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Marques Brownlee, known as MKBHD, faced backlash over his new wallpaper app, Panels, due to its high subscription cost ($49.99/year) and concerns over excessive data permissions.

Brownlee acknowledged user feedback, promising to adjust ad frequency for free users and address privacy concerns, clarifying that the app's data disclosures were broader than intended.

The app, which offers curated wallpapers and shares profits with artists, aims to improve over time, despite criticisms of its design and monetization approach.

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[-] OldWoodFrame@lemm.ee 1 points 27 minutes ago

Wow I had no idea the subscription was that much. He mentioned it in a video without saying the price and I still wouldn't do it.

[-] Mojave@lemmy.world 11 points 3 hours ago

Homie spreads apple propaganda like aids, he's an awful tech influencer

[-] Squizzy@lemmy.world 8 points 2 hours ago

He is quite harsh on Apple for someone who gets exclusive access. In this video he is talking about how nothing has changed, barely considered an update and that the new things dont even come with the phone.

[-] vxx@lemmy.world 22 points 4 hours ago

Wallpapers on phone are useless because apps are always full screen.

Who would pay for such thing?

[-] mortemtyrannis@lemmy.ml 60 points 8 hours ago

No sane individual is going to pay for a subscription for phone backgrounds.

That is absolutely a stupid business idea and the people who came up with it should be publicly shamed.

[-] ichbinjasokreativ@lemmy.world 15 points 6 hours ago

I've not looked into it, but it's probably pitched as a feel-good way of supporting artists.

[-] sag@lemm.ee 18 points 7 hours ago

You think it's new? It's have already done by so many people in Android community. Like Widepaper, Wallfever, Wallbyte etc. These all apps are paid. People actually pay for Wallpapers.

[-] TheGrandNagus@lemmy.world 7 points 4 hours ago

I think buying an app for a couple of quid that has a good curated collection of wallpapers, a nice UX, etc. is a completely fair price to pay for the convenience. I like supporting devs. I fail to see the stupidity.

A $12 monthly subscription is an entirely different beast, though.

[-] T156@lemmy.world 2 points 3 hours ago

Or even a market that let you just buy individual wallpapers as you want them, like how you used to be able to buy individual tracks in itunes instead of a whole album.

A subscription model is a bit silly.

[-] spongebue@lemmy.world 6 points 7 hours ago

Remember when people paid for ringtones? Doesn't mean it isn't stupid, especially as a subscription, but people do stupid things and other people take advantage.

[-] ContrarianTrail@lemm.ee 8 points 7 hours ago

There are infinite list of things and services that are way too expensive for me to even consider buying but I also don't go around complaining about them. Move on guys.. If you want free wallpapers you can try one of the other 9000 free wallpaper apps available. This is recreational outrage.

50/50 cut is borderline predatory. It should be 30/70. It feels like marques is so out of touch with common people.

[-] x00za@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 1 hour ago

30% is still predatory imo. Especially for a glorified marketplace with an image delivery system.

[-] el_bhm@lemm.ee 0 points 41 minutes ago

He is fronting money for development. Which is not cheap.

Once dev cost stabilizes, I would love to have a better split for artists.

[-] DudeImMacGyver@sh.itjust.works 44 points 11 hours ago
[-] ilinamorato@lemmy.world 34 points 10 hours ago

Marques has a decent chunk of his fan base that's...kinda rich? That's the only thing that can explain why he reviews supercars and expects people to use their phone without a case. So if he's directing some of that fan base's money toward artists, I'm all for it, assuming the profit sharing is reasonable (and I have no reason to believe it's not).

I mean, I'm not going to pay that sort of money on a wallpaper (I almost always use photos of family or friends anyway). But if the people who buy it like it, and the people who sell art for it are treated well, you go MKBHD.

[-] Squizzy@lemmy.world 0 points 2 hours ago

Im not rich and I use my phone without a case and watch some of those reviews.

The app is a bad idea with a bad deal for artists.

[-] ilinamorato@lemmy.world 0 points 1 hour ago

Im not rich and I use my phone without a case

I guess you could also have fairly sticky hands.

and watch some of those reviews.

Yeah, sometimes I do too, if only for the novelty of it. But they're certainly not for us.

The app is a bad idea with a bad deal for artists.

Citation needed. Do you have any data on the app's profit share structure? Because at the price they're charging, if they're passing on a decent share of it to the artists, it sounds like it's not a bad gig.

[-] Squizzy@lemmy.world 1 points 52 minutes ago

Fifty fifty is what MKB said was the split, which is a predatory figure. Apple charges less and people are up in arms about their predatory practices.

I dont know what the sticky hands comment means.

[-] dinckelman@lemmy.world 92 points 13 hours ago

I feel this is going to be an unpopular opinion, but if you want unique wallpapers, consider paying an actual artist, instead of an influencer

[-] Kecessa@sh.itjust.works 11 points 9 hours ago

If I want a unique wallpaper I go on a walk in the great outdoors and take a picture

[-] desktop_user@lemmy.blahaj.zone -4 points 1 hour ago

most unique things outdoors are photographed already

[-] spongebue@lemmy.world 2 points 7 hours ago

I don't think that's going to be an unpopular opinion around here. Maybe a little tricky in the logistics of distinguishing between an artist and influencer and finding an artist who you like and can pay for a phone background, but other than that you're not going to find many Lemmings saying "no, pay an influencer!"

[-] Telorand@reddthat.com 14 points 12 hours ago

Sounds pretty reasonable to me. Avoid sites like Fiver, though. Lots of AI bullshit pretending to be real art.

[-] rob_t_firefly@lemmy.world 19 points 11 hours ago* (last edited 11 hours ago)

Even before the flood of AI bullshit Fiverr really, really sucked for the human artists, creatives, coders, and other freelancers employed through the platform.

[-] TheFeatureCreature@lemmy.world 4 points 10 hours ago

I made a Fiverr account once for my art services. I deleted it within an hour of creation after reading how much money they would steal from my commissions.

[-] iAmTheTot@sh.itjust.works 96 points 13 hours ago

Apparently one of the wallpapers is just solid orange. It's called "Orange", is labeled as "abstract", and is labeled with a copyright.

It's a solid orange rectangle.

[-] Archer@lemmy.world 3 points 2 hours ago

Anish Kapoor strikes again

[-] Vince@lemmy.world 15 points 13 hours ago

Maybe it's inspired by Rothko

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[-] Deceptichum@quokk.au 70 points 14 hours ago* (last edited 14 hours ago)

$50 a year for wallpapers or I could go to wallhaven and get millions for free?

[-] iAmTheTot@sh.itjust.works 30 points 14 hours ago

The "shares its profits with the artists" part is relevant here.

[-] JustEnoughDucks@feddit.nl 4 points 3 hours ago

Did he disclose an amount?

5% to artists is very different than 40% to artists.

Or is he adopting the Spotify bottom line?

Only pay artists after X downloads and only pay a few cents after thousands of downloads and use the rest for profits

[-] morrowind@lemmy.ml 3 points 3 hours ago

It's 50%, which is honestly quite low

[-] Arbiter@lemmy.world 41 points 14 hours ago

It would almost be cheaper to commission an artist frankly.

[-] iAmTheTot@sh.itjust.works 19 points 13 hours ago

Almost is doing a lot of heavy lifting in that sentence.

[-] yggstyle@lemmy.world 11 points 12 hours ago

Nah it'd be cheaper to commission the artist for a dozen or so pictures for 45 bucks:

First you need to blow some ungodly amount of money on breaking the time/space barrier.... Then travel back to the 1920s and find a starving artist. Then pitch him 45 bucks for some art. Easy! 45 bucks to them is like 800 of our today dollars.

Sarcasm aside- it seems people really are disconnected on how much a commission or art costs. Sure you can buy prints reasonably priced but any commission that isn't a speedy doodle is going to clock in a helluva lot higher.

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[-] emax_gomax@lemmy.world 50 points 14 hours ago

It costs $49.99 per year (or $11.99 per month)

Why in the hell does the monthly price end with you paying 280% more than the yearly. That is such an absurd discount I don't even know why someone would pay at all for this app but more so I want to understand where the price justification is and who came up with this plan.

To be clear I support artists and more than welcome a platform for them to share and sell art if they wish... I don't get why it needs to be a subscription service and I don't see how such inflated charges are going to help artists as it'll just discourage large numbers of people wanting to support them.

[-] macattack@lemmy.world 4 points 6 hours ago

Probably because you can pay for a month and download all the wallpapers and cancel.

[-] EvilBit@lemmy.world 51 points 14 hours ago

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-decision-lab/201109/product-pricing-and-framing-when-are-we-likely-pay-more

Short version: there’s an $80 bread maker with 5 features, a $120 bread maker with 12 features, and a $475 bread maker with 14 features.

The $475 bread maker only exists to make the $120 version look like a bargain.

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[-] apfelwoiSchoppen@lemmy.world 22 points 14 hours ago

I started to get worked up but then i remembered I don't particularly care. He's in it to make bank, not necessarily sell you a quality product. If he were, he wouldn't be selling a wallpaper app.

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this post was submitted on 24 Sep 2024
132 points (90.2% liked)

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