Technology

Right? You'd think Patreon would throw their weight against Apple, as this is clearly not in their best interest. Threaten to pull the app, and if Apple follows through, they get nothing. Alternatively, move payments entirely outside of the app and force Apple to either do something which is guaranteed to be extremely unpopular, or call their bluff. But they won't do these things or even try to negotiate Apple's cut.

Apple may appear to swing the biggest dick here, but I am so disgusted by these weak companies just immediately bending over without a fight.

As always, it's the creators who will be faced with hardship, but neither entity seems to give a shit.

"Don't hate the player, hate the game." – Karl Marx

I'll throw a hat in the ring here. It's because Steam has a grip on the gaming market that others want instead of them. That's it, they want that money instead of Valve. Apple is getting a pass on this because it's just fucking over the common guy which businesses couldn't care less about.

Patreon gives creators the option to either increase their prices in the iOS app only, or absorb the fee themselves, keeping prices the same across platforms.

It's already an option and if you read the article, only 4% are still on the legacy billing system (no Apple tax at all)

iOS users using a browser don't pay the Apple Tax. And the only reason to pay through the app is if you specifically want to use Apple Pay (e.g to pay with your phone bill instead of your credit card).

At this point it's a "stupid tax" more than anything.

I’m an Apple shareholder and think this is a great way to lose engagement and revenue

3.78 Trillion dollar market cap. You don't get to that valuation by being generous to your customers. Apple is as capitalist as any of them. They're just wrapped in shiny marketing. Now only if their fans understood that.

What's wrong with Patreon? They advertise a 10% fee. It may be a little more complicated than that but 10% seems pretty reasonable considering the services they offer.