyone else.
This change will happen, I dont think Shaun is denying this, however it will evolve at a difference pace depending on demographic.
I am confident that their will in the short to medium term a place for Newspapers everywhere.
Jarryd these job will probably be created overseas however you are also entitled to an opinion, an opinion does not mean you are right.
Just stop shooting down everyone who does not necessarily agree with everything Mark & Jarryd has to say.
Good on you Shaun for having a view.
As I have written here many times, the short to medium term opportunities for newsagents with print product are good – as long as we have access on fair and equitable terms.
No one knows the adoption rate of these devices. While the iPad continues to get the attention, it is the Androi devices which will dominate the marketplace.
John – News Corp has been following the music industry playbook for years – you know about their two year old paywall policy for sure? Music publishers embraced the technology – but only through channels over which they had some control.
My goal with this post and many posts on this blog is to get newsagents thinking and talking.
I’ll go back to where I started and note that the iPad has changed my buying habits. I did not expect this but it has. I get free content and paid for content. I see ads and even interact with some. Publishers are experimenting with various funding models.
Hello John Fitzpatrick, you are the anf director who told News Ltd that the migration project was good for newsagents without consulting newsagents. It was good for John Fitzpatrick and his mates and awful for most newsagents until we got together and fought for fairness. What would you know about what is good for newsagents?
Jarrod, where do you see these mass jobs being created.
At the moment the ipad is made overseas, and newspapers are made/printed, delivered and also sold here by our taxpayers.
Jobs will be created not here and overseas. The manufacturer of the devices will generally happen overseas, however there is a role for local business in developing technology that goes into these devices. Did you know that the CSRIO developed the WiFi technology that exists in every tablet on the market!
Software developers will work from around the globe. Even international corporations have local developers and their associated teams. I assume the News Ltd apps were developed locally (in-house?) and will be maintained locally as well. There is opportunity for local developers to not only work with/for all the Australian companies wanting to have a presence on these devices, but to go out on their own and successfully enter the marketplace without all traditional overheads of producing and selling software.
Increased use of mobile network and data storage both create locals jobs. The NBN has/will create jobs. Telecommunication providers continue to expand and upgrade their mobile networks – again creating jobs. All the business moving to mobile computing (in the cloud as it is called) need local processing, networking and data storage. The rise of these services has largely fallen under the radar over the past few years and the continue a huge upward trend that, naturally, creates more jobs.
The retail stores that sell tablet devices to consumers will of course need actual people to sell them. The stores that sell to businesses (in large quantities) will create a significant number of jobs. The demand for tablet devices has been overwhelming and with demand severely underestimated, at present the manufacturers cant keep up. The companies selling these devices to business are likely to be local as they more often than not provide support after the sale.
There will be plenty of jobs created locally as a result of the tablet economy.
That first line should reds “jobs will be created both here and overseas”.
Derek,
No shooting going on here. Just presenting evidence for the tablet case.
John f,
Your theory that newspapers will be there until News and Fairfax can equal their revenue streams on the tablet devices has a few fatal flaws.
It is based on the premise that News and Fairfax will dominate the digital media market in the same way the do print. This is unlikely to be the case. They may still dominate but the nature of the tablet economy provides a leg up to independent media and will likely see their market share boosted. News and Fairfax may be embracing the tablet medium but it will be hard for them to be as innovative as their smaller competitors.
It is also based on the premise that advertising revenue derived from tablet devices will equal that which is derived from print. This may not be the case. It is often speculated that advertisers are not getting value for money with the rates they currently pay for print advertisements. Digital advertising can be monitored at a level that print can’t and if advertisers find that they aren’t getting value they are likely to either cut back of drive down the price.
Do any of you seriously believe that there will be NO net loss of jobs from this?
The music industry had HUGE losses in local jobs. How many CD/Record stores do you see now? The revenue might turn out to be equal in the end….but where will that revenue end up? Certainly not Joe average trying to feed his family. The jobs lost in a lot of different fields will be huge as a direct result of going paperless. The few tech jobs that will replace them will be insignificant in comparison.
i see mass job loss ,but unfortunantly i have no evidence to back up what i say , it is just based on a simple thought of how many people it takes to print papers bundle papers and delivery the papers around the country . I don’t really see harvey norman advertising not one single job just because the ipad is on sale but as i said i have no evidence of this .
The job losses are irrelevant to how newsagents should respond to the disruption which already occurring. Don’t get me worng, I am concerned about job losses. It is just that they are not our problem. Feeding our families, paying the rent and employing our people is our problem.
The disruptive times are an opportunity as many newsagents are showing.
We need to be selfish.
Max,
Yes the music industry has had job losses from their retail sector. By cutting out retail as the method of distribution and going direct to consumers there will naturally be job losses. There will be job losses in the print industry – yes. But tablets are far from just being a replacement for print. They will create far more jobs in a variety of other sectors. I would even speculate that because of the surge we are likely to see in independent media there will be more jobs for journalists and those that are involved in media production. Small business in general is a more efficient job creator than large business.
John F,
Nice to see some good old fashioned bravery in listing your surname.
David ??
The operational performance of my
Distribution round has benefitted greatly from Migration and I’m happy to detail the reasons on a topic for Migration if you want to learn how. If you’re interested, let me know by kicking off a topic.
IF what you have said about John F is accurate, then thanks John.
Mark,
I agree we need to think about ourselves and in doing so I have been laying plans for Distribution where Print Newspapers are not the mainstay of my/successors business. Having said that I am currently of the opinion that in Australia, Print Newspapers will remain the mainstay for at least a decade if not two. Of course that opinion can change quite quickly. As quickly as technology can change these days and that is as it should be.
There is nothing new in any of this. Like the Candle-stick maker who embraced electricity rather than steadfastly remaining in denial. It’s a life/generational thing that has gone on since man crawled out of the swamp. No apology to the creationists.
Mark,
I found the stats you put up re on-line publishers subscriptions useful. I wonder why in year-on-year about half of the list dropped numbers. I would have thought with new and exciting toys to play with, the OL Publishers would have been going gang-busters on the numbers. I guess some of them are struggling with the path to success. It would be of some interest to understand the reasons for numbers falling off.
No suggestion of course that the new technology will not, at some stage prevail and whether or not this is a good thing or will mean more or less jobs is irrelevant. The thing is it will be different. I think just the event time frame is arguable.
So why am I looking at things other than media? I guess its because I haven’t thought of a way to get a cut out of whatever next technology arrives from a Distribution point of view. Perhaps buy up a whole heap of tablets and allow them to be used by the HD customers of the day for some sort of a cut?? Like I said, haven’t thought of an angle. haha
So the planning is being done, but I have to say I think it will take a more significant technology trigger point than what is currently on offer to make either Publisher or punters take it up in a really big way. That is say drop off 3 days a week Print Newspapers.
Certainly the base-load publishers in this country are supporting many more years in Print by way of financial investments like the very expensive German made flatwrap machinery ANPL are tacking onto their presses at the moment.
I think the niche independents are quite insignificant in the overall scheme of things and the base-load fellas can easily keep them at bay.
So I think with the realities of today, there is that amount of time (one or two decades) of print being the mainstay, but the bet needs to be hedged.
I am still throwing about the same numbers I was in 2003, using the same measuring stick, but the subagent sales have fallen off in the last few years.
Mark, thanks for taking the time to allow on-going discussions such as these to take place.
Dennis
Mark saying job losses are irrelevant and not our problem is wrong, who pays to feed our families but other workers, we can only make so much out of the unemployed and pensioners before we hit a dead end.
Every job that is lost internally or taken by overseas takes $$$ away from small retailers like us. Take a look at the US and how it is still in a hole because unemployment is so high, a few yrs ago they didn’t care either because their economy was SO strong, we are making the same mistake we run around telling the world we survived the crisis and we are the so good because we have low unemployment but once current spending stops we will get a real indication of how good we faired. More people in jobs means more $$$ they have to spend with small business.
Jarrod How does the NBN connect to your ipad?
Sorry I did mean Jarryd I was not meaning to be rude.
Luke,
The NBN is relevant to any device that connects to the Internet because demand for increased bandwidth is contributed to by tablet devices. HD video and interactive news content, games, cloud computing, IP TV, ect all are part of mobile computing and as the demand for these rapidly increases so too required bandwidth available. The NBN will facilitate this.
Oh and I should have mentioned before that digital media publishers may actually thrive in the tablet economy. Book publishers are not just seeking people transition from print to digital, they’re seeing people who read books electronically read more! I would suspect the same with the music industry. Having content at your fingertips 24/7 is naturally going to lead people to consume more of it. From my own experience I am consuming many many times the amount of news content that I did post tablet (and almost all the news I previously consumed was online). Content markets are not just transferring mediums, they’re expanding at exponential rates as they do it.
Luke,
We buy what we want and what we think we need. We are selfish. Job losses from print are irrelevant because we cannot stop consumer behaviour, progress … call it what you will.
What we can do is to grab our surfboard and ride the waves of change to new opportunities while making the most of today.
But how does the ipad connect to the NBN?
Luke,
WiFi. This is the most common form of connection for tablet devices. The majority of homes connected to the NBN will use a wireless router and business will use a mix of WiFi and Ethernet.
Most people are not opting for the wifi ipads they want the fully mobile version that does not have to search for hotspots and are useless if there is not one around.
People are locking up their wifi hotspots because of others who download huge amounts on other peoples data with no return to the business.
Luke,
Most people will use the 3G connection as a secondary connection only. The data limits, slow download speeds and high cost mean 3G, for many, is not a suitable alternative to WiFi based internet. The majority of data will be carried over the NBN for the simple reason that it will be the only network capable of handling it.
I have the 3G version and only use the 3G connection if I have no WiFi available (which is very rarely).
Hotspots are getting more common as data limits increase and the cost of data declines.