Following the announcement of several hotly anticipated new features included in Apple’s iPhone/iPod Touch 3.0 software update due this Summer (including copy & paste, a raft of new APIs, advanced bluetooth features, and of course Push-data functionality), earlier this week Techcrunch published a relatively unnoticed but important article uncovering some of the fine print embedded in Apple’s Terms & Conditions binding current and future Developers of iPhone applications.
As the Developer community is well aware, Apple receive a 30% distribution ‘share’ of all chargeable applications purchased through the iTunes App Store – leaving the Developer a (respectable) 70% share of the app sale price. However, as Leena Rao points out, the ‘kicker’ is that if an application is refunded, Apple keeps their 30%, making the Developer liable for the entire 100% of the original sale price.
As entropy digital have gone through the pain of Apple App Developer approval, we recently reviewed our T&C’s and sure enough the following clause does exist:
In the event that Apple receives any notice or claim from any end-user that: (i) the end-user wishes to cancel its license to any of the Licensed Applications within ninety (90) days of the date [...] In the event that Apple refunds any such price to an end-user, You shall reimburse, or grant Apple a credit for, an amount equal to the price for that Licensed Application. Apple will have the right to retain its commission on the sale of that Licensed Application, notwithstanding the refund of the price to the end.
Ouch. However, it gets worse.
Keeping in mind a recent poll by Pinch Media revealing the (not unsurprising) data that over 30% of iPhone apps purchased are only ever used on that day, and worse after 20 days only 5% of downloaded apps are ever used again, the problem is perhaps much larger than a few refunds.
With a 90-day grace period awarded to end users with which to request an app refund, are we looking at a buy->try->return phenomenon that could threaten the viability of developing for profit via the App Store? Probably not – as I personally have no idea how to get a refund if any of the apps on my iPhone (ahem – Ziibii, Palringo, etc.) fail to satisfy their advertised specifications, which incidently they all do. But now that I know I have the right (and as the wider iPhone/iPod Touch community gradually learns the same), perhaps my days of wasting £1.99 for a glorified RSS reader are over.
Regardless, the fine print places even more pressure on Developers and content providers to produce powerful, compelling apps that deliver on their nifty names and shiny, rounded icons.
If not, you might just end up owing Apple more money with each app you sell…
Following on an excellent article by Nicholas Deleon of Techcrunch a few days ago, we have been doing a lot of thinking about commercial radio and its overall viability in the emerging technology marketplace.
Without a doubt, Deleon has a strong case in predicting the ultimate demise of commercial radio (in its present format) as young listeners no longer turn to the likes of “K-Rock” or “HotHitz” style radio channels for discovering and consuming new music. Why would they – Last.fm, Spotify, and even Blip.fm make that much easier, more fun, and a heck of lot more interactive.
So is commercial radio truly dead?
Ultimately I think we may be jumping the gun here, and I’ll tell you why. First, remember back in…oh…2005 when Mobile TV was hailed as the great, new technology – the one that would no doubt sweep traditional television away and herald a new era of TV on the go? How about the heated arguments of 5 years ago accusing TiVo, iTunes (and perhaps more recently, Slingbox) of robbing traditional television of its production value through the subsequent loss of advertising revenue? Time shifting, the pundits argued, would be the death knell of traditional broadcast. Fast forward to today, and what has really happened (?) – the industry has adjusted, it has evolved to a more interactive and compelling proposition meeting the demands of a new generation of consumer. Instead of advertising revenue, major television channels are turning to DVD and iTunes sales. Giving up the costly and ultimately fruitless battle with those nasty ‘time-shifters’, major Networks like CBS are now finding new ways to advertise and continue to offer their content for free (see: the new CBS iPhone client).
So what of the radio industry? I would hazard a counter argument and say a bright future actually awaits – with a few strong caveats.
First, there is no doubt this relative media dinaosaur needs to – and must – adjust to the new methods content is being consumed in the emerging channel marketplace. That means reaching users in dramatically enhanced, interactive touchpoints – applications for iPhone and the high tier smartphones, Mobile Web and online mashups coordinated with social networked communites to provide live playlists, recommendations, dedications, and ratings. Long gone are the days of dialing (and re-dialling) the radio station’s hotline to request a song or dedicate a track. This is what radio must learn. Spin the paradigm to today’s technology – and do it quickly.
Second, to survive radio channels must become ‘visual’. That means a digital interface and an online presence that is not published simply because they ‘should’ have a site – but regularly cultivated as a means of pulling their listeners into the brand from a myriad of locations across the Web. Instead of competing with Last.fm or facebook, why not integrate – provide users ranked playlists and music-related feedback channels that can be created in multiple places at once? This is how the radio audience is spending its time and this is where radio must play to retain – and even grow – a loyal audience.
There is no doubt the traditional format of radio is, at best, dated and at worst – completely out of touch with the way listeners discover and consume new music.
So what? Media business evolve. Media businesses must evolve.
Occasionally a presentation and a vision comes along that you simply cannot e-mail, tweet – or for the analogues amongst us – print out and hand to friends often enough.
Such is the case with Umair Haque’s recent presentation at the Daytona Sessions (a recurring conference committed to innovation in business and the Internet) in Stockholm in February. As Director of the Havas Media Lab, Founder of Bubble Generation, and writer for Harvard Business Publishing, Haque is a well known figure in helping business radically rethink their markets and goals.
At a time when the business world is struggling to continue their (archaic) former practices of rabid competition, neurotic self preservation, and ultimately destructive mantra of business as ‘war’ – Haque describes a new paradigm with 5 principles that demand our attention.
The current economic crisis has not only forced a re-evaluation of past tenets and received ‘truths’ of how businesses must operate to survive, and ultimately thrive – but when the smoke clears in 2010, 2011, or perhaps even 2012 – how will we emerge, and crucially, which business models and practices will the survivors adopt?
Regardless of when or how the economy recovers, most analysts recognise one thing – business will never be the same again. Haque’s vision (while not without its flaws) is one of the clearest descriptions of how that new marketplace may function, and how established businesses and budding entrepreneurs must unlearn traditional lessons of capitalism and gravitate to a more democratic method of commerce.
OK, we’ve gushed enough. We’re so impressed, the talk is now on our homepage. But don’t take our word for it, have a look (it’s worth the time) – and see for yourself:
[vimeo width="500" height="400"]http://vimeo.com/3204792?pg=embed&sec=[/vimeo]
