Apple has confirmed that it won’t be slashing the commissions it pays when affiliates redirect customers to buy apps from the iOS App Store.
In an update to its iTunes Affiliate Resources webpage over the weekend, Apple made it clear that the reduction for 7 percent to 2.5 percent applies only to in-app purchases. As Apple explains, “[A]ll other content types (including music, movies, books, paid iOS apps and TV) will remain at the current 7%.”
That sound you just heard is a ton of website owners breathing a sigh of relief!
The previous wording Apple had used for the change was that, “Starting on May 1st 2017, commissions for all app and in-app content will be reduced from 7% to 2.5% globally.” This was immediately taken badly by the owners of various websites which cover iOS apps, which rely on affiliate link revenue to cover some of their costs.
In the aftermath, the website MacGamerHQ contacted Apple to ask if the decision affected Mac apps as well as iOS ones. They were subsequently told that it affects neither. That news was spread online last last week, although Apple’s update spells it out officially.
Of course, there’s still a chance that things could change (as with suppliers that rely on Apple for the bulk of their earnings, it’s not a good idea to lean too heavily on affiliate fees that Apple could change at a moment’s notice). Still, for now at least it seems that this has been a misunderstanding.
Source: Apple
