Google has revealed the rules for lowering commissions for app authors in Play Market. The company will halve fees for Android developers as long as their products’ combined revenue does not exceed a million dollars within a year. This is announced on the website of the IT giant.
The rules will begin to apply to all developers who agree to participate in the program. Detailed registration instructions and forms can be found on the Google website. Under the terms, developers will be required to deduct a 15% commission (instead of 30%) until their products have earned one million dollars within a year. If that happens, the company will raise the fee to the standard 30%. The offer applies to companies, not individual apps. If there are multiple linked accounts, the amount will be calculated from the income of all accounts. Once that barrier is reached, the fee will change for everyone.
The rules will take effect July 1, 2021. Due to the fact that they start in the middle of the year, the total barrier will be reduced to $500 thousand.
In addition, the IT-giant has launched a support program called Play Media Experience, which will reduce the commission to 15% for developers of media products and services. Only those who meet a number of criteria will be allowed to participate in the program:
- Provide access to media files that are not created by users;
- Have more than 100 thousand downloads in Play Market;
- A quality interface and a high rating in the store;
- High rating of the developer account;
- Integration of Google platforms: Android TV, Google TV, and others.
There are certain content requirements for participants:
- Books. Premium books, audiobooks and comics. Support for WearOS and Android Auto. Optimization for tablets and folding devices;
- Video. Movies, shows, live sports broadcasts. Support for Android TV, Google TV, and Google Cast with multi-platform playback is required;
- Audio. Premium music and subscription option. Support for Android Auto, Google Cast, Wear OS and Android TV, with playback across platforms.
Google did not give a launch date for the latter. The company also promised to reveal the changes for game developers at a special conference from July 12 to 13
