Those are some really interesting points. I never thought about it that way. Nice to hear from the museum perspective. Thanks Bruce.
Bruce Wyman wrote: >>I don't think it is ethical for me to $ charge for apps on iTunes >>considering museums are providing free content for subscribers. >> >> > >Kurt -- I'd disagree with that statement. I don't think there's >anything unethical to it, especially if what you're trying to do is >recover the costs of the app development in the first place. Museums >charge all the time for access to content; many museums have paid >admission. All your doing is charging access to a portion of your >digital content. Even further, museums that cover the cost of free >admission many times also offer ancillary programs and events that >are covered by a fee. > >That being said, I'm always in favor of free, but there's also >nothing that prevents you from changing prices later in the app store >(start at $1.99) until / if you recover costs, reduce to free. > >Or, flip it around and make the content separate from the >distribution of the content. Your framework may/may not cost money >(your app), but the content -- which can be provided by any museum -- >is distributed for free within the app. With the current versions of >the app store and iPhone OS, you have the capability to charge for >in-app downloads of additional content. > >-bw. > >
