>>Seems like the app store in itself is not profitable. Probably explains the publishing rules and charges.<<
I've been operating on the assumption that the App Store runs just above breakeven from the very beginning. I never saw any reason to think it would be different from the iTunes music store, which Apple has repeatedly said makes very little money.
The 70/30% split may seem onerous to some people, but it's a split of the gross. It guarantees the app developer a 70% gross margin, which would be difficult to achieve if one wanted to sell apps for one or two bucks on one's own.
Unless you get to gigantic volumes, credit card transaction processing/billing companies take 3 or 4% off the top of each charge, plus a flat per transaction fee that is often around 25 cents. So right there, your 1$ app is only netting you 71 or 72%, and you still haven't paid for web hosting, advertising, or anything else.
Apple's 30% cut buys developers, publishers, record companies, etc. hosting for their content, access to more than a hundred million customers who have purchased from Apple previously and whose credit card information is on file, plus credit card transaction processing.
It's not a bad deal at all. I think it's odd for people to view those terms as an example of Apple's being greedy. |
