A report today claims that Apple has been talking with publishers over the past few months to create audio versions of their News+ content (via Digiday).
Audio Versions of News+ Content
The report cites sources at four different publishers that say they heard Apple’s pitch. Apple would pay for production costs and compensate publishers at the same rate of written content, a 50/50 split based on how much time subscribers consume their content over a 30-day period.
At first, Apple wanted to make audio versions of content chosen by the Apple News team. However, publishers want to pitch their own stories for audio, as some content in News and News+ is written by freelancers, and freelance contracts usually don’t let publishers or third parties reuse stories elsewhere without consent or additional compensation.
What do you think? Do you prefer to read your news, or would you appreciate listening to someone read it for you? Let us know in the comments.