[ad_1]
Elon Musk plans to ask Apple CEO Tim Cook to lower the App Store fees X pays on subscriptions purchased via iPhones. The X owner wants Apple to take a 30 percent cut of the subscription revenue it keeps after paying creators, rather than a 30 percent cut of the overall revenue. This would “maximize what creators receive,” he said in a lengthy post/tweet on Wednesday evening.
Apple charges a 30 percent fee on every in-app payment made on apps distributed through the App Store. This includes X subscriptions as well. If you subscribe to a creator on X using the iPhone app, only about 70 percent of the money you pay reaches the creator. Musk says this is a big loss for some creators who “live in tough circumstances.” He added that “even a few hundred dollars a month change their life.”
To ensure that, X will not keep a penny of subscription revenue creators generate for the first twelve months or even longer until the total payout exceeds $100,000. After that, it plans to take a ten percent commission. However, despite its efforts, creators lose money due to Apple’s hefty fees. Musk wants the iPhone maker to relax its policy for X subscriptions and help its efforts of supporting new and emerging creators on the platform.
Apple is unlikely to lower its App Store fees
There’s little chance Cook would entertain Musk’s request, though. The Apple CEO has fielded many such requests and public criticisms over the App Store fees over the years but never budged. Even Musk has previously called out the company publicly over its App Store policies. Matters got so worse at a point that the X owner accused Apple of threatening to withhold the app (called Twitter back then) from the App Store.
The duo eventually resolved the issue after a private meeting, with Musk later clarifying that the whole fiasco was a “misunderstanding.” However, he’s now back targeting Apple’s in-app payment policies. This time around, the world’s richest person is trying to persuade Cook by highlighting the need to support emerging content creators. Time will tell how the Apple CEO responds.
Both X and the creators would benefit if Cook accepted Musk’s proposal, though. While X won’t keep any subscription revenue for a year, a lower App Store fee means creators would reach a total payout of $100,000 sooner. X would then be able to keep ten percent of the revenue itself. The company’s ad revenue has reportedly dropped 50 percent in recent months, so any money would help.
[ad_2]
Source link