Apple launches a program to reduce the App Store's 30% commission to 15%, what are the requirements?

by Glen Bledsoe

Apple collects 30% of sales from apps that sell digital goods and services published on the App Store as a commission, but only for small business operators, this commission is 30% to 15%. It was announced on November 18, 2020 that it will be reduced to.

Apple Announces App Store Small Business Program-Apple (Japan)
https://www.apple.com/jp/newsroom/2020/11/apple-announces-app-store-small-business-program/

When publishing a paid app on Apple's official App Store, developers are charged 30% of their in-app purchases as a commission. However, there have been criticisms of this as 'exorbitant rip-off,' and U.S. lawmaker David Sicilin 'pays an exorbitant margin as if he had been robbed on the street at 30%, or gives up on the App Store.' It's a crush on small developers to force them to make two choices. ' For this reason, the Federal Trade Commission is investigating Apple for antitrust violations.

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On the commission of the App Store, the popular game ' Fortnight is Epic Games of the developer of the' against Apple in August 2020 has filed a lawsuit . Epic Games has implemented its own payment method 'EPIC Direct Payment' in the app to avoid 30% commission collection, but Apple has removed 'Fortnite' from the App Store because it violates the terms. Epic Games called on Apple for 'fair competition' in its proceedings.

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In such a trend, Apple announced on November 18, 2020, 'App Store fee rate for small businesses with annual revenue of less than 1 million dollars (about 100 million yen) in the previous year. A new program called 'Reduce to 15%'. The program is named 'App Store Small Business Program' and is scheduled to start on January 1, 2021.

Apple CEO Tim Cook said in announcing the program, 'The App Store will act as an engine of economic growth like no other, creating millions of new jobs and at the same time who has great ideas. But it has paved the way for entrepreneurship. The new developer program takes that development even further, helping developers fund their own small businesses, embody new ideas, grow their teams, and people. We support our ongoing commitment to developing applications that enrich our lives. '

The requirements for applying the App Store Small Business Program are as follows. If the annual sales amount after deducting commissions for apps that sell digital goods and services exceeds $ 1 million, the commission from the following year will be 30%, and if it falls below $ 1 million again, it will drop to 15%.

· Existing developers with total revenues of $ 1 million or less in 2020 for all applications distributed through the App Store, or new developers planning to distribute their own applications through the App Store are eligible for this program and have a commission rate. Will be lowered.
• If a developer eligible for this program earns more than $ 1 million, the standard commission rate will apply for the rest of the year.
• If the developer's business is sluggish and revenue for the year drops to less than $ 1 million, the commission rate for the following year will drop to 15 percent again.

In the announcement, Apple said, 'According to an independent survey by the Analysis Group released earlier this year, the fee structure set by Apple is mainstream in each company's application distribution and gaming platform.' Is emphasized.