Did you know that the final price you pay for app subscriptions like Netflix, Spotify, Audible and the like is partly influenced by the commission the platform owners (Google for the case of the Play Store & Apple for the case of the App Store) take from the app developers?
For the longest time, this has been fixated at 30% but owing to an industry-wide outcry, platform owners have been forced to slash their prices for as low as 15% while others have been generous enough to slash to as low as 10%.
Google is one such owner that has announced a generous cut, halving its commission from app developers listed on its Play Store. The rule book has been 30% off the first subscription year and thereafter, it reduces to 15% but that is no more.
For the first year, all subscriptions will be charged 15%, starting in January 2022. More exceptions have been given to developers under the Play Media Experience program, whose cut will go as low as 10%.
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What is the Play Media Experience program?
This is a program that aims to encourage audio, video and book developers to grow by creating cross-platform experiences across the Android ecosystem.
The likes of Netflix, Spotify, Audible, PocketCasts among others fall within this category owing to the nature of their services or the content they carry.
What does this mean for the end-user?
It is not guaranteed but these savings could be passed on to them and their subscription prices could lower. Since 2022 is around the corner, we can only wait for it to tell.
