Report claims it has.
Time Inc is offering iPad issues of its celebrity magazine People to existing subscribers for free, seemingly heralding a breakthrough in Apple's relationship with the publishing industry.
The news was revealed by Fortune journalist Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Fortune is part of the Time Inc. stable - and he says that Fortune and other Time mags will adopt similar policies in the next month.
Why is this a breakthrough? Until now, magazine publishers could sell single issues as standalone apps, or distribute free apps that then sell issues via in-app payments.
What they seemingly couldn't do was sell subscriptions directly to consumers to provide unlimited access on iPad - the money had to go through Apple.
If that has changed, expect many more magazine publishers to follow Time's lead.
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That said, DeWitt's claim that publishers are not allowed to sell subscriptions through the App Store is wide of the mark: UK magazine Attitude is already doing just that.
