Nick Heer on Patreon Creators Paying the Full 30 Percent App Store Rate for New Subscriptions
Nick Heer, writing at Pixel Envy:
The 30% fee is also notable. As far as I can tell, only a
handful of Patreon users would exceed the million-dollar
annual threshold for Apple’s Small Business Program. That
is, everyone who earns less than a million dollars per year
through iOS Patreon pledges should, in theory, fork over a 15%
commission rate to Apple. But it appears it is Patreon itself
which is subject to the 30% rate. Whether that decision was made
by Apple or Patreon, of if it is something which is a consequence
of how App Store billing works, is unclear to me. But one thing is
true regardless: Apple’s 30% commission is at least double
the rate charged by Patreon itself, and only the latter has any
material effect on the relationship between a creative
professional and their supporters.
The problem here reminds me of e-books. There’s really only room for one middleman in a relationship between a creator and their audience, and in this case that middleman has been Patreon. But now Apple is saying they’re required to be involved too. But the Patreon app doesn’t qualify for the Small Business Program, so in-app subscriptions through the Patreon app are split 70/30 with Apple for the first year. But the vast majority of Patreon creators would, if they were app developers, qualify for the Small Business Program and the in-app subscription split would be 85/15 instead. But nobody wants each and every Patreon creator to build their own apps. The whole point of Patreon is that it’s a centralized platform.
The whole notion of a platform like Patreon just doesn’t fit with the App Store’s model of taking a fee out of every single transaction for digital goods or services. It could, perhaps, if Apple were willing to only accept a commission from Patreon’s own share — a commission on a commission — but they’re not.
Lastly, I suppose it’s implicit here that a lot Patreon users go through the iOS app. But I can’t help but think they should do what Substack does and just not allow paid subscriptions through the app. I just double-checked this was still true, and it seems to be. Substack’s iOS app lets you subscribe only to free subscriptions in-app. If you tap “Manage Subscription” in the app, you’re presented with a sheet that says, unhelpfully, “You cannot manage your subscription in the app.” (It’s Apple’s odious anti-steering rules that disallow apps like Substack from explaining where you can manage your subscription, which, of course, is on the web.)
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Nick Heer, writing at Pixel Envy:
The 30% fee is also notable. As far as I can tell, only a
handful of Patreon users would exceed the million-dollar
annual threshold for Apple’s Small Business Program. That
is, everyone who earns less than a million dollars per year
through iOS Patreon pledges should, in theory, fork over a 15%
commission rate to Apple. But it appears it is Patreon itself
which is subject to the 30% rate. Whether that decision was made
by Apple or Patreon, of if it is something which is a consequence
of how App Store billing works, is unclear to me. But one thing is
true regardless: Apple’s 30% commission is at least double
the rate charged by Patreon itself, and only the latter has any
material effect on the relationship between a creative
professional and their supporters.
The problem here reminds me of e-books. There’s really only room for one middleman in a relationship between a creator and their audience, and in this case that middleman has been Patreon. But now Apple is saying they’re required to be involved too. But the Patreon app doesn’t qualify for the Small Business Program, so in-app subscriptions through the Patreon app are split 70/30 with Apple for the first year. But the vast majority of Patreon creators would, if they were app developers, qualify for the Small Business Program and the in-app subscription split would be 85/15 instead. But nobody wants each and every Patreon creator to build their own apps. The whole point of Patreon is that it’s a centralized platform.
The whole notion of a platform like Patreon just doesn’t fit with the App Store’s model of taking a fee out of every single transaction for digital goods or services. It could, perhaps, if Apple were willing to only accept a commission from Patreon’s own share — a commission on a commission — but they’re not.
Lastly, I suppose it’s implicit here that a lot Patreon users go through the iOS app. But I can’t help but think they should do what Substack does and just not allow paid subscriptions through the app. I just double-checked this was still true, and it seems to be. Substack’s iOS app lets you subscribe only to free subscriptions in-app. If you tap “Manage Subscription” in the app, you’re presented with a sheet that says, unhelpfully, “You cannot manage your subscription in the app.” (It’s Apple’s odious anti-steering rules that disallow apps like Substack from explaining where you can manage your subscription, which, of course, is on the web.)