Apple To Cut App Commissions

Members of the App Store affiliate program received some bad news on Monday.

Starting in May, Apple plans to cut the commissions it pays on apps and in-app purchases from 7% down to 2.5%.

“All other content types (music, movies, books, and TV) will remain at the current 7% commission rate in all markets,” the tech giant notes in a new email to affiliates.

“We will also continue to pay affiliate commissions on Apple Music memberships so there are many ways to earn commissions with the program,” Apple promises.

While Apple is not offering much by way of explanations, the change is likely a result of declining app sales. To address that issue, the company recently added lower-price tiers to the App Store.

Still, the App Store continues to generate ample profits. Last year, App Store developers earned over $20 billion -- up more than 40% from 2015 -- according to recent figures from Apple.

That brought the total amount that developers have earned since the App Store’s debut in 2008 to around $60 billion.

This past holiday season, customers broke all-time records, with purchases from the App Store surpassing $3 billion in December.

In the same month, Nintendo’s Super Mario Run made history with more than 40 million downloads in just four days after its release -- making it the most downloaded app globally on Christmas and New Year’s Day.

Worldwide, Super Mario Run is among last year’s Top 10 most downloaded apps, with Pokémon Go taking the top spot.

While China experienced record year-over-year growth of 90%, the United States remains the App Store’s top growing market.

As of March, the App Store offered around 2.2 million apps -- up more than 20%, year-over-year.

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