Comment by DANmode

Comment by DANmode 4 days ago

21 replies

If their app didn’t exist on iOS,

would it be weird/embarrassing for Apple?

That’s what “popular” means, in this context.

That’s how they make their decisions.

Imustaskforhelp 4 days ago

I feel like it would definitely be weird.

But Patreon does have a web version but I am not sure how many people prefer web sites in Apple ecosystem especially on Ios so I do find the whole thing to be a bit weird because this ~30% cut essentially seems to rip off of creators in some sense.

  • Nextgrid 4 days ago

    Patreon is a very niche app in the grand scheme of things. There's the saying that only 1% of web visitors ever stop by and actually contribute, and I'd expect that number to drop to 0.001% when it comes to contributing monetarily through a tool like Patreon. This is an absolutely tiny minority.

    Hell I'd argue more people are upset about the lack of an OnlyFans app than Patreon. OF has way more brand-recognition (outside of tech) than Patreon.

  • barnabee 3 days ago

    I follow a number of creators on Patreon and have never once thought I want/need a Patreon app.

  • DANmode 4 days ago

    It rips off everyone.

    Epic Games went to federal court over this with Apple like 40 fuckin times - a related fun read for you.

    • simondotau 3 days ago

      I’d be cheering on Epic Games if they were going after Sony and Nintendo with equal fervour. Personally, I don’t see why any developer should be allowed free rein on anyone else’s platform when it comes to the selling of games and virtual hats.

      Personally I think Apple should have two pricing tiers: one for interactive entertainment, and one for everything else. For interactive entertainment, a flat 30% on everything. For everything else, Apple lowers their margin to cover transaction costs only (in the realm of 5-10%).

      • troupo 3 days ago

        That's what Apple already doing: applying arbitrary categories and charging arbitrary amounts of money because "transaction costs and platform or something".

        1. Where the hell is the notion of "using the platform for free" even coming from (it's coming from Apple of course). I didn't know that iPhones are free, or that dev fees are waived for everyone.

        2. Why the hell can't I use a different payment processor tham Apple and tell people about it? Then I'm neither using Apple's platform "for free" nor paying Apple's transaction fees.

      • fc417fc802 3 days ago

        > I don’t see why any developer should be allowed free rein on anyone else’s platform

        Is it a "platform" the way a console is or is it a public marketplace? I'd think the distinction comes down to size relative to the rest of the market. If I run a private club that caters to a only a few people I'm not impacting anyone else. Whereas if I run a giant chain of so called "private clubs" that in reality 50% of the town purchases their groceries from then perhaps some scrutiny by the regulator is in order.

      • musicale 2 days ago

        Many people on HN seem to think that it's perfectly OK for Nintendo or Sony to charge a 30% platform fee for Fortnite but somehow not OK for Apple (or Google) to charge a 30% platform fee for Fortnite.

        Epic wants to force Apple to lower its platform fees so that it can pay lower fees to Apple for Fortnite (technically IAP since Fortnite is "free to play") than what it pays to Sony and Nintendo (or Google for that matter) for Fortnite.

      • DANmode 3 days ago

        I hope my comments don’t come off as “cheering” for any of these parties...