Apple Acquires Texture With An Eye Toward Boosting Services Revenue

Apple announced Tuesday (March 13) that it is acquiring Texture, a digital magazine subscription service owned by Next Issue Media.

In a blog post, the Cupertino, California technology company said the service gives customers unlimited access to magazines for a monthly subscription fee. Texture offers customers the choice of more than 200 magazines. “We’re excited Texture will join Apple, along with an impressive catalog of magazines from many of the world’s leading publishers,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services in the blog post announcing the deal. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. “We are committed to quality journalism from trusted sources and allowing magazines to keep producing beautifully designed and engaging stories for users.”

Texture launched in 2010 and since then has become a leading player in offering digital subscriptions to magazines. In 2016 it was chosen by the editorial team at Apple’s App Store for its annual Best Of Selections, which recognizes innovative apps and games for iOS users. “I’m thrilled that Next Issue Media, and its award-winning Texture app, are being acquired by Apple,” said John Loughlin, CEO of Next Issue Media/Texture in the same blog post. “The Texture team and its current owners, Condé Nast, Hearst, Meredith, Rogers Media and KKR, could not be more pleased or excited with this development. We could not imagine a better home or future for the service.” The move on the part of Apple to acquire Texture comes as the iPhone maker is beefing up its services business that has reoccurring revenue. Currently, that business includes its streaming music service and digital payments. According to The Wall Street Journal, Apple has a goal to boost revenue from the services business to $40 billion by 2020. For the fiscal year ending in September, it had close to $30 billion in revenue from services, noted the WSJ.