Eddy Cue On E-Book Pricing: “We Can’t Treat Newspapers or Magazines Any Differently Than We Treat FarmVille.”

In an interesting development regarding the U.S Justice Department’s on-going investigation into publishers (allegedly) price-fixing e-books on both Apple’s Newsstand and the iBookstore, Senior Vice President Of Internet Software and Services – Eddy Cue – this week issued a statement to News Corp-owned The Wall Street Journal noting that the company was only trying to continue its App Store business model.

Highlighting that it would be wrong for Apple to treat newspapers or magazines any differently than it does with iOS apps, Cue stuck firmly to the firm’s own beliefs that it should be allowed to take 30% “revenue share payable” for individual edition purchases, under the new ‘Agency’ pricing model.

‘I don’t think you understand. We can’t treat newspapers or magazines any differently than we treat FarmVille,” Cue reportedly noted.

Noting how despite his own arguments presented to Cue last year the executive insisted that there was “no difference between a newspaper and an online game,” Crovitz highlighted that the statement arrives as a “sobering reminder” that the more traditional media brands may no longer hold a place in this new digital age.

Despite recent criticism of how Apple is perceived to be handling the sale of newspapers and magazines through its highly-successful iTunes store, though, it appears the demand for such digital content is showing no signs of slowing down.

In fact, according to a new study conducted last month by research firm Distimo, users are now said to be spending (on average) $70,000 on news and magazine content for viewing on their iPad – per day.

With a user conversion rate that high, you can probably see why Apple is fighting to keep its 30% cut.

/ 9to5Mac