Patreon is a service used by artists and other independent creatives to get paid by their supporters. Now, Apple says it deserves 30 percent of every donation.
Apple forces Patreon to adopt iOS in-app purchase system, claims 30% commission
That’s right. If you pledge to pay, say, $10 a month to a musician through the Patreon app, Apple will collect more than $3 of that starting in 2025. It’s not surprising that the creative community has gone wild, given the reaction to Apple’s Crush video, which featured the destruction of musical instruments and other objects to create a new iPad. It’s especially bad because Apple claims to be the champion of creative people.
“If you’re going to charge rent for artists’ livelihoods, I don’t think you can claim to be at the intersection of technology and the liberal arts anymore,” OG Apple developer Craig Hockenberry tells Mastodon.
For the past decade, patrons have been able to support creators with subscriptions through both the Patreon website and the Patreon iOS app. For this service, Patreon takes a cut. But now, Apple has decided it wants a piece of the action. All creators will now be required to switch to an App Store-compatible subscription model in order for Apple to collect their rent. This includes anything purchased from the creator’s Patreon store, such as a vinyl record or YouTube class.
