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Holding Apple Accountable: The Future of the Internet Economy Depends on It

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Re: Holding Apple Accountable: The Future of the Internet Economy Depends on It

#21

If I write an app for the app store and sell it for $10, apple gets $3. If I sell it for $5, apple gets $1.5. If I sell a subscription for $10/month they get $3 a month. Apple's work is the same for all of these. Their monopolistic position is how they can demand a pretty exorbitant 30% cut. Walmart, Costco, et al wish they had a 30% profit on everything the sold. For the record I don't even really like Spotify that…

To be precise it is 30% revenue. They have costs. And they allow free apps! Every free app that gets downloads and doesn’t monetize at all is pure cost for them.

The already cheap cost of distributing data gets cheaper by the day. For an entity like Apple, with its vast economies of scale, distribution costs are negligible.

Re: Holding Apple Accountable: The Future of the Internet Economy Depends on It

#22
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They're a retailer...?

And what do you think the App Store is?

It's not a retail store. The App Store does not purchase, hold, and resell inventory from wholesalers. These are necessary functions to be considered retail.

Re: Holding Apple Accountable: The Future of the Internet Economy Depends on It

#25

If I write an app for the app store and sell it for $10, apple gets $3. If I sell it for $5, apple gets $1.5. If I sell a subscription for $10/month they get $3 a month. Apple's work is the same for all of these. Their monopolistic position is how they can demand a pretty exorbitant 30% cut. Walmart, Costco, et al wish they had a 30% profit on everything the sold. For the record I don't even really like Spotify that…

30% is not exorbitant when comparing to say, Walmart, who purchase products wholesale for up to 50% less then retail pricing (depending on the product category).

In fact, when 30% was announced, it was considered generous compared to what developers were paying Best Buy, CompUSA, mobile carriers, etc before that.

Re: Holding Apple Accountable: The Future of the Internet Economy Depends on It

#26

I don’t see Spotify making any suggestion of a solution that addresses their concerns without boxing Apple out of the payment process entirely. I get why what Apple has in place is onerous. I also see that Apple needs to get paid somehow. So what’s the third option? Edit: My vote for the third option has always been, and remains, allowing of side loading apps. And this can be only for users who enable it. But it seem…

I side with you. A bit tongue in cheek, the 3rd option will probably this here: sooner or later this is going to end in another anti-trust trial or at least here in Europe, in a another regulation attempt.

Maybe they can look at how much spotify pays the artists who are literally their only product as well. They want to complain about apple rent seeking with part of their businees when their entire business is rent seeking.

They can fuck off.

Re: Holding Apple Accountable: The Future of the Internet Economy Depends on It

#27

>-Tell customers what our prices are to upgrade Premium membership options; surely if I upgrade it tells me the price before I purchase the upgrade? they are complaining that they can't advertise it in the app? >-Let our customers request an email or other communication telling them about the ways they can save money; seems like "let our customers request" is doing a lot of work here >-Provide our customers with diff…

> surely if I upgrade it tells me the price before I purchase the upgrade? they are complaining that they can't advertise it in the app?

You're basically not allowed to list your prices or describe how to subscribe (unless it's via Apple's in-app purchases, where they take 30% for doing nothing).

> ah, so no crypto?

No, and no credit/debit cards, PayPal, etc. either. Only Apple's in-app purchases are allowed on Apple platforms. You're not allowed to hint that other payment options are available, either.

Re: Holding Apple Accountable: The Future of the Internet Economy Depends on It

#28
post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And what do you think the App Store is?

It's not a retail store. The App Store does not purchase, hold, and resell inventory from wholesalers. These are necessary functions to be considered retail.

You do not seem to know how retail works, and have created an arbitrary definition of it to exclude the App Store.

Re: Holding Apple Accountable: The Future of the Internet Economy Depends on It

#29

If I write an app for the app store and sell it for $10, apple gets $3. If I sell it for $5, apple gets $1.5. If I sell a subscription for $10/month they get $3 a month. Apple's work is the same for all of these. Their monopolistic position is how they can demand a pretty exorbitant 30% cut. Walmart, Costco, et al wish they had a 30% profit on everything the sold. For the record I don't even really like Spotify that…

To be precise it is 30% revenue. They have costs. And they allow free apps! Every free app that gets downloads and doesn’t monetize at all is pure cost for them.

Apple charges 99$ per year to publish apps.

Apple has ads in the App Store.

I am not asking for a PhD thesis. I am asking for five minutes of middle school level googling.

Re: Holding Apple Accountable: The Future of the Internet Economy Depends on It

#30

If I write an app for the app store and sell it for $10, apple gets $3. If I sell it for $5, apple gets $1.5. If I sell a subscription for $10/month they get $3 a month. Apple's work is the same for all of these. Their monopolistic position is how they can demand a pretty exorbitant 30% cut. Walmart, Costco, et al wish they had a 30% profit on everything the sold. For the record I don't even really like Spotify that…

Aren't you free to use Android instead?

Which has the exact same pricing structure?
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