🍏 Apple could lose billions

PLUS: What is Loot? September 13, 2021 [The Hustle] [The Hustle]( iPhone vs. Android: It’s one of the great debates of our lifetime, and we want to know what side you’re on. [Let us know here](. Today’s rundown: - Apple vs. Epic ruling: Apple is *not* a monopolist but its massive App Store profits ($15B in 2020) are at risk. - WTF is Loot? And why have people spent $46m+ on descriptions of fantasy objects? - Digits: A $3.6m Spider-Man comic, and more wild numbers from around the web. Let’s do it. The big idea [Apple headstone]( The Apple vs. Epic ruling, explained Last August, the creator of “Fortnite” (Epic Games) sued Apple over its App Store payment policies. Specifically, Epic wanted to sell digital goods within its own game without having to pay Apple’s 30% in-app purchase commission. On Friday, a federal judge issued a ruling on the case And the iPhone maker won out on one major point: Epic could not prove that Apple is a [monopolist]( in relation to its App Store. However, another decision could put billions of Apple’s profits at risk. A court injunction, which takes effect in 90 days, will stop Apple from blocking developers “from steering their users to third-party payment options,” per [Polygon](. Apple’s App Store profit... … may have reached $15B in 2020, which is >20% of the company’s entire profit, according to trial details reported by [The Information](. Other highlights from the judge’s 185-page ruling: - Gaming apps provide the majority of profits (wow) - The top 1% of spenders were responsible for 64% of revenue (absurd) - These big spenders dropped ~$2.7k on average annually (insane) The App Store money train will slow… … if enough apps route their payments away from Apple’s 30% tax. Developers still can’t make their own payment service within apps, and there’s no guarantee users will leave the App Store to make a payment. However, shares for game maker Zynga (+6%) and subscription dating firm Match Group (+4%) gained on the ruling as investors eye larger App Store takes. Apple’s stock fell 3% on the ruling, knocking $80B off its market cap. No one is crying for the company, though… It’s still worth ~$2.5T. [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Send as email to a friend](mailto:?subject=The%20Hustle%20wrote%20something%20I%20think%20you%27ll%20like...%0A&body=The+Apple+vs.+Epic+ruling%2C+explained%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fthehustle.co%2F09132021-Apple-Epic-ruling%3Futm_campaign%3DMonday%2BEmail%26utm_content%3D09132021-Apple-Epic-ruling%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Ddaily%0A%0AYou%20can%20subscribe%20with%20my%20link%20here%20to%20get%20the%20latest%20in%20tech%20and%20business%20daily:%0A [View on our website]( SNIPPETS NEW! Introducing our new and improved [Snippets](. You can now get extra snippets on your favorite topics. Follow the button below to get started. (It takes less than 30 seconds!) Save that ticker: Stripe, the payments unicorn last valued at ~$100B, is in [talks]( with banks to IPO in 2022. Mastercard’s crypto play: The company [announced]( the acquisition of CipherTrace, a cryptocurrency tracking platform that helps companies manage regulations and compliance around digital assets. Houseparty, busted: Epic Games [announced]( it will discontinue the social video chat app in October. Emojis are coming: Twitter [launched]( emoji reactions to tweets in Turkey, starting with 5 options. No timeline: Microsoft is [done]( predicting when its offices will fully reopen, pushing a full reopening indefinitely after postponing multiple times. Oops: In yesterday’s story on why gas station owners hate high gas prices, one of our charts conflated markups and gross margins. We’ve amended the web version, [which you can read here](. Join the 99,051 others who are now enjoying extra, personalized snippets. Click the button👇 to choose your favorite topics and see your list grow in tomorrow’s email. [Personalize Your Snippets]( NFT News [NFT Lists]( These lists of words cost tens of thousands of dollars. Why not? (Source: Robe Market) People are buying items for an NFT game that doesn’t exist. Why? [The Fetid Sprinkler]( and [Handguards of Perdition]( sound pretty intense. They’re also examples of the armor, weapons, potions, and other helpful items -- AKA “loot” -- fantasy RPG characters find on their quests. Paying real money for in-game loot is already a [big business](, and some game studios have jumped on selling NFT items, which players -- not studios -- would own indefinitely. But… what if there is no game? Last month, Vine co-founder Dom Hofmann [announced]( Loot, “randomized adventurer gear” generated and stored on the blockchain. For no fee, aside from [gas](, people could score “bags” of items like: - Divine Hood - Necklace of Enlightenment - Grimoire of Titans Looters snatched up the available ~8k bags immediately, [per]( The Verge. Within 5 days, Loot bags had generated [$46m]( in resales. [Wild NFT sales]( in the millions happen… … but here’s why people love Loot Because items came with only a simple text description, the newfound Loot community came out with [art](, [songs](, [stories](, and [merchandise](. A host of derivative [projects]( have sprung up for Loot holders, including maps, monsters to fight, art, and quests. It’s essentially an open-source playground. Creators build on top of it and are responsible for deciding its value. Creators can also choose to accept Hofmann’s update, [Synthetic Loot](, which allows players to participate without spending $$$ on the OG drops. Because who can afford a Divine Robe when the floor price is [~$50k](? [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Send as email to a friend](mailto:?subject=The%20Hustle%20wrote%20something%20I%20think%20you%27ll%20like...%0A&body=People+are+buying+items+for+an+NFT+game+that+doesn%E2%80%99t+exist.+Why%3F%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fthehustle.co%2F09132021-NFT-Loot%3Futm_campaign%3DMonday%2BEmail%26utm_content%3D09132021-NFT-Loot%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Ddaily%0A%0AYou%20can%20subscribe%20with%20my%20link%20here%20to%20get%20the%20latest%20in%20tech%20and%20business%20daily:%0A [View on our website]( Free Resource The all-in-1 business planning kit If your business is in the early stages… … you may have all of the blueprints in your head, but you best get them on paper. It makes it much easier to see what’s solid and what’s not. Enter HubSpot and Monday.com’s [14-page PDF guide]( This kit contains all of the need-to-knows, and provides a ton of supplemental resource links. Included here are all your strategic planning needs: - Best practices for different departments - How to communicate mission, vision, and goals - How to conduct market research and competitive analyses - Guidelines for allocating your operating budget [Prep like pros →]( By the numbers [Spider-Man comic]( Yep, $3.6m right there (Source: Heritage Auctions / The Hollywood Reporter) Digits: A $3.6m Spider-Man, e-cigs get smoked, and ATVs kick into high gear 1) Spider-Man, Spider-Man, does whatever a spider can -- like notch [a record $3.6m](for a near-mint condition copy of the character’s 1st ever comic appearance in Amazing Fantasy No. 15. 2) E-cigs just got smoked. The Food and Drug Administration [rejected ~950k applications]( for e-cig products, though it’ll take more time to review Juul, which accounts for ~½ of the $4B market. 3) Walmart is getting ready for Christmas early, [with US inventory up 20%]( to avert supply chain issues. 4) Off-road is in. In 2020, [ATV sales jumped 33%](, trail permit sales in West Virginia hit all-time highs, and ATV permits in Maine were up 6%. 5) Amazon placed 49 of its lockers throughout public parks in Chicago, with 53 more planned. At most, [Amazon will pay Chicago $137.6k]( for use of the land. To date, Amazon has received $741m in Chicago-area tax subsidies. 6) Holy ship. The top 6 shipping container operators control [70%+ of container capacity](. Meanwhile, shipping prices are up 4x since last year. [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Send as email to a friend](mailto:?subject=The%20Hustle%20wrote%20something%20I%20think%20you%27ll%20like...%0A&body=Digits%3A+A+%243.6m+Spider-Man%2C+e-cigs+get+smoked%2C+and+ATVs+kick+into+high+gear%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fthehustle.co%2F09132021-digits%3Futm_campaign%3DMonday%2BEmail%26utm_content%3D09132021-digits%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Ddaily%0A%0AYou%20can%20subscribe%20with%20my%20link%20here%20to%20get%20the%20latest%20in%20tech%20and%20business%20daily:%0A [View on our website]( AROUND THE WEB 🚘 On this day: In 2004, Oprah [gave away]( 276 cars to her talk show audience and thus, the “you get a car” [meme]( was born. 🥘Mmm: The “Nero Wolfe” cookbook, Denny’s “Hobbit” menu, “Game of Thrones” booze. Atlas Obscura [explores]( fandom food. 📈 How to: If you’re a stock market newb, you need to figure out your risk tolerance. Here’s [how](. 😴 That’s interesting: Inc. [asked]( the leaders of Inc. 5000 companies for productivity tips and got some weird answers. Like doing pull-ups and “thinking lazy.” 🐻Wild story: [Spirit bears]( are black bears, but a recessive trait makes their fur white -- which makes it much easier to hunt salmon. 🧟Weird job: FinanceBuzz will pay someone $1.3k to [watch]( 13 horror movies while their heart rate is monitored. The goal is to determine if high- and low-budget films produce the same scares. Meme of the day [iPhone meme] Someone actually went into an Apple store and did this LOL (Source: Reddit) SHARE THE HUSTLE [Hustle Cons Greatest Hits ebook]( Over the years, we’ve learned… secrets. The business secrets, tips, and tricks that have helped founders go from zero to millions -- and even billions -- of dollars. Want to see ‘em? Just refer 3 more friends to The Hustle and we’ll send you our curated set of interviews with founders from brands like Zola, AWAY, Vungle, Bonobos, and more. 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