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by ThomPete 4293 days ago
The 30% as far as I understand is roughly covering the cost of running the app store. I.e. huge revenue but not really much profit.
2 comments

I would be really surprised by that. The gross 30%, presuming it always applied, would be about $6 billion per year, which would be an enormously expensive online store. Of course Apple's cut is often lower than 30% -- I can frequently buy $100 iTunes cards at Costco for $80, for instance, and then add that the retailer surely gets a cut as well.

Nonetheless, the iTunes empire is currently doing almost $20B of business a year, with a $6B cut. The NFL, in contrast -- for all its seeming enormity and influence -- is about a $8B business, gross.

The app store has free apps too, it could be said the paid apps are subsidizing the free ones.
Subsidizing the bandwidth costs? Because the free app developers surely don't see any of that 30% cut app charges other apps.
The apps needs to be approved. The majority of cost from running the app store is the people who work there.
I was talking about the app store. Sorry if that was unclear.
"According to Apple".

I don't think we've had anyone actually analyze that yet. It's only Apple that's been telling us that they barely cover the running costs. Also that was years ago. I imagine at least some profit grows faster than the costs with more apps in the App Store, more streamlined review policies, and increased profit/app from IAP business models.