On free apps and exclusive distribution

Manton Reece: Where Apple went wrong with free apps:

Apple is trapped by their original decision to shoulder the cost of free apps. They encouraged free apps and now they’ve got one band-aid on top of another — advertisements, in-app purchase, subscriptions — all trying to make free apps work for the App Store bottom line.

A side note: I can’t think of any other profession where people give away for free so much of what they create. (Maybe I’m just not thinking hard enough.)