It's hilarious to see people rooting for Apple as if they're the little guys.

The company that makes so much money here is Apple, not Epic. They should be willing to compromise. They gouge app developers and in turn its end users by charging a 30% ransom.

30% in pure profit would means a lot to regular companies/folks as well, not just the "big and greedy" ones. Just because you don't feel the pain doesn't mean other ones do.

And ultimately, some of this cost is burdened by the end user purchasing the app which is obviously harmful to everyday users such as myself.

Smaller developers will be the casualties of a multi-store situation because they will be forced to support the them all.

There will therefore be no competitive pressure on benefits for developers.

This is all about more middlemen making money.

At worst, they continue their business as usual. At best the competitive pressure allows their business to stay the same but with higher margins. Most likely they would eke out a bit more money than the status quo by using another App Store competitor alongside the App Store if they choose to do so.

Artists, on the other hand, only have to deal with a 10% to 15% cut when they sell their music digitally or physically through Bandcamp.

I'm a small and modest developer, and I feel like 30% and $99/year is too much. Mind you, Apple is a trillion dollar company that will take a 30% cut whether you're a worker in the 3rd world or a kid in college. I'm not sure I follow your "big and greedy" rhetoric at all here.

The next question is though, given the incentives in place are entirely due to Apple, is that anti-competitive?

I think it is. It is also ruthless smart business to make money. Given societies rules about "make money" for corporations I can't blame them.

But I am allowed to wish it were otherwise.