But , the cloud-based subscription music service, reacted with outright anger.

"Our philosophy is simple too--an Apple-imposed arrangement that requires us to pay 30 percent of our revenue to Apple, in addition to content fees that we pay to the music labels, publishers and artists, is economically untenable," John Irwin, Rhapsody's president, said in a statement. He said his company "will be collaborating with our market peers in determining an appropriate legal and business response to this latest development."

Other publishers reacted more positively to Apple's new rules. Richard Stephenson, CEO of London-based --which has built more than 60 apps for periodicals ranging from to --said he would advise publishers to put aside their reservations and plant their flag in the iOS platform. Apple's commission may be a steep price, he suggested, but the user-friendliness of the iTunes subscription method may bring a higher number of subscriptions.

"We're a great believer in slick consumer journeys," Stephenson said. "When you take people off the App Store, you lose a lot of people along the way, the dropout rate is pretty high."

There are so many iPads in circulation, Stephenson said, "whatever Apple charges, you have to be there. Don't fight it, run with it."