"[Substack] announced that all writers would be required to offer Apple’s in-app purchase (IAP) payment option. That means that Apple will be collecting a 30% fee for all subscriptions purchased on Substack via IAP."
This is what happens when you depend on a walled garden inside a walled garden
https://mail.bigdeskenergy.com/p/substack-just-killed-creator-economy
We really need to start pushing the truth about AI.
The easiest job for AI to replace would be Management.
Uses the most resources, while offering the least amount of actual productivity.
Reads something by some idiot on the internet, and bases their Management Style around it.
Makes decisions without context.
If your AI features are so amazing, charge people extra for them and watch them pay.
The only reason to bundle AI and raise prices is that deep down you know the features aren't good enough to pay for, but you have to recoup the money you spent on them. And guess what, everyone is taking this option. Weird, right?
If you're using the External Link entitlement, you must use Apple's API for linking out (so they can track you), and your transactions are also subject to a +5% Core Technology Commission.
(Total commission using external links: 15% for small business program, 20% for everybody else)
There is a long table explaining what the difference between Tier 1 and Tier 2 is. If you choose to pay the reduced store services rate, you lose: expedited app review, automatic updates, school/business store, you only show in App Store search for an exact match, no user reviews, no in-app events, no recommendations, you will never be featured by Editorial, have no access to promo codes, and no analytics. It really is a stripped-down version of App Store hosting
https://developer.apple.com/help/app-store-connect/reference/store-services-tiers
Apple's distribution options will only be DMA compliant if and when e.g. a third party music app can match or undercut Apple Music's pricing without wiping out its own profit margin.
Apple's new terms might not be the colossal 'fuck you' the Core Technology Fee was to developers, but they amount to keeping the status quo, not truly enabling competition or following the law
Will Apple's new EU fee structure pass this time?
It all boils down to: can an app trying to compete with an Apple app offer the same level of pricing that Apple has.
And the answer is, still, no. Apple still maintains the unfair advantage in both discoverability and in pricing, so by definition their proposal does not satisfy the DMA. It might reduce their rate from 30% to 12%, if you eschew App Store discoverability, but that's still 12% more than any Apple app has to pay or needs to charge
Anuj Ahooja
Ricki Yasha Tarr
Stephen Robles
Russell Ivanovic
Steve Troughton-Smith