An analysis based on data released recently by Apple pegs the cost of running on the iTunes store at $1.3 billion per year. “Since we know something about the average price of songs and apps, and we know the split between developers and Apple (and roughly between music labels and Apple)," according to the new Asympco report, “we can get a rough estimate of the amount Apple retains to run its store." The data Apple published included:
15 Billion iTunes song downloads
130 million book downloads
14 billion app downloads
$2.5 billion paid to developers
225 million accounts
425k apps
90k iPad apps
100k game and entertainment titles
50 million game center accounts
This chart shows iTunes “content margin" by month—what Apple “keeps" after paying content owners but before paying for other costs like payment processing and fulfillment.
