Sure, they can charge for their development SDK or membership.
What's the difference? Charge higher rates for the SDK or member ship vs charging 15-30% on the download?
My electricity company sure doesn’t get a cut for facilitating my cable internet/TV subscription.
Yes they do, maybe not the electric company you use. As your Cable/TV provider maybe located in another providers area. However, that company needs electricity. Which costs the cable provider along with all the costs of the content they resell to you. All of that is factored into your bill. Plus profit of course, and taxes etc.
And my internet subscription doesn’t receive commission from Amazon for the Amazon purchases they’re facilitating.
Again, not directly. However, Amazon has to pay for large data pipes into there data centers. Those costs, again are passed on to the purchase prices of everything you may buy from them. fractions of a cent here and there, but you do pay for it. For there to be some "cut" on top of that of which you or Amazon would pay makes no sense. You're both paying already. But, no different than say Ebay or Amazon, you sell a product on their site. Either company takes cut of the sale. They host the site and facilitate said process. Otherwise your free to go on the street and sell your stuff directly if your country/city/state/county/Essex/town/village/borough allows you to do so.
Time to stomp out that spreading cancer before every gatekeeping „facilitator“ feels entitled to charge a share of the pie. Let’s return to paying for actual products and services rendered!
Most apps are free on the Appstore. They are subsidized by the apps that get charged the commission. So in many respects you are getting many services for free.
When I‘m subscribing to Netflix, Spotify or valuable dating service, does Apple provide that service themselves - or a 30% or 15% share in added value that’ll justify such commission rate?
They are reselling it, then yes. You go to a store and pick something up off the shelf. It has a price on it. That price includes what the store paid for it, and the markup. Plus (maybe) any tax (state/fed/VAT), transportation costs to get it to the store, marketing costs, costs to cover the cost of the building it's in, staff/employees/etc. Plus of course any profit the store need to make.
Whatever the market will bare is generally what the end costs will be for the product. You sell the product for as much as you can, this isn't a charity. You don't low ball it and then raise prices. You set the price based on many factors, then adjust if need be to meet the market.
They don’t. Their argument for charging such commission can mainly be reduced to „you‘re doing it on our turf, kinda“. Pretty similar to how the Mob and the Mafia are doing it. Or the government).
Yeah ok. Their argument is what the market will bare. What's the price people are willing to pay before they say "no thanks". Are you selling enough to meet demand? Are you over charging and not selling enough of your supply? Are you selling too much and can't keep up with demand? The price was always 30%, no one seemed to care much then. It's been lowered in many ways to 15%, and again FREE for the masses. Still not enough? What's the right number? Who/m gets to decide what that number is? Is it worth it at that number? An opinion that it's too much is ridiculous, you need facts and full understanding of what's going on before even making a guess.
When 90% or more of all smartphone apps are sold and downloaded through only two US-based trillion dollar companies (you know who), the more I‘m reading of their „being entitled to charge what they want“, the more I‘ll be convinced and applaud EU lawmakers to do something about it and impose restrictions on them.
Come up with an alternative then! Don't cry me a river about how it's not fair only 2 companies have such control over the market. They took the risk! They could have easily failed and none of us would have what we have today. Apple was a Mom & Pop outfit when it stared in the 70's. 2 people in a garage. Is it not fair they get to enjoy the success from taking the risks they did? They broke no rules in doing so, why must we then punish? So smaller companies can have a chance? They have a chance the same as anyone else.
Instead we have governments making prix fix menus for the world.