My first tech prediction wins! Apple “loses” scrap over subscriptions

I’m no tech blogger, so I’m all the more proud that I totally called this one. I predicted back on February 1 that Apple wouldn’t get away with their 30% cut of all subscriptions on iDevices:

That’s a really big cut for an abstract benefit. A 30% cut makes sense for apps themselves, but it sure doesn’t for in-app purchases. It’s gouging and the market is definitely not going to bear it.

It didn’t. Apple (very quietly) backed down. They didn’t change the price, but they did change the exclusivity: publishers are no longer forbidden to sell the same subscriptions on their own terms. Of course, with predictable Apple entrepreneurial flair, they didn’t really lose much. The reached the stars and were spanked back … but they still got the moon.

For a laugh — and this would all just be tedious without a laugh — here’s the how the Macalope imagined a conversation between Apple and Amazon about this:

APPLE: Hey! We’d like 30 percent of all Kindle sales!

AMAZON: No.

APPLE: Please?

AMAZON: No.

APPLE: Come on.

AMAZON: No.

APPLE: Pleeeeeeeeeaze?

AMAZON: No.

APPLE: Yes.

AMAZON: No.

APPLE: Do it.

AMAZON: No.

APPLE: DO. IT.

AMAZON: No.

APPLE: DOOOOOOOO IIIIIIIIIT!

AMAZON: No.

APPLE: ARRGH.

Repeat for four months.