Elon Musk Wants Apple to Lower Fees for 'X' Creators
Twitter or "X" CEO Elon Musk today said that he plans to speak with Apple CEO Tim Cook about lower App Store fees for creators who earn money through subscriptions on the Twitter/X social network.
![X twitter logo](https://images.macrumors.com/t/d8rOBeZrMMkRSSz2jq7qT3wF0Jk=/400x0/article-new/2023/07/X-twitter-logo.jpg?lossy)
In a post on creator support, Musk said that he plans to ask Apple to collect 30 percent of the creator fee that Twitter keeps rather than 30 percent of the total fee that a creator on Twitter earns. That would potentially give Apple a much lower cut of the money that Twitter is paying out to creators.
Musk said that Twitter does not plan to collect any fees from creators who earn under $100,000. After the $100k mark, Twitter will collect 10 percent of a creator's earnings, though the first 12 months will be free for all creators. If Apple agreed, Apple would be entitled to 30 percent of the 10 percent cut that Twitter takes from creators earning more than $100k.
Apple collects in-app purchase fees from subscription purchases that are made through the Twitter app on iOS devices. Apple earns 30 percent for the first year of a subscription, and 15 percent for each subsequent year. Apple takes the same cut of all digital purchases on the App Store, and the Cupertino company is not known for making exceptions to its rules.
Musk's request would not work with the current in-app purchase setup as Apple is collecting its fee from each subscriber who pays a creator rather than from the creator directly.
Facebook has protested the fee that Apple collects from the Facebook subscription option for creators, but Apple has not changed its policies. Facebook instead encourages people to support creators by subscribing on the web rather than on a mobile device, which is a method that Musk could use to limit the fees that Apple takes.
Musk has in the past criticized Apple's App Store fees, calling the cut that Apple collects "definitely not ok" and likening it to a "30% tax on the internet."
Popular Stories
Following nearly two years of rumors about a fourth-generation iPhone SE, The Information today reported that Apple suppliers are finally planning to begin ramping up mass production of the device in October of this year. If accurate, that timeframe would mean that the next iPhone SE would not be announced alongside the iPhone 16 series in September, as expected. Instead, the report...
Key details about the overall specifications of the iPhone 17 lineup have been shared by the leaker known as "Ice Universe," clarifying several important aspects of next year's devices. Reports in recent months have converged in agreement that Apple will discontinue the "Plus" iPhone model in 2025 while introducing an all-new iPhone 17 "Slim" model as an even more high-end option sitting...
Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today shared alleged specifications for a new ultra-thin iPhone 17 model rumored to launch next year. Kuo expects the device to be equipped with a 6.6-inch display with a current-size Dynamic Island, a standard A19 chip rather than an A19 Pro chip, a single rear camera, and an Apple-designed 5G chip. He also expects the device to have a...
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series around mid-September, which means we are about two months out from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design differences and new features to take into account. To bring ...
Apple’s iCloud Private Relay service is down for some users, according to Apple’s System Status page. Apple says that the iCloud Private Relay service may be slow or unavailable. The outage started at 2:34 p.m. Eastern Time, but it does not appear to be affecting all iCloud users. Some impacted users are unable to browse the web without turning iCloud Private Relay off, while others are...
Apple is planning to release at least one iPhone 17 model next year with mechanical aperture, according to a report published today by The Information. The mechanical system would allow users to adjust the size of the iPhone 17's aperture, which refers to the opening of the camera lens through which light enters. All existing iPhone camera lenses have fixed apertures, but some Android...