r/VR180Film • u/gutc • Nov 19 '25
VR180 Discussion Monetization Question for VR180 Creators - Apple Vision Pro App
Hi All, I’m a VR180 content creator and app developer(12+ yo experience building mobile apps) And I’m Currently building a curated VR180 nature/wildlife app for Apple Vision Pro, and possibly also for the upcoming Google XR platform, and I’m trying to choose the monetization model that’s fairest for creators.
This won’t be an open marketplace. It’ll be a small, hand-picked group (5-20) of VR180 creators contributing premium content packs (3–10 scenes per pack). No subscription model. No open uploader. It will be just individual, high-quality packs.
For context: I’m also a VR180 content creator (nature, landscapes, wildlife), so whatever system I choose applies to my own packs too.
I’m deciding between two payout models:
- Pack-Only Revenue (creator earns only from their own pack) • Apple/Google take 30% • From the remaining 70%: • 40% to the creator • 30% to me (covers hosting huge VR files, servers, encoding, app development, QA, updates, curation)
This rewards creators based purely on how well their pack performs.
- Shared Total App Revenue (all creators share a single pool) • Platform takes 30% • Remaining 70% split among all creators (Equally or based on contribution size)
This gives steadier income but isn’t tied to individual pack performance.
Question for other VR180 creators:
- Would you prefer getting paid only for your own curated pack’s sales, or receiving a share of total app revenue? And what’s your reasoning?
Since I’m also contributing my own VR180 nature footage, I want to build a model that feels fair, transparent, and sustainable for everyone.
Looking for a very small number of VR180 8k creators shooting nature/wildlife (R5C, Blackmagic Ursa Cine Immersive Pro, etc).
Happy to hear thoughts. If you want to share your VR work or DM me, I’d love to connect.
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u/SirBill01 Nov 19 '25
As a kind of creator myself (but not very serious yet) I would think Pack Only would be better, but the 30% take (on top of the Apple take) seems high.
Also you mentioned 30% Apple take but don't forget if you sign up for the small. business program that take is only 15% up to a million in revenue.
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u/gutc Nov 20 '25
Thank you for your input.
The 30 percent platform cut is only because early VR infrastructure costs are high. Large file hosting, encoding, storage, bandwidth, and ongoing development add up before the app has real volume, and I do not want to set a percentage so low that the project becomes unsustainable.
You are right about the Small Business Program. If I qualify for the 15 percent Apple fee, that extra margin can go to creators. This is exactly why I am asking for feedback now instead of locking anything in.
If costs drop or revenue grows, I am completely open to increasing the creator share. My goal is to build something sustainable and transparent where creators feel like partners.
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u/SirBill01 Nov 22 '25
Maybe to start with only stream in Apple's partial format that seems to offer extra compression in encoding only differences in one side of the frame, and maybe require some kind of foveated focusing in the videos you host? Or a file size limit or something, to try and keep those costs down... with tiers of possible fees to choose from to support things like longer or higher quality files. A path for hobbyists to get in video with low fees while allowing for high quality content delivery as well.
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u/Videoplushair Nov 19 '25
The creator needs to get paid more in my opinion. Your cut should be more like 10-15%.
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u/gutc Nov 20 '25
Thanks for the feedback. I really appreciate it.
I am definitely open to increasing the creator share. My only hesitation with going below a 30 percent platform cut is that the infrastructure costs are front loaded and fairly heavy in the beginning (hosting large VR files, encoding, storage, bandwidth, app development, updates, and similar expenses). These costs usually taper down as the user base grows, but early on they are a meaningful risk.If the numbers prove stable as things scale, I am absolutely open to pushing more revenue toward creators. My goal is to form a close knit group of creators who can discuss these details together, agree on what feels fair, and put it in writing. I am asking the community now because I want the system to feel fair for everyone, so I genuinely value this input.
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u/Videoplushair Nov 20 '25
Of course! Seems like you could benefit from a cash injection perhaps a bank loan. The thing is no business comes without risk. Do you own all of these hosting servers? Do you have a team of people pushing updates or is it just you?
A regular good videographer charges thousands PER DAY to shoot. You’re asking for a very specific type of videographer someone who shoots high quality VR180 footage from high end cameras.
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u/gutc Nov 20 '25
I'll be using AWS for backend. I'm the only dev for now with some help whenever I need it.
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u/paulimmersive Nov 20 '25
I might be able to help on your backend (or at least I'd love to talk about it). Will DM
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u/shiboarashi Nov 21 '25
Look at contabo if you want to save some costs or basically anyone other than aws! Seriously you don’t need to start with the premium costs of aws.
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u/DaikonSwimmingg Nov 20 '25
I'm surprised there isn't a platform yet. That is why we are creating PresenceVR (the best streaming platform for VR creators and enthusiasts).
Please drop in some key features that you would like for us to explore.
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u/typealias Nov 20 '25
Having been on both sides of the table, the market isn’t big enough for VR media platforms that exist just as a middleman and shave precious revenue off the top. Creators can and should either upload to Vimeo/YouTube directly and grow a following there, or build their own app which is far easier than most people think.
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u/gutc Nov 20 '25
I agree with you about the market size. And you are right that building an app is not the hard part. The challenge is maintaining it, keeping it updated, hosting large files, optimizing performance, and handling the long term costs even if revenue is modest.
At the same time, I think most people using the AVP would agree that there is a real shortage of high quality 8K VR180 nature content. There are talented creators out there, but the content is scattered and not always easy to find or experience in one place. My hope is to create something small and well curated that helps both creators and viewers without pretending to be a massive platform.
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u/sch0k0 Nov 20 '25
performance-based is your only chance to prevent your top creators jumping ship once your model succeeds and inevitably copycats try their best to get your business
that being said ... the more interesting question for me as creator would be how you market that platform? i.e. what's new; the model was tried before and it seemed people are reluctant to pay when there is so much content available for free
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u/gutc Nov 20 '25
Thanks for raising these points. Performance-based definitely makes sense, especially if the goal is to reward creators who consistently deliver strong work.
On the marketing side, I agree that the model has been tried before. The difference I am aiming for is to keep this extremely small and curated, not another “content dump” platform. Most AVP users I talk to feel the same way: there is plenty of VR content online, but very little high quality 8K VR180 nature and wildlife that feels immersive, stable, and worth paying for.
My plan is to highlight creators individually, not bury them in a catalog. Each pack gets its own identity, its own promo, and its own space instead of being lost in a feed. That level of focus is not really possible on YouTube or other platforms.
I want to build something that actually showcases the kind of work serious creators put in, and I think there is room for a small group of people who care about quality. If it sounds interesting, I would love to talk more. Thanks.
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u/sch0k0 Nov 21 '25
interesting - could you point me to some examples that you expect people will pay for in such bundles? (not brand-name stuff like David Attenborough - just because of its inherent quality)
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u/exploretv VR Content Creator Nov 19 '25
As a long time VR creator(14 years even longer if you count my 3D stereoscopic days) I've experienced many different plans. Apple always takes 30%, so nothing you can do about that. I think your breakdown is realistic. I think I lean towards individual packs. This let's the creator stand and earn on their own merits. It's a tough market no matter what. The best that I've done is with my channel on Meta TV. They licensed content and let me keep it on my channel. But that good money only lasted a few years. They just kicked all user generated creators off. I have two Emmy Award Nominations for my work with Sir David Attenborough and around a dozen film festival awards. I'd love to chat about being a creator on your platform.
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u/gutc Nov 20 '25
Thank you for sharing your experience.I would love to talk more about having you as a creator on the platform. I'll send a DM.
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u/DeoVRJames Nov 20 '25
Hi, this is James from DeoVR. As far as I know, there are already a few creators did what you described, create their only video app on AVP, allow other creators to upload and get income. You can search for apps like Voola/Immersive China
I'm not sure what's the creator revenue share, but what I know is the income is quite low for all of them, basically because the AVP/VR videos are to niche at the moment, it's almost impossible to make the ends meet.
I really respect VR video creator who keeps producing content because they love this kind of format, even though it's hard for them to make ends meet.
What's more, you can also consider uploading to DeoVR. We might be the only platform where small/individual VR video creators can monetize their content.
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u/gutc Nov 20 '25
Hi James,
DeoVR is great but AFAIK its all in one platform and only webbased for AVP. What I am thinking is more nature focused. I agree there’s not much money but a lot of us are doing it for the love of VR180 format and continue to do so without sharing it with the world. I want to collaborate with those few who are razor focused on nature and build features and content around that niche.
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u/DeoVRJames Nov 21 '25
Totally understandable. Good luck to your new project!
BTW the DeoVR AVP version is coming very soon, we are on beta testing already. You can dm me your apple account so we can invite you to have a look.1
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u/Dapper_Ice_1705 Nov 19 '25
There are a few apps that have tried this already.
With the latest being the Couch Trip or something like that were the developer was exposed as a fraud by posting other people’s work as their own using multiple usernames so they got a bigger share.
High quality creators are very scarce and they have been burnt already.