Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by the_third_wave 1006 days ago
Walmart is to General Mills as is Spotify to artists.

Apple is to Spotify as is the construction company which made the building Walmart is using to Walmart.

I have not heard of construction companies claiming entitlement to a cut of Walmart's turnover.

1 comments

Apple is a retail store that charges a fee to place an item on one of their shelves.

Every grocer in the USA does this. Want shelf space? Pay me.

Digital assets don’t preclude this transaction.

Slotting fees are just at contentious as Apple's 30% cut but the comparison is not apt as it would only work if Walmart were the only outlet available to any supplier to sell their goods. Walmart does not have a monopoly whereas Apple does when it comes to selling to Apple users. If Walmart were to demand a 30% cut for your product there are many other venues you can turn to up to and including opening your own store. This does not work in the company town of Appleton where only one retailer - Apple - is allowed to sell goods. Want to sell in Appleton? You'll have to go through Apple who gets to set the rules.
I'm pretty sure retailers pay wholesalers, not the other way around.
Look up "slotting fees".

Behold.