It's called affiliate marketing and it's one of the best ways for an independent operator to make money in the SEO business. I guess the only question is whether Apple can claim 30% in perpetuity or just for the first X months.
I'm not opposed to Apple charging what it wishes for in-app content purchases, but making this a mandatory option for all services at a fairly steep rate might not be viable for all businesses.
I don't think this will last. If iOS were to lose Netflix , Kindle and Pandora(which isn't unimaginable) the platform would instantly be less appealing than lowly WP7 and WebOS for a lot of users.
Apple does require that if a publisher chooses to sell a digital subscription separately outside of the app, that same subscription offer must be made available, at the same price or less, to customers who wish to subscribe from within the app. In addition, publishers may no longer provide links in their apps (to a web site, for example) which allow the customer to purchase content or subscriptions outside of the app.
This means that Netflix would either have to take a $3 hit on any $10/mo. subscription initiated from within iOS or raise the price for both the iOS and external subscriptions by a few dollars in order to offset the apple fee.
Not sure how this will play out, but it's interesting. Obviously Netflix and Apple can change their terms at any time. This is a decent opening move by Apple.
You're quite right. Businesses wishing to offer subscription content via iOS might need to retool their subscription plans to accomodate for the overhead this channel brings with it. I use the $9/mo. Netflix plan now to get unlimited streaming and 1 DVD at a time. Perhaps that plan will one day only support browser-based streaming and then Netflix will release an $11 all-devices, no DVDs plan.
Hulu Plus is trying something like that out - you can't get their content on mobiles at all without a premium subscription but you can get it free (ad-supported anyway) via the browser.
Apple is providing the most compelling user experience with which to enjoy Amazon and Netflix's services. You know what a service is worth without a cool, convenient way to enjoy it? Not much.
You think iOS users will jump to WP7? Once you've tasted quality, it's hard to go back to the lowest common denominator. And Apple isn't going to lose those three services. Apple didn't become the largest non-Exxon corporation in world history by being that stupid. Ain't happ'nin.
The Kindle was designed to provide the most elegant and compelling user experience with which to enjoy Amazon's services and it succeeded wildly.