Apple exploring audio versions of written Apple News+ stories

Audio content could be the boost Apple News+ needs.

What you need to know

• Apple News+ might be getting a game-changing new feature.
• Several publishers have been approached by Apple regarding turning written stories into audio.
• It could mean that subscribers could listen, rather than read premium Apple News+ content.

A report suggests that several Apple News+ publishers have been approached over the prospect of turning Apple News+ content into audio.

According to a report from Digiday:

Apple News+ is pivoting to audio.

Over the past several months, Apple has been asking the publishers participating in its year-old premium program for permission to produce audio versions of the stories distributed there, according to sources at four different publishers that have heard the pitch.

According to the report, Apple will handle production costs of converting the written content into audio, and would compensate publishers in the same way they are compensated for their written content. Currently, Apple distributes 50% of its subscriber revenue to publishers, based on how much time people spend reading their content in a month.

It seems that initially, Apple wanted permission to turn any story it wanted into audio. According to DigiDay, this has been revised so that publishers will instead "pitch pieces to Apple, partly to avoid any roadblocks relating to intellectual property." This in part would solve the issue of reusing content written and produced by freelancers.

Publishers are apparently skeptical of the proposal, despite the fact it would come at no extra cost to them and generate extra income:

Even with Apple handling most of the heavy lifting, several publishers regard the plans skeptically, three sources said. One said it has not seen evidence that Apple News's audience will want to listen to audio versions of their stories. A second worried that if Apple emphasizes audio for News+, it could further skew the picture of who gets compensated: Listening to a story, after all, takes longer than reading one.

Apple News+, unlike Apple's other services, has really struggled to get off the ground in terms of uptake and subscriptions. The report notes that one publisher states that the revenue from Apple News+ had not changed since the product launched in March, suggesting stagnant subscriber numbers. Could the addition of audio content, essentially a news podcasting service, be the feature that propels Apple News+ into mainstream user uptake? Would you be more inclined to subscribe to Apple News+ if it offered audio, as well as written content? Not to mention that this would make the service much more accessible to visually impaired users of iOS. Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

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