Apple to End App Store Affiliate Program in October

Apple on Wednesday announced a major change to its iTunes Affiliate Program that will see commissions for iOS and Mac apps and in-app content removed from the initiative starting in October. Apple says, after the launch of the new App Store interfaces for iOSand macOS, there are other methods of app discovery. With a lesser focus on the affiliate programme, commissions for iOS and Mac apps and in-app content will soon be removed by Apple.

In a post on the Affiliate Program Resources webpage, Apple explains that the decision to remove apps from its iTunes Affiliate Programme was due to the launch of the revamped App Stores for iOS and Mac. The company had rolled out a revamped iOS App Store with iOS 11, and is working on a new Mac App Store in macOS Mojave. Apple claims that the modifications to the iOS and Mac App Stores have ensured more methods of driving app discovery.

As mentioned, starting October 1, Apple says apps and in-app purchases for macOS and iOS will be entirely removed from the iTunes Affiliate Program. Movies, TV, Mac apps, Mac in-apps, iBooks, and paid apps currently earn a 7 percent commission rate while iOS in-app purchases and iTunes Music earn a 2.5 percent commission rate. With the latest information, the commission is gone completely. However, all other content types, including music, movies, books, and TV, will remain as a part of the programme.

Here's the full text from Apple's post on its site: "Thank you for participating in the affiliate programme for apps. With the launch of the new App Store on both iOS and macOS and their increased methods of app discovery, we will be removing apps from the affiliate program. Starting on October 1st, 2018, commissions for iOS and Mac apps and in-app content will be removed from the programme. All other content types (music, movies, books, and TV) remain in the affiliate programme."

August 02, 2018