4 ms·

" (Apple takes a 30 percent cut of subscriptions for the first year a customer is signed up and 15 percent for each year thereafter." That is a considerable am

" (Apple takes a 30 percent cut of subscriptions for the first year a customer is signed up and 15 percent for each year thereafter." That is a considerable amount of paper.. How do you make any money when their cut is so high? Anybody with experience? I wonder how this shakes out annually with an app like Netflix.

pwinnski 7y ago
Netflix doesn't give up 30% or 15%. It's listed as an example of a "Reader" app, so Netflix subscriptions take place entirely outside of Apple's infrastructure[0] and therefore Apple get zero of that money. > How do you make any money... The remaining 70%/85% is a pretty good start. As they say before that point, "developers have earned more than $120 billion worldwide" [0] The point Apple glosses over here is that Netflix isn't even allowed to provide a link back to their site for subscribing within the app, which seems difficult to defend.
- just_myles 7y ago
  Fair enough. Still a rather large margin. More to the article's/ your point, not being able to provide a link back to your app is kind of kind of anti-competitive. They want you to subscribe using their own systems.
- pkamb 7y ago
  Netflix only recently removed in-app subscriptions; before that they were paying X% to Apple for every subscriber who paid via iTunes. And still are for anyone who is still paying that way. Although surely it was a sweetheart deal always below 30%, and potentially below the 15%.
- xvector 7y ago
  > The point Apple glosses over here is that Netflix isn't even allowed to provide a link back to their site for subscribing within the app, which seems difficult to defend. How is it difficult to defend? If I am selling my product in a Target, I am not allowed to put stickers all over it telling people to buy it from Amazon instead. No reasonable storefront would allow this, really.
ppeetteerr 7y ago
Don't sell on the App Store if you can't handle the 30% margin.

pwinnski 7y ago

Netflix doesn't give up 30% or 15%. It's listed as an example of a "Reader" app, so Netflix subscriptions take place entirely outside of Apple's infrastructure[0] and therefore Apple get zero of that money. > How do you make any money... The remaining 70%/85% is a pretty good start. As they say before that point, "developers have earned more than $120 billion worldwide" [0] The point Apple glosses over here is that Netflix isn't even allowed to provide a link back to their site for subscribing within the app, which seems difficult to defend.

just_myles 7y ago
Fair enough. Still a rather large margin. More to the article's/ your point, not being able to provide a link back to your app is kind of kind of anti-competitive. They want you to subscribe using their own systems.
pkamb 7y ago
Netflix only recently removed in-app subscriptions; before that they were paying X% to Apple for every subscriber who paid via iTunes. And still are for anyone who is still paying that way. Although surely it was a sweetheart deal always below 30%, and potentially below the 15%.
xvector 7y ago
> The point Apple glosses over here is that Netflix isn't even allowed to provide a link back to their site for subscribing within the app, which seems difficult to defend. How is it difficult to defend? If I am selling my product in a Target, I am not allowed to put stickers all over it telling people to buy it from Amazon instead. No reasonable storefront would allow this, really.

ppeetteerr 7y ago

Don't sell on the App Store if you can't handle the 30% margin.