アップル、アプリ配信手数料を半減　中小開発者対象

【サンフランシスコＡＦＰ＝時事】米アップルは18日、アプリケーション配信ストア「アップストア」の中小開発者に課している手数料について、現行の30％から15％に引き下げると発表した。アップルはアップストアの30％の手数料に関し訴訟を起こされているほか、同ストアに関し独占禁止（反トラスト）法違反の調査の対象にもなっている。（写真は米アップルのロゴ。資料写真）
　アップルは、アプリ販売額が１００万ドル（約１億４００万円）未満の開発者の手数料を売り上げの１５％にすると述べた。スウェーデン音楽配信大手スポティファイやビデオゲーム制作大手米エピックゲームズなど、巨額の売り上げを得ている人気アプリの開発事業者は手数料引き下げの対象とならない。
　アップルによると手数料引き下げの開始は来年１月１日。コロナ禍で「大多数」の開発者が恩恵を受けるとしている。
　ティム・クック最高経営責任者（ＣＥＯ）は「中小企業はグローバル経済の基幹で、世界中の各地域でイノベーションと好機をもたらす原動力」だと指摘。「中小企業の事業主が、アップストア上で創造と繁栄の次なる章を書き上げられるよう」手数料を引き下げると言明した。
　アップルは、同社配信ストアでは約１８０万のアプリを取り扱っており、そのほとんどが無料で提供されているとしている。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2020/11/19-13:57）

Apple said Wednesday it would cut in half its App Store fees for small developers, moving in the face of lawsuits over its 30 percent commission and increased antitrust scrutiny of the online marketplace.
The iPhone manufacturer said that developers who make less than $1 million from selling apps on its store will see Apple's revenue bite cut to 15 percent.
The announcement, however, will have no effect on developers that generate huge amounts of cash from wildly popular apps from the likes of music giant Spotify and video game sensation Epic Games.
Apple said the vast majority of developers will benefit from its program launched to give companies a boost during the pandemic, which will become effective January 1.
Small businesses are the backbone of our global economy and the beating heart of innovation and opportunity in communities around the world, Apple chief executive Tim Cook said.
We're launching this program to help small business owners write the next chapter of creativity and prosperity on the App Store, and to build the kind of quality apps our customers love.
According to research firm Sensor Tower, the move by Apple affects apps generating less than five percent of its revenue from the App Store.
Apple says its marketplace has some 1.8 million apps, most of them free. The App Store in 2019 generated some $519 billion in commerce in 2019, with about 85 percent flowing to the developers, according to the company.
But Apple's policies have been coming under increasing scrutiny.
Apple and the developer of the blockbuster game Fortnite, Epic Games, are fighting in court over whether the California-based company's tight control of its App Store, and its 30 percent cut of revenue, counts as monopolistic behavior.
Apple pulled Fortnite from its store in August after Epic released an update that dodges revenue sharing. A trial to resolve the dispute is expected year.
Spotify meanwhile has filed a complaint with EU authorities alleging Apple has abused its dominant position to extract unfair fees from online services.
The Coalition for App Fairness, a newly formed association with includes Spotify, Fortnite and several other app developers, expressed disappointment with Apple's move.
Developers want a level playing field from Apple, NOT a symbolic gesture, the coalition said in a Twitter statement.
Apple's announcement today is a calculated move and ignores fundamental flaws with the App Store, specifically.
The group said the $1 million threshold is arbitrary and that Apple's policies are still hurting many app developers.