Apple’s Schiller Floated Cutting App Store Fees a Decade Ago
- Top executive proposed fee cut at $1 billion in annual profit
- App Store fee structure, policies at issue in trial with Epic
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Apple Inc.’s top executive in charge of the App Store floated the idea of cutting its fees a decade ago when the store reached $1 billion in profitability, according to evidence presented by Epic Games Inc. in its trial with the iPhone maker.
Phil Schiller, who runs the App Store and was previously Apple’s marketing chief, in 2011 asked Eddy Cue, the head of services, whether “we think our 70/30 split will last forever?” The question refers to the 30% cut Apple takes from developers for paid app downloads, in-app purchases, and subscriptions bought on apps within the store. In a July 2011 email, Schiller said he was a “staunch supporter” of the fee, but didn’t believe it would remain “unchanged forever.”