Apple buys Texture magazine service in subscription push

Apple said it is acquiring Texture, a digital magazine service that lets users subscribe to more than 200 magazines for $9.99 a month.

Texture, offered via the app stores of Apple, Google and Amazon.com, bolsters Apple’s efforts in online services and media. The Cupertino, California, company aims to top $50 billion in annual services revenue by 2021, and a magazine subscription service would likely contribute to that.

The deal may help Apple boost relations with news outlets that have become wary of Facebook and Google. Some publishers reported losing online traffic from Facebook after the social media network recently refocused on content from friends and family.

Texture’s magazine catalog includes Entertainment Weekly, Billboard, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and Bloomberg Businessweek. The app is currently run by Next Issue Media, owned by a group of publishers and other companies including Hearst Corp., Meredith Corp., News Corp., Rogers Communications Inc. In 2014, private-equity firm KKR invested $50 million in the company.