What's next for Big in Japan: Publishing!
Big in Japan is a mobile application publishing company based in Dallas, Texas. Our team built and distributed the popular ShopSavvy application for Android. Since winning the Google Android Challenge, our team has negotiated distribution and promotion agreements with more than a dozen carriers and handset manufacturers. These agreements have resulted in thousands of news articles, hundreds of television appearances, Super Bowl and Oscar commercials, billboards and countless blog mentions for ShopSavvy. Along the way we have built relationships with WPP, Omnicom and various brands including Visa and Discover. Then a strange thing happened. Our various carrier and advertising partners began introducing us to developers they wanted to work with, but for some reason couldn’t. We began helping these developers, making introductions, providing advice, technical assistance and generally making the carriers and advertisers more comfortable. It dawned on us that we might be able to help other developers leverage the relationships and experience we have been built over the past two years. Thus our mobile application publishing concept was born. Our objective is to become a well-known and trusted mobile application-publishing brand.
We offer developers a very simple publishing model: To start we allow the Developer to keep 100% of all revenue generated through the sale of their application. We then use our relationships with carriers and advertisers to help distribute and monetize the application. Any revenue generated by these alternative methods will be split equally between the Developer and Big in Japan. The case for publishing:
Consumers and advertisers need to be able to trust the developer. Publishers can provide:
• Clear and concise code of conduct and set of ethics.
• Assurance of data security.
o Prevention of illegal or improper collection or sale of user data.
o Prevention of inadvertent exposure of user data.
• Assurance of standard minimum level of application quality.
o Consistent user experience.
o Assurance of good technical design (e.g. battery preservation)
• Dependability of backend platform (servers, bandwidth, load balancing)
• Financial viability of developer (stable legal entity with which to do business)
• Standardized terms and conditions as well as privacy policies.
• Regular, but stable new release and update process and schedule.
Developers need additional revenue sources (besides retail sales). Publisher can provide:
• Identification of advertisers and sponsors.
• Negotiation of advertising revenue agreements.
• Identification of distribution partners (carriers and handset makers).
• Negotiation of distribution agreements.
Developers often need expertise and advice. Publisher can help:
• Trademark and copyright applications.
• File a patent application to protect the technology.
• Provide access to scores of beta testers and additional resources.
• Provide access to real world, on staff, developers with experience with Android, iPhone, RIM, Windows Mobile and other mobile platforms.
Contact Alexander Muse 1+214.550.2003 or amuse@biggu.com for more information or to review our proposed publishing agreement.
Have you looked at the Tax implications of this?
I know from experience that if you’re US based an you publish the app of a non-US developer the IRS may want you to withhold up to 30% of the money you pass to the non-US developer.
I’d hate to see a good idea like this cause you guys severe financial trouble when the IRS come knocking.
Sounds like an awesome idea. I look forward to your upcoming titles for Android.
After the elated initial reaction I started to punching holes in this idea.
How will you evaluate and satisfy requirements that are related to technical aspects like data being handled, battery conservation, servers side baseline criteria etc? I’m not implying it’s not possible but that it would require resource, i.e. time and money.
Do you have already UI guidelines? Perhaps something similar to what Apple has created a long while ago…
How can you as a publisher provide regular cycle of releases? I guess it would mean Big In Japan getting involved more in the Android application developers’ business plans and doing consultation for them.
Don’t get me wrong, I fully support the initiative and I would really like to see more great and consistent Android apps (perhaps one/some of them being mine) and to have publishers supporting them.
Cheers!
Shonzilla
LOL, don’t get me started about the IRS. We have a way around this – i.e. we have non-US based operating entities that will publish non-US based applications.
Here goes:
Q: How will you evaluate and satisfy requirements that are related to technical aspects like data being handled, battery conservation, servers side baseline criteria etc? I’m not implying it’s not possible but that it would require resource, i.e. time and money.
A: We have two resources assigned to these tasks initially. One infrastructure focused resource and one Android focused resource. As we gain traction we will add more resources. We expect that this will be time consuming and expensive.
Q: Do you have already UI guidelines? Perhaps something similar to what Apple has created a long while ago…
A: There are a set of UI guidelines for Android and iPhone. We will have developers attempt to follow them as closely as feasible. Our goal is usability and quality – sometimes breaking the rules is justified. Our model is to focus on the user – if it is good for them – it is good enough for us.
Q: How can you as a publisher provide regular cycle of releases? I guess it would mean Big In Japan getting involved more in the Android application developers’ business plans and doing consultation for them.
A: Our goal is not to develop the developers application, but to assist in the publishing process. Developers who use Big in Japan as a publisher will release their code ONLY to Big in Japan. Whenever the developer has a new release available we will ‘vet’ it and run a beta with our own beta users and only after we get a version without exceptions will we release. This is for the benefit of the consumer, developer and sponsors.