Apple is angering influencers with its latest move to siphon money from the maker economy

Apple also places these costs on smaller platforms that developers use to earn money, such as Kajabi, Mighty Networks, and Passes. The fee takes a percentage of donations and purchases made through Apple’s mobile devices, which includes retailers, fans and developers themselves.

The iPhone maker is doing this to generate more profit from its Services division, as the smartphone market continues to grow. Although this makes sense financially, it represents a big change for Apple, which has traditionally supported artists and other creative types.

“There’s no denying the positive impact Apple has had on the maker economy,” said Lindsey Gamble, who advises influencers on marketing strategies. “However, the 30% fees it currently charges is having a negative impact.”

Gamble said Apple is making it more expensive for creators to run their businesses by increasing the cost of reaching more people. The fees also leave creators with a small cut of donations and other support from fans and force them to raise prices or accept additional costs.

Apple is far from the only platform that cuts creators’ salaries. YouTube takes a certain percentage of the creator’s ad revenue. But the difference is that YouTube provides a transparent service by placing ads on the creator’s video, and splits the revenue. That’s more than Apple has to offer, industry experts say.

Apple did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Manufacturers also complain that apart from taking a lot of money, Apple has not done much for them in recent years. Another area where Apple led for creators was podcasting, but it has since neglected the area and lost its lead to YouTube and Spotify.

Video streaming + influencers

In its biggest entertainment projects, Apple has left designers wanting.

The Apple TV+ video streaming service has spent buckets of money on shows and movies, but it almost exclusively works with Hollywood A-listers, ignoring social media creators. That’s different from other streamers, who have tried to accept influencers.

Hulu has two reality series featuring famous TikTok families: “The D’Amelio Show” and “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.” Netflix has a reality show about the TikTok news house, Hype House, and HBO’s Max has given influencers Rosanna Pansino and Lauren Riihimaki their own shows. Amazon is the latest player to embrace influencer-led content by partnering with YouTuber MrBeast.

It was not a foregone conclusion that Apple would ignore those influencing its content strategy. YouTube, another tech giant, has made huge strides in TV viewing without relying on Hollywood-style content.

As for podcasting, in 2021, Apple introduced a paid membership section for podcasters that includes the opportunity to be featured on the Apple Podcasts feed. While this feature can be a valuable tool for discovering podcasts, Apple hasn’t done much to develop it since then. And its overall investment in growing the podcast ecosystem has been lacking compared to its competitors.

30% here, 30% there

Although there are developers disappointed in their creative projects, Apple has confirmed that it wants its fees from the applications that many use for a living.

Patreon is the latest platform for artists to be accessed through Apple’s in-app payment. Starting in November, all in-app purchases made on the member platform with iOS devices will be subject to a 30% discount.

Patreon gave creators two options: raise in-app prices or pay the fees themselves. The third option, which Patreon itself doesn’t recommend but its developers use, is to refer fans to the Patreon website to sign up.

But Patreon is far from the only fee-based platform. For example, on YouTube, fans can donate to creators through features like SuperThanks, Superchats, and Stickers on videos and livestreams. If made in-app on iOS, these donations are also subject to Apple’s payment.

What can designers do?

The biggest problem for designers is that they can’t do much to change Apple’s policies or priorities. But they can try to avoid its fees – and many do.

One economist, who asked to remain anonymous to protect their working relationship with Apple, said the app they use has driven traffic to their website and offered discounts for sign up that way.

“The founders can’t run a business with a 30% ‘loss’ on every user who subscribes to the app,” this person told BI.

That trend could become more widespread.

“Over time, as more developers rely on subscriptions and subscriptions to make money, payments could become a problem and could lead to more developers seeing Apple as more of a custodian.” producer economy provider,” Gamble said.

Jim Louderback, a creator economic consultant, recently wrote that creators should boycott Apple in his journal, “Inside the Creator Economy.”

“How about a group of designers and boycott all Apple products?” Louderback wrote. “The Google store is taking a bit more, but it still has external vigs that affect manufacturers. Maybe a manufacturer-friendly White House can add this to the Apple monopoly action – after found a way to punish Google for its infractions. The creators have come together and held on to their rights.”