Apple App Store Terms Under Fire

Major news organizations are joining the growing chorus of companies pushing for more favorable terms on Apple Inc.’s App Store, a crucial link to new digital customers, reports The Wall Street Journal.

In a letter to Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook on Thursday, a trade body representing the New York Times, the Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and other publishers said the outlets want to know what it would take for them to get better deal terms—which would allow them to keep more money from digital subscriptions sold through Apple’s app store.

App developers, including news publishers, pay Apple 30% of the revenue from first-time subscriptions made through iOS apps; that commission is reduced to 15% after the subscriber’s first year. Apple says the revenue split is similar to other app marketplaces and allows the company to cover the app store’s operating expenses.

“The terms of Apple’s unique marketplace greatly impact the ability to continue to invest in high-quality, trusted news and entertainment particularly in competition with other larger firms,” said the letter, which is signed by Jason Kint, chief executive of the trade body, Digital Content Next.

The letter is the latest shot in a high-stakes public battle over how much money developers must pay Apple when they sell content through apps distributed on the company’s devices. Epic Games Inc., the maker of popular videogame “Fortnite,” sued Apple and Alphabet Inc.’s Google last week after the companies removed the game from their app marketplaces, accusing them of monopolistic behavior.

In a statement at the time, Apple said that Epic’s business interests led the company to push for a “special arrangement.” Google said at the time that the company’s business model allows it to build tools to keep users safe and help developers.

Other companies, including Facebook Inc., have taken shots at Apple over the terms of purchases made on its app in recent weeks. Facebook said last week that it asked Apple to reduce its 30% app store “tax” in a product aimed at small businesses, adding that Apple dismissed the requests.