At risk of sounding like a broken record, would it help to know that Apple/iTunes runs SAP?
iTunes now costs $1.3 billion/yr to run
41–50 of 63 posts
Re: iTunes now costs $1.3 billion/yr to run
#42So, is 30% too much of a cut when the platform offers: - Credit card processing - The largest marketplace with the most paying customers - Download hosting - Promotion - Highly available document and key/value store infrastructure - Keeping junk and malware out of the store, which maintains user trust. I'd argue that, like most emotionally influence business decisions, Apple sticking with the same percentage is a goo…
That may be a very good deal for some... but what if it's not or the people just want an alternative? If Apple's platform is that good, then there is no reason to lock in people to use only that, devs will flock to it anyway, it can stand on it's own merits. Or Amazon or someone else may come in and offer all of the above + more at only 20% because of their efficiencies (AWS etc.). Not to mention the still ongoing fo…
There is good reason to not offer alternatives. There will be platform fragmentation, and end up being a worse experience for both developers and users. Devs probably need to publish on all stores to cover their bases, otherwise users need to know which store to buy from or have to search for an app in every single store.
Also, Apple has changed their subscriptions policy: http://www.macrumors.com/2011/06/09/apple-reverses-course-on...
Re: iTunes now costs $1.3 billion/yr to run
#43Earlier quoted context omitted.
Counting search results as promotion is a stretch.
Not really as Apple made sure searches happen in the first place.
Not sure why you're being voted down. Distribution channels don't just spring out of the ground overnight. Apple's promotion of iTunes and the App Store created a critical mass of users willing and able to spend money, while Apple maintains that by creating mechanisms to satisfy their demand for apps and content.
Re: iTunes now costs $1.3 billion/yr to run
#44At risk of sounding like a broken record, would it help to know that Apple/iTunes runs SAP?
Why would it?
Re: iTunes now costs $1.3 billion/yr to run
#45Earlier quoted context omitted.
>iOS App Store: Could be break even I suppose. Obviously lose money on free apps, plus the review process can't be cheap. Free apps still need a $99/yr developer fee, though one could submit a whole lot of free apps.
I just looked and Apple hires iOS reviewers as full-time US employees with a CS degree. No salary listed, but I would guess that's around $100/hr cost to Apple. So one hour spent on reviewing a free app and now Apple is losing money.
After the first, because you still have to register as a developer
Re: iTunes now costs $1.3 billion/yr to run
#46Re: iTunes now costs $1.3 billion/yr to run
#47Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not really as Apple made sure searches happen in the first place.
Not sure why you're being voted down. Distribution channels don't just spring out of the ground overnight. Apple's promotion of iTunes and the App Store created a critical mass of users willing and able to spend money, while Apple maintains that by creating mechanisms to satisfy their demand for apps and content.
Because if people are searching for a product, they probably already know about it and it is hard to call that "promotion" unless you squint really hard in which case, Google is offering free promotion to everyone!
Re: iTunes now costs $1.3 billion/yr to run
#48iTunes store is an integral part of iDevices, they couldn't sell the things without it. They're trying to separate out the cost to try to justify their fees but it doesn't make any sense because it should be built into the price of the devices. Before the app store existed Apple still provided the iTunes store service to customers for free with the purchase of the device.
Re: iTunes now costs $1.3 billion/yr to run
#49Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not sure why you're being voted down. Distribution channels don't just spring out of the ground overnight. Apple's promotion of iTunes and the App Store created a critical mass of users willing and able to spend money, while Apple maintains that by creating mechanisms to satisfy their demand for apps and content.
Because if people are searching for a product, they probably already know about it and it is hard to call that "promotion" unless you squint really hard in which case, Google is offering free promotion to everyone!
"tally clicker"
"weight counter"
"hike mapper"
"vnc client"
People search for solutions to problems as often, or more than, specific apps. Appearing in that lineup is an important opportunity.
Re: iTunes now costs $1.3 billion/yr to run
#50Earlier quoted context omitted.
Does anyone believe that the promotion that Apple offers on average is worth two cents? And what good is a marketplace with some of the worst discovery ever? I mean, there are now hundreds of thousands of apps. Finding high quality apps on the app store is like finding a needle in a Utah sized haystack. I much rather do my own marketing, have a user download the app off my website or heck, Amazon (which actually has…
> Does anyone believe that the promotion that Apple offers on average is worth two cents? I do. I made a couple small and quick apps. They have made several hundred dollars. I attribute that almost entirely to Apple's promotion of them, mostly by having them show up in iTunes search results which Apple promotes. Also having them show up as recent releases. My promotion consisted of linking them on my websites. If tha…
The value you get from Apple's promotion has a primarily multiplicative, not additive effect on your existing promotion. Charts, features, recommendations, etc.
Apple helps those who help themselves.
Releasing an app with no marketing plan in place, app store or not, is stupid. It's why there's an incredibly long tail on the 300k or so apps.
If you're an indie developer, you have to remember the actual developing is only half the job.