this post was submitted on 24 Sep 2024
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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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[–] [email protected] 92 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (4 children)

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

[–] [email protected] 40 points 1 month ago (3 children)

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

[–] [email protected] 64 points 1 month ago (4 children)

It would almost be cheaper to commission an artist frankly.

[–] [email protected] 27 points 1 month ago (1 children)

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

[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 month 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.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 month ago

For a single piece sure.

I presume the idea here is that you have access to their full library. Personally, I fail to see why I would change my wallpaper enough to warrant even a free app to change it, let alone 50 bucks.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 month ago (2 children)

If you know an artist doing commissions that cheap they are depressed, desperate, or want to fuck you.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 month ago (1 children)

But that’s the best type of artist

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago

... why are they always so goddamn hot.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Could just commission someone on Fiverr for an original artwork

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Fiverr is the worst. They enable abusive clients to find victims, and AI con artists to find marks.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

So that sounds exceptionally awful. You have any more info on that?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago

There's also this infamous story. And also this one. I recognize that anecdote is not the singular of data, but there's a pretty substantial paper trail on Fiverr.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago

One piece digitally drawn in an hour or two maybe. Otherwise it is likely premade, generated, or not their source. Yeah- if you are talking backgrounds for a phone they could be more abstract or start with a base but for 45 bucks? That buys you an hour or two of that artists time- three if they like the idea or you.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Just use a free wallpaper app and pay a random artist 25 bucks

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 month ago (1 children)

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

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 month ago (1 children)

It's 50%, which is honestly quite low

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 month ago (1 children)

50% is quite decent and is 20% higher than most other "decent" services including physical stores. Building and keeping an app up to date with ever changing content requires at least a part time developer which is expensive.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago

Well the baseline is that most wallpaper apps, which don't pay artists afaik, charge like $5 a year, so if you're gonna charge me 50, I expect 90% to go to artists

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

I’m an artist who has uploaded many of my works to wallhaven entirely for free online, alongside the games I put out and any other creative venture I’ve pursued over the years.

That part is problematic not relevant.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago (1 children)

okay, cool, but I am going to assume you don't speak for all artists.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago

No one speaks for all X.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago

Use Muzei and either curate your own collection or pull in one of their pre-made ones.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago

This. Hell you can generate literally endless wallpapers for free.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

The wallpapers are nice but the website is hideous and unusable.

Edit: typo

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

the website is hideous and unusable

huh?

screenshot of digitalblasphemy.com viewed on mobile, a simple grid of thumbnails on a black background

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago

Used it on desktop, had to create account, even after that kept giving me errors that i need an account...

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Typo, my bed

(intentional this time, it's late)

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago

Good night😴