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Discussion on: Apple to Reduce App Store Commissions for Small Businesses in 2021

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theklr profile image
Kevin R • Edited

While I'm happy as a developer that this provides more opportunities in revenue. I am appalled in DHH, Epic and the like who will use this as ammunition for public narrative. I understand their reasoning as well in wanting a fairer cut, but being multi-hyphenate entrepreneurs that have already made their Ms (off of Apples Codebase and consumer market), it's seems just as bad as Apple. I hope eventually we stop getting these flashy articles featuring them "fighting the good fight" and nuanced articles of the majority of developers under the constraints of the ecosystem. It's really hard to see multi-millionaires a fight trillion-dollar corporation, when your nowhere in their stratosphere.

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jmfayard profile image
Jean-Michel πŸ•΅πŸ»β€β™‚οΈ Fayard • Edited

The reverse pretty much is true. Apple made much much more than millions off the work of DHH and the thousands of developers whose services are what make Apple's hardware valuable.

Now the issue at hand is that a significant part of this huge profit comes from monopoly power which is bad for the economy as any standard book will tell you.

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theklr profile image
Kevin R • Edited

I agree with the first but not the later statement. Apple isn't a monopoly, in the legal space... do we need a modernization of what constitutes monopolies? Definitely. All of these large complaints came from their ability to develop within Apple's ecosystem, and sure they may have made them money, but they're not sole contributors to moving Apple's hardware. No one is buying Apple Products for them and them alone. Apple is following just like the rest of them being a business that protect the interest of their shareholders. Apple provides the code, hardware and security that they don't have to worry about. Does it merit 30%? I'm not one to say, but I'm also not competing on platform that I don't agree with.
Besides... I really think unionization could fix this mess, but that's something most of these people don't want to hear. For some odd reason, collective bargaining scares these people.

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jmfayard profile image
Jean-Michel πŸ•΅πŸ»β€β™‚οΈ Fayard

Does it merit 30%? I'm not one to say

The free market is the one supposed to answer this question. But free markets only exists if the regulators intervene to dismantle monopoly powers. There is this misconception that because Android exists, iOS is not a monopoly. But that's not true, the same economic logic and the same rules apply if there is a duopoly. Take only the grip that Apple has on safari/iOS. This alone is worse than what Microsoft did with internet explorer.

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theklr profile image
Kevin R

But 30% is the margin, that's why it was dismissed in the first case. That's where I don't agree with these larger companies. The starting dev? Fine, but the last time I check Spotify, Bascamp/DHH, and Epic are doing fine with Sony and Playstation's margins, Nintendo, and Xbox's respectively which also take their 30%. If it was across the board? Fair, but singling out Apple like they're special in doing this is not great legal standing.
At least lobby some [insert legal representatives] and fix the laws in your favor first.