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App Store Cuts Into Creator Patreon Pay

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From Dean Simons at The Comics Beat:

Apple has caused consternation in the creative space as it requires Patreon – the creator monetisation service – to move all purchases and subscriptions made via its iOS app through its own integrated payment system which takes a 30% cut.

From Patreon:

Apple is requiring us to use iOS in-app purchases for digital goods and new memberships beginning in November 2024. We are implementing this requirement to keep the Patreon app available to all creators in the Apple App Store. Visit our iOS in-app purchases and migrating to subscription billing page to learn more about this change.

Back to The Beat:

To ameliorate the situation, the company [Patreon] has today announced it will include the introduction of a new option within the iOS app that will allow creators to increase their to match the new Apple transaction fee to preventing any loss of income from that platform. This move is not without its downsides – not least because it might deter potential patrons. It is also mandating all Patreon users to switch to the newer billing system that had previously only been voluntary.

Jim (Sally Forth) shows an example of Apple incursion:

TechCrunch explains why the switch will be mandatory in its headline and lede:

Apple says Patreon must switch to its billing system or risk removal from App Store

Apple has threatened to remove creator platform Patreon from the App Store if creators use unsupported third-party billing options or disable transactions on iOS, instead of using Apple’s own in-app purchasing system for Patreon’s subscriptions. In a blog post and email to Patreon creators about upcoming changes to membership in the iOS app, the company says it’s begun a 16-month-long migration process to move all creators to Apple’s iOS in-app purchase system by November 2025.

Patreon also informed creators it will switch them over to subscription billing as of November 2024, but they will be able to decide whether to price their memberships at a higher fee to cover Apple’s commission or decide if they want to absorb the fee themselves. In addition, creators can opt to delay the migration in their Patreon settings to November 2025, the company said. However, if creators choose the latter option, they won’t be able to offer memberships in the iOS app until they adopt Apple’s iOS in-app purchase system, as Apple’s rules will apply as of this November.

Edited to add this post script:

Steve (The Middle Ages) Conley adds this suggestion:

Most importantly, I don’t think anything will be changing for existing Patreon supporters unless your pledge is processed via the Patreon IOS app. 

The main takeaway from all of this: if you can pay for any subscription directly to the content creator instead of via an App, the content creator is usually better off and in some cases, the price is cheaper for you.

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Comments 3

  1. Patreon needs to push back and demand the same deal Netflix gets from Apple. Don’t let Patreon tell you that they aren’t big enough to negotiate.

    Also, people need to remember that Apple built the store. Brick and mortar stores like Kohl’s and Macy’s charge a 30 percent – at least – amount to customers for goods purchased in the store. Just because there’s not a building you can see doesn’t mean there aren’t costs to Apple.

    1. But Kohl’s and Macy’s can’t tell people they must shop in their store instead of choosing another store [payment ap]. Apple is a greedy monster.

  2. Substack sent out an email yesterday asking what we thought of this move by Apple:

    “How much is the ease of in-app purchases worth to creators? It’s a salient question. We’ve found that creators are comfortable with sharing 10% of their revenue for Substack’s publishing and growth tools. How much might they be willing to share to unlock more revenue from the simplicity of one-tap payments, to know subscribers will feel confident and safe sharing their payment information, and to be able to access potential subscribers from almost anywhere in the world? For Apple’s existing customers, that answer is between 15% and 30%. At first blush, that price seems high. But we have firsthand experience of seeing the potential that can be unlocked when a company gets its model and execution right”

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