Apple to halve commission for developers turning over up to $1m in sales via App Store
- Reference: 1605719408
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/11/18/apple_to_halve_commission_for_small_devs/
- Source link:
SME devs that qualify for the App Store Small Business Programme will be charged a 15 per cent commission as long as the net sales they generate from Apple's platform in the previous calendar year was $1m or less. Presently, Apple charges a flat 30 per cent commission.
"Small businesses are the backbone of our global economy and the beating heart of innovation in communities around the world," said Apple CEO Tim Cook. "We're launching this programme to help small business owners write the next chapter of creativity and prosperity on the App Store.
"The App Store has been an engine of economic growth like none other, creating millions of new jobs and a pathway to entrepreneurship accessible to anyone with a great idea. Our new program carried that progress forward – helping developers fund their small businesses, take risks on new ideas, expand their teams and continue to make apps that enrich people's lives."
The incoming scheme launches on 1 January and lands, says Apple, during a time of "unprecedented global economic challenge."
It's interesting that Apple chose the term "small business" because it was [1]reported Apple persuaded Amazon in 2017 to make a Prime Video app for iOS by agreeing to only take a, er, 15 per cent revenue cut from the software.
Epic pressure
It also can't be a coincidence that Apple's gesture comes as myriad large developers make forceful complaints about the practises of Apple and the 30 per cent commission it charges devs.
Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite, tried to sidestep Apple's commission structure [2]earlier this year by offering players a promo to buy in-game currency and other products directly for 20 per cent cheaper than the iOS App Store in-app price.
Apple then kicked Epic out of the App Store with immediate effect – instead of the typical fortnight grace period – and revoked the Unreal Engine dev tool. [3]Apple claimed that Epic wanted to use its "innovation, intellectual property and user trust" for free. This led to a tit-for-tat filing of legal papers by both sides.
Apple Arm M1 Macs ship... tho don't expect all open-source apps to work – here's the list you need to know [4]READ MORE
A federal judge has already questioned [5]why Apple takes a 30 per cent slice of developers' revenues as she ruled that Apple could not lock out Epic's access to the Unreal Engine but would not order the return of Fortnite to the iOS App Store.
The case is [6]set to go to trial in July next year .
Microsoft has [7]jumped into the fray by siding with Epic, while [8]Spotify and ProtonMail also rose up against the 30 per cent commission. A source told us that Apple used to charge music publishers a 30 per cent commission on sales in the iTunes store and rolled that figure into the App Store too.
Investigations by the [9]European Commission into Apple App Store practises may also have played a part in Apple's decision to soften its stance towards commission and small developers.
This move may not be well received by developers that generate tens of millions of dollars via the App Store. Typically, discounts are given to customers with higher volumes, just not in Apple's world. ®
Get our [10]Tech Resources
[1] https://twitter.com/markgurman/status/1288621178945323010?
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2020/08/14/epic_games_apple/
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2020/08/22/apple_epic_lawsuit/
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2020/11/18/apple_silicon_compatibility/
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2020/08/25/epic_vs_apple/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2020/09/29/apple_epic_july_trial/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2020/08/24/microsoft_sides_with_epic_over/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2020/09/24/app_apple_developers/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2020/06/16/eu_apple_competition_investigations/
[10] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
RE: walls
And it just goes to prove how many people will willingly walk into those restrictive walls of their own accord. Being thankful, actually, that someone else can make the claim that their interests are being 'looked after', washing their hands of the [personal] responsibility whilst getting their fix of Shiny.
unless Apple employs huge numbers of dedicated App Store-related staff
I’m not a specialist, neither am I going to try to justify the tax take, but presumably verifying all the apps takes more than a couple of PFYs?
It's wholly automated
If the dice roll is a double six, your app is rejected and it's very nearly impossible to find a human to ask why and what you should change.
The marginal running cost of the apple app store is very close to zero - their only real cost is the payment processing, which is probably less than 5 cents per payment transaction.
Aside from that, I can't see how Apple can justify taking a 30% cut of App Store purchases when said store hasn't changed much in years
They're not charging for the app store itself. They're charging for access to [1]an upscale audience that [2]spends significantly more money on apps than Android users .
[1] https://buildfire.com/ios-android-users/
[2] https://insights.dice.com/2017/05/01/ios-android-users-spending-habits/
Still need to kill the walled garden, die lock-in die.
We don’t want the likes of you pissing on our fliers, thank you.
"the typical fortnight grace period"
I see what you did there.
A bearded twat in a cafe in Hoxton writes...
I love Apple and I have volunteered to pay a commission of 157% and I don’t even have an app on the store because I work in ‘social’.
"It can't be a coincidence that Apple's gesture also comes as myriad large developers make forceful complaints about the practises of Apple and the 30 per cent commission it charges devs."
So refreshing to see the correct use of "myriad" rather than the all too common and incorrect use such as "a myriad of".
Aside from that, I can't see how Apple can justify taking a 30% cut of App Store purchases when said store hasn't changed much in years and so ongoing development costs would be either very low or close to zero, unless Apple employs huge numbers of dedicated App Store-related staff?
They're just a greedy company who are willing to shaft both customers and developers, and they mostly get away with it because of the lock-in to their walled garden.