There are so many problems with this take. Here are a few:
1) Many App Store apps are completely free, paying nothing to Apple except the $99 per year fee, so they have no stake in this issue.
2) My understanding is that more than 90% of developers in the App Store make less than $1 million per year and thus are covered by the Small Business Program, which charges only 15% rather than 30%. Revenue in the App Store is extremely top-heavy, with most going to a relatively small number of the top developers (such as Epic, previously). How much are developers willing to risk just to lower the 15% cut somewhat?
3) Let's be clear, you're talking about a strike. Many developers derive their entire income from the App Store, so withdrawing their apps means no income. A wealthy corporation such as Epic can survive, but what about little indie developers?
4) An individual developer uniterally striking would be futile and self-destructive. Developers would need to be organized and all strike simultaneously.
5) Strikes are very difficult to organize. Forming a union almost always has to come first. And union members typically work together in the same building, which greatly facilitates organization. Whereas there are a huge number of App Store developers scattered all around the world, and they speak different languages. How would you even communicate with all of them to organize? (EDIT: I see in another comment that you think it's easy as spreading cat memes. That's not a serious suggestion.)
You're certainly not talking about a strike. A strike is when employees refuse to work. What you're suggesting is that the app developers form a _cartel_, and perform a boycott.
Reddit moderators are unpaid volunteers. They lose exactly $0 if they "strike". The stakes are extremely low in comparison to pulling apps from the App Store.
And there are only 75,000 Reddit moderators in total. That's vastly smaller than the number of App Store developers.
All the subs I followed are a shadow of their former selves.. there's still some half-assed content posted, but it's not worth bothering to try and keep up any more
I was on a bunch of small niche subs with 10k users or fewer each
Seems like the giant subs like you're talking about are still running, although they're a lot lower quality now that it's effectively impossible to use Reddit on a phone
> 1) Many App Store apps are completely free, paying nothing to Apple except the $99 per year fee, so they have no stake in this issue.
I don't see that as a problem.
> 2) My understanding is that more than 90% of developers in the App Store make less than $1 million per year and thus are covered by the Small Business Program, which charges only 15% rather than 30%. Revenue in the App Store is extremely top-heavy, with most going to a relatively small number of the top developers (such as Epic, previously). How much are developers willing to risk just to lower the 15% cut somewhat?
I can't answer that question for any particular developer. But if my PSP charged me 15% I'd be looking for another one and if my PSP arranged for things in such a way that I'd owe them anyway by virtue of developing for a particular piece of hardware that they already sold and made their profits on I'd go and do something else with my time. Which is why pianojacq.com is on the web and free instead of an App in the App store because that way Apple/Google don't get to increase their grip on the market regardless of whether or not it is free. I disagree with their business model to the point that I'm not partaking in it at all.
> 3) Let's be clear, you're talking about a strike. Many developers derive their entire income from the App Store, so withdrawing their apps means no income. A wealthy corporation such as Epic can survive, but what about little indie developers?
What about those poor dockworkers? Any kind of battle with the likes of Apple (or your merchant marine overlord) comes at a price. In some cases people died to fight for their rights. 'little indie developers' are still business owners who will either stand up for their rights or they will have to live with the consequences of not doing so. More likely: those that do stand up for their rights will find themselves kicked out of the App store (monopoly power abuse...) and their competition will thrive.
> 4) An individual developer uniterally striking would be futile and self-destructive. Developers would need to be organized and all strike simultaneously.
Yes, you got it. That's exactly what they should do.
> 5) Strikes are very difficult to organize. Forming a union almost always has to come first. And union members typically work together in the same building, which greatly facilitates organization. Whereas there are a huge number of App Store developers scattered all around the world, and they speak different languages. How would you even communicate with all of them to organize?
I would start with looking for places where App developers congregate and start spreading the message (SO / HN / Reddit / whatever remains of /. / any other forum), write a bunch of press releases and build a movement, then, when the numbers are there for the GADA (the Global Appstore Developer Association) I'd announce the first collective action and take it from there.
It will be work, but so what, if you think it is worth it then it's worth doing well.
As for language barriers and such: there's an app for that...
> I can't answer that question for any particular developer.
I can answer for this particular developer. No, it's not worth it for me. There are many huge problems with the App Store, but I personally don't consider the 15% cut to be among the top problems. I could write a long screed about those problems (and I have before), but that would be a bit off topic. I will mention one thing though: I think the "race to the bottom" is a much bigger problem than the cut. I would happily pay a much higher cut if I could charge higher prices for my apps. Just look at the simple math: 85% of $1N = $0.85N < 50% of $2N = $1N. Thus, a 50% cut would be worth it if I could charge twice as much.
Incidentally, I think even for Epic, the 30% cut is not the entirety of the problem. Epic is a cross-platform company, and App Store payments, locked in and controlled by Apple, make it difficult for Epic to do anything cross-platform that includes iOS.
> What about those poor dockworkers?
Well, I'm not poor. I don't need a higher income to survive. Also, going back to the points I already made, it's realistic for dockworkers to organize and all strike simultaneously, because of their much smaller number, geographic congregation, and shared interests.
> In some cases people died to fight for their rights.
You want me to die to slightly improve the App Store? Um, no thanks.
> write a bunch of press releases and build a movement
Oh, is that all?? Write the press releases, and they will come, amirite!
> It will be work, but so what, if you think it is worth it then it's worth doing well.
I've actually tried to organize a boycott of Apple's Feedback Assistant, but it doesn't seem to have been very effective. Organizing is extremely hard, especially a global movement! No, it's nothing like cat memes or Hacker News comments, especially when the stakes are so high.
> As for language barriers and such: there's an app for that...
Give me a break... I wouldn't even trust the apps for doing customer support, much less union organizing.
Isn’t race to the bottom caused by competition? What policies could Apple implement to keep the price of apps higher? Why would consumers want that? Surely price pressure will happen in any large market.
I think the difficulty of pirating apps on iOS does help developers. At least I’ve heard that piracy is a big problem on Android.
> There are many huge problems with the App Store, but I personally don't consider the 15% cut to be among the top problems.
You and many others like you. Hence the need for solidarity and that's why I don't think it would work. It's hilarious how in the same thread devs like you are being called 'victims' and here you are expounding on how you are going to continue in the relationship unchanged because it suits you just fine.
> I could write a long screed about those problems (and I have before), but that would be a bit off topic.
Fine.
> I will mention one thing though: I think the "race to the bottom" is a much bigger problem than the cut.
Yes, that's why you need to organize. That stops the race to the bottom. This is exactly why strike breakers are looked down upon and why companies used to bring in 'scabs' to break strikes. To push that race to the bottom that much further.
> I would happily pay a much higher cut if I could charge higher prices for my apps.
Of course you would. Because that means more money in your pocket.
> Just look at the simple math: 85% of $1N = $0.85N < 50% of $2N = $1N. Thus, a 50% cut would be worth it if I could charge twice as much.
I think most people on HN have a fairly good intuition about such things.
>> What about those poor dockworkers?
> Well, I'm not poor. I don't need a higher income to survive. Also, going back to the points I already made, it's realistic for dockworkers to organize and all strike simultaneously, because of their much smaller number, geographic congregation, and shared interests.
And because they're not going to stab each other in the back at the first opportunity.
>> In some cases people died to fight for their rights.
> You want me to die to slightly improve the App Store? Um, no thanks.
No, definitely not. I don't even want you to be inconvenienced. But you've definitely illustrated why Apple is firmly in the seat of power here and given ample evidence for my thesis that the App store developers are doing it to themselves.
>> write a bunch of press releases and build a movement
>Oh, is that all?? Write the press releases, and they will come, amirite!
So, you want it to be easy? I personally don't care enough to do your work for you, and if you don't care either then the work won't get done. But then we can stop sympathizing with App store developers.
> > It will be work, but so what, if you think it is worth it then it's worth doing well.
> I've actually tried to organize a boycott of Apple's Feedback Assistant, but it doesn't seem to have been very effective. Organizing is extremely hard, especially a global movement! No, it's nothing like cat memes or Hacker News comments, especially when the stakes are so high.
The stakes are so high because people who should care don't and that includes yourself. Your boycott failed because many people look at that problem just like you look at the fees issue. Without organization you can not solve these issues at all.
> > As for language barriers and such: there's an app for that...
> Give me a break... I wouldn't even trust the apps for doing customer support, much less union organizing.
Forgive me for my failed attempt to injecting some humor into the discussion.
> Yes, that's why you need to organize. That stops the race to the bottom. This is exactly why strike breakers are looked down upon and why companies used to bring in 'scabs' to break strikes. To push that race to the bottom that much further.
Funnily enough, what he's describing is called "price fixing" and is illegal. The "race to the bottom" is competition keeping prices low for consumers and is a feature, not a bug.
Yes, indeed. But that's precisely why I don't have that much sympathy for any of the players in the App eco systems (consumers, Apple/Google, developers) they are all accepting each others transgressions each for reasons all their own. I never thought that computing would come to this but here we are.
I'm quite familiar with the guidelines, I don't see how my comment violates any of them, especially not 'badly'. Could you please point out which part you think violates which of the guidelines, I'd be more than happy to edit my comment to accommodate you.
The comment consisted of personal swipes or straw men. It was completely disparaging, not a serious response. Some examples:
> here you are expounding on how you are going to continue in the relationship unchanged because it suits you just fine.
> Of course you would. Because that means more money in your pocket.
> And because they're not going to stab each other in the back at the first opportunity.
> I don't even want you to be inconvenienced.
> So, you want it to be easy? I personally don't care enough to do your work for you, and if you don't care either then the work won't get done.
> people who should care don't and that includes yourself.
That's how you talk if, as an outsider, you don't want the perspective of an App Store developer. If your desire is just to rip on me for doing it to myself, then you don't need me here to do that; you can accomplish such denigration on your own, in the self-congratulatory, know-it-all fashion that you've been exhibiting.
Organizing masses of individual people around a shared goal against a powerful opponent is one of the hardest tasks in the world. For example, the majority of people in the United States hate both of the two major political parties, and lots of people say, "We should have a third party!", and there are indeed many minor party alternatives, but turning one of those minor parties into a viable alternative to the existing major parties is obviously extremely difficult. It's not that people don't want to, but the barriers to organization are massive and multifarious. Though everyone may have the same vague goal, the devil is in the details. And the costs of defection from the status quo can be significant; as small as they are now, third parties are still blamed as "spoilers" of elections.
1) Many App Store apps are completely free, paying nothing to Apple except the $99 per year fee, so they have no stake in this issue.
2) My understanding is that more than 90% of developers in the App Store make less than $1 million per year and thus are covered by the Small Business Program, which charges only 15% rather than 30%. Revenue in the App Store is extremely top-heavy, with most going to a relatively small number of the top developers (such as Epic, previously). How much are developers willing to risk just to lower the 15% cut somewhat?
3) Let's be clear, you're talking about a strike. Many developers derive their entire income from the App Store, so withdrawing their apps means no income. A wealthy corporation such as Epic can survive, but what about little indie developers?
4) An individual developer uniterally striking would be futile and self-destructive. Developers would need to be organized and all strike simultaneously.
5) Strikes are very difficult to organize. Forming a union almost always has to come first. And union members typically work together in the same building, which greatly facilitates organization. Whereas there are a huge number of App Store developers scattered all around the world, and they speak different languages. How would you even communicate with all of them to organize? (EDIT: I see in another comment that you think it's easy as spreading cat memes. That's not a serious suggestion.)