11mo ago

Apple vs the “free market”

Pluralistic: Apple vs the “free market” (15 Aug 2024) – Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow

Every artist, performer and creator on Patreon is about to get screwed out of 30% of their gross revenue, which will be diverted to Apple, the most valuable company on the planet. Apple contributes nothing to their work, but it will get to steal a third of their wages. How is this possible? Enshittification.

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11mo ago

Apple vs. the "Free Market"

pluralistic.net /2024/08/15/private-law/

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11mo ago

Apple vs the “free market”

pluralistic.net /2024/08/15/private-law/

22 comments

Easy solution, just delete the Patreon app from your phone. There’s really no need for it anyway, just use the website.
- The Android app should still be fine. I'd expect Apple's move to be followed by a lot of creators adding a "Don't use the iOS Patreon app" to their profiles.
  I mean, apps that are just the website are a bad idea in the first place, but this specific problem is entirely contained to the iOS app. If some people prefer an app to a bookmark, that's on them.
  
  I use the app but all my subs are done through the website. It’s nice getting notifications for new podcast episodes.
  Is Apple going to try and stop this? How would they even do that short of removing the app from the App Store ? I already don’t pay for anything in any iOS apps if there’s an alternative method.
  
  I'd expect Apple's move to be followed by a lot of creators adding a "Don't use the iOS Patreon app"
  I've already received similar posts from a couple of patreon accounts I follow.
- I think you're missing the point.of the essay. He seems to be saying that Apple has decided what content you should be viewing and that they have captured the "free market" because no amount of consumer crying will change it.
  Consuming the content another way won't affect Apple in any way since they'll keep repeating their behavior. The author is saying that the government regulators need to get involved to restore your rights on what you can do with a device that you purchased. Near the end he even goes on to say that you (a consumer) have implicitly waived your right to sue Apple for this.
  I guess the only option is to vote or maybe not use Apple products (but are the alternatives any better?)
can't they just make it free and require membership to be purchased on the web? In other words don't allow membership to be purchased in the app?
- Yes. Many apps already do this. There is some specific wording you have to use since Apple doesn't like when you do that, but yes you can.
  
  more or less you can't link people to your site to purchase membership directly from the app. They have to visit the site themselves
The linked essay is quite long and (at least for me) hard to read. One of the first links in the article is to this patreon blog post, that summarizes the issue well.
As we first announced last year, Apple is requiring that Patreon use their in-app purchasing system and remove all other billing systems from the Patreon iOS app by November 2024.
This has two major consequences for creators:
Apple will be applying their 30% App Store fee to all new memberships purchased in the Patreon iOS app, in addition to anything bought in your Patreon shop.
Any creator currently on first-of-the-month or per-creation billing plans will have to switch over to subscription billing to continue earning in the iOS app, because that’s the only billing type Apple’s in-app purchase system supports.
Before we go any further, we want to be crystal clear about one thing: Apple’s fee will not impact your existing members. It will only affect new memberships purchased in the iOS app from November onward.
- Apple’s fee will not impact your existing members. It will only affect new memberships purchased in the iOS app from November onward.
  Which is contradictory to the first line of the linked essay. Does it suck? Yes. But the author of this “article” is trying to build anti-Apple outrage with this piece. Let’s not pretend any company is altruistic. Even Patreon takes a cut.
  
  Both sides?
  If we want to talk mercenary companies, though, apple is pretty high on the FuckYouBuyMore scale.
  
  Which is contradictory to the first line of the linked essay.
  Is it though?
  Current sign-ups are likely through Patreons own payment system, which will stay as it is. It would be like signing up in the web version, then going on to use the iOS app. That wouldn't suddenly subtract 30% from a payment Apple has no control over.
Oh man… that article is very long but the first 10 or 20 paragraphs make me nauseous.
Capitalism in decline finds new ways to exploit to counter the overall Tendency for the Rate of Profit to Fall.
Too bad apple users can't just access the site in a web browser /s
- Exactly! PWAs (Progressive Web Apps) are a thing, too.
Apple actively encourages subscription models even in third party apps for things that should definitely not be a subscription to give themselves the juiciest cut possible.
Move to ko-fi maybe?
not everything is enshittification.
cory doctorows illustrations still make me want to kill myself

22 comments