Adam Collins' Tumblelog
Marco.org: Subscriptions and the new In-App Purchase requirement
What if major publishers, such as the New York Times or The Wall Street Journal (whose current app violates this new policy, along with Hulu, Netflix, Kindle, The Economist, and countless others), decide that they don’t want to offer their services through IAP (at 30% less revenue per customer) and just cancel their current or future iOS apps?
Don’t we all lose?
The discussion shouldn’t be whether Apple can enforce this policy, but whether they should. And if you look at what this does to developer relations, big and small, it’s easier to argue that this is likely to result in more harm than good to the iOS platform.
Apple’s just enforcing what has been an inevitability: iOS as a pay-to-play platform. Publishers will bitch, customers will groan, but over time the iOS platform will be (far and away) the most satisfying and lucrative marketplace for digital content.
By enforcing the 30% cut for all new and existing iOS apps and IAP content, Apple is leveling the playing field for their platform. Take it or leave it, the platform will be fair. At 30%, the content publishers can’t afford running paper-thin margins and still be on iOS natively. I think Apple’s ok with that.
What publishers and customers are really complaining about is that none of Apple’s competitors — Google, Microsoft, HP/Palm, Sony, RIM — have anything comparable to offer against iOS and the App Store. Only Amazon offers any real competition, and even then with a platform of serious limitations.
(Source: marco)
