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kscherer
Which way is up?
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Boyzeee
 
2021-09-11, 00:46

*Generalizations ahead. Not pointing fingers at anyone.*



It's not a matter of need, but of compensation for work performed.

Complaints come from those who never experienced distribution prior to the App Store, or who have forgotten what that was like (70+ % of revenue went to publishers, and the leftover 30% was split between retailers and developers). Very little money was made by developers as a percentage compared to today's 70%.

The issue is not with the percentages, but that software lost its value along the way. A game used to cost $49 and was good, and is now $2.99 and sucks ass. A good editing app was $299+, and is now free (with IAP, of course). Photoshop used to be $799 and can now be had for $10/month. Office for Mac was $499 and is now $149. The App Store is directly and solely responsible for cheap-ass software. And by "cheap-ass" I mean crap! Most software is nothing more than junk, whose only value is in data collection for targeted advertising. Margins are razor thin, so developers whine about nickels when they should be thankful for drastically farther reach as a result of drastically cheaper pricing.

Unfortunately, because most software is junk, people have a new expectation that software should be $1, or "free".

When Apple opened the App Store, all developers were ecstatic that they got to keep 70% of revenue rather than the traditional 10-15%. Now, developers act like they deserve 100% and whine when they don't get it. They want the marketing, the payment processing, and the distribution, and they want it for free.

Grief.

I write books, and the traditional agency model takes 70% of revenue. Then, on a good day, I get 10% of the final 30%. With Amazon publishing, I get 70% and I'll take it! Holy cow, it's so much better. And don't tell me it's "different". I put 3 years into a novel—and it's a lot of work—and to get 70% as opposed to 5%? Any author who whines about Amazon's 30% take is a flat-out fool and should be chased out of the business.

Put more effort into your software, stop making your business model about data collection and advertising, and maybe people will buy it. Otherwise, your issue isn't with the bottom line, but that you just don't have anything to sell that people are willing to pay for.

I won't use any app that relies on ads or IAP. If it's not worth $5, then it sure as hell isn't worth $50, and likely isn't worth free. Then, to demand that Apple provide you with all of the tools for nothing while you give back nothing is just absurd.

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- Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. (Mat 5:9)
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