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The App Superstar Economy Dissecting the Global App Store Marketplace

Karol Severin
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The 20,000 Foot View

Accelerating smartphone and tablet adoption around the world is supercharging an already buoyant app store economy.  A combination of Apple’s tightly integrated ecosystem and Google’s aggressive marketing strategy are is helping propel apps further into consumers’ consciousness.  However the market is not built on entirely firm foundations, with the dominance of games and the concentration of revenues in a small number of companies raising questions about longer term sustainability.

Key Findings

  • The mobile            marketplace is a superstar economy,                       app companies accounting for            of                       top app placings, while just            account for all           
  • The Tyranny            Choice and the lack of            discovery skew the app marketplace            super hits for a small            of companies
  • The app            is also predominately a games            with games titles accounting for            top            of the top app            are from North America while            from the European Union (EU),            Sweden and Finland accounting for            the EU total
  • App stores            international access to US consumers            most EU companies have not            tapped the opportunity: Nordic companies            for            of the top EU            in North American stores
  • The US,            and Japan are the three            successful app company countries, accounting                       of all top apps
  • Music packs            weak app punch: only            music            register in the top            and            music app store revenues only            to            million, a little over            total app store revenues
  • Utility, Production            Instrument apps are the most            music apps
    •            consumers use apps to download music for free, rising to            of            to            year olds, and            in Brazil

Companies mentioned in this report : Apple, Google, Rovio, Kiloo, Supercell, Mojang, SMULE, Spotify, Lady Gaga, Bjork, PocketTube, Instatube, mTube, Berliner Phillharmoniker