How Media & Entertainment Apps Make Money?

Are you looking to create an entertainment app?

Well, whenever someone plans to launch an entertainment app, there are many crucial aspects one has to look for, among them the top one is ‘how to make money with media apps’.

We understand that if you are spending your hard-earned money on an app; you need to know how to make money from it.

Despite 96% of apps in the Google Play Store & 92% of the Apple App Store, user spending on mobile apps grew from 4.86 billion dollars in 2022 to $5.05 billion in 2023. This shows a positive side that regardless of free apps outnumbering paid apps, mobile apps do have the potential to generate a good chunk of money.

With that being said, to launch an entertainment app & make it your earning source, you need to come up with strong media app monetization models. If you are in search of the same, well you have reached at right place. This blog will assist you in learning about the best app monetization strategies.

Market Analysis for the Entertainment Industry

The entertainment industry is going through a reform, all thanks to digitalization & other technological progressions that include 5G, wireless, consumer analytics & more. How it will be reshaped in the future? Let’s get to know it through the statsThe media & entertainment industry is a vast market, & it generates huge revenue too. With the above depiction, it is clear that the market is increasing and is likely to see a growth of CAGR 15.5% between the given forecast period.

If we are to believe experts, regions like North America, Europe, APAC, the Middle East & Africa will see substantial growth. The craze for mobile games, music, and TV will rise.

With the changing preferences of people, we are sure that businesses that are turning to an experienced mobile app development company to get entertainment apps are doing the right thing & it will be surely fruitful in the coming times.

Before you jump on the bandwagon, you need to explore different types of entertainment apps to select the one that suits your requirements.

With that being said, let’s get to know about the several categories of entertainment industries you can choose from. This will help you drive growth for your business & choose the right media & entertainment app monetization models as per your category.

Types of Entertainment Apps You Can Choose From

Before you dive in to learn how to make money with entertainment apps’, let’s first explore the niche that is available for you.

The market for entertainment apps looks promising. But, with so many apps in the market, you need to come up with proper research to stand out from them. As a result, it’s time to evaluate the ideas that can prove to be a lucrative option for you.

1. Gaming Apps

Gaming apps have always been headline grabbers, be it the blue whale challenge that took the lives of many people or Pokemon Go that made its users run on streets to capture their favorite characters. All-in-all, it is one of the most famous & rewarding business ideas that you can leverage.

These apps are one of the most famous sub-categories covering 21% of Android & 25% of iOS apps. Seeing these figures, we believe the gaming app industry has become a honey-pot & you should give your app idea a push to develop astounding gaming apps that make interesting figures.

2. Social Media Apps

Going somewhere? Post on social media: Getting married? Post it on social media.

Yes, social media apps have become a huge part of our day-to-day life. When it comes to numbers, an average person spends 2 hours & 24 minutes on social media. Putting together, the whole of the world mutually spends around 11.5 billion hours on social media platforms daily. Astounding, right?

Now, seeing this craze of social media apps wouldn’t it be wise to create a social media app & enjoy the revenue with different media app monetization models?

3. Video Streaming apps

It has arguably become one of the most popular ways to stream videos & become prevalent among influencers, gamers, and people. The freedom to watch content without downloading it has seen a spike in subscriptions for this video streaming application.

An astounding 85% of households in the U.S.A. have subscriptions to at least one video streaming application. During the pandemic, people became more active on these apps; as a result, U.S. users have watched 160 billion minutes of content.

Do you know how much that is? Putting in the historical situation, it is when human beings evolved. As a result, many people want to opt for video streaming app development for their ventures. And, they are curious to know how to build a video streaming app. So that they can get an idea about the whole process and decide how they want their streaming app to be.

With that being said, we are also hopeful to see new streaming apps on the market.

4. Music Streaming Apps

Whenever someone mentions music streaming apps, the first name that crosses our mind is ‘Spotify’, a go-to platform for music lovers. The popularity & hype of this app have made many people question how to create an app like Spotify & imitate the success of this app.

Well, other businesses have given it a try and surely succeeded to a certain extent. But, we know that to be at the top in such a competitive market, one needs strategic music streaming app development, proper planning & marketing.

Around 4 in 5 people like to listen to music through a streaming service. With such a vast number of people relying on music streaming platforms, these apps are here to stay.

Without any doubt, tapping this niche with an app & integrating numerous media app monetization models will be promising & fruitful for you.

5. Podcast App

Be it a TED talk or listening to Joe Rogan’s experience, people are obsessed with Podcasts. Those who are not, also like to listen to them in the metro or during free time.

With the growing interest in podcasts among every type of generation, the demand for podcast app development is also growing. Podcast niche is surely one of the best ways to make money with entertainment apps.

To put it in other words, there are 460 million podcast listeners globally, so it’s surely a profitable option for businesses to connect with their target audience through a podcast app.

6. Entertainment News App

With E! News having 1M+ downloads, it is not wrong to say they are making huge chunks of money through sponsorships & ads. People like to use entertainment news apps to get an overview of Oscar & award shows, to catch up on celebrity news & to stay updated.

Just as the user thirst for entertainment apps is increasing, investors are also taking an interest in news app development is also growing. With a great app, you can target a huge audience & monetize your entertainment app to take home a large sum of money. If you have an idea, then you should be sure to give it a shot, who knows you might be the next news giant in the market.

Well, we have shared some of the best entertainment niches that have people’s attentiveness. Honestly saying, if you believe to be great then the sky is the limit.

You can develop a top-notch app, provide users an exceptional service & enjoy profit by integrating different media & entertainment app monetization models.

With that being said, it’s time to know about different models that you can incorporate into your entertainment apps.

How Do Entertainment Apps Make Money?

With the increasing interest in free apps, it is necessary to come up with some smart app monetization strategies to ensure that your app makes money while the user enjoys the app.

Here are some of the best media & entertainment app monetization models that you can integrate into your entertainment app development.

1) Freemium Model

One of the most famous ways businesses are converting regular users to paid users is through the “Freemium Model”.

So, what is this model? Freemium Model is where businesses provide basic features for free, and then upsell the extra features. It is one of the most popular media app monetization models and works great.

You might not believe us, but let me share with you an example.

Spotify, we all know, is one of the top music streaming apps that has a fair share of popularity among music enthusiasts. The app claims to have the most successful freemium model, which has a conversion rate of 46%.

There are variations of basic features you get on Spotify such as listening to music, & searching for songs with ads. And, with a subscription, you get an ad-free experience, a diverse catalog, and an option to download. Spotify makes sure to provide a memorable experience for its users, which drives them to buy a subscription.

Overall, to monetize your entertainment app, it is necessary to understand your target audience & personalize your experience for them. Then only, they will feel the need to buy your subscription.

As we are done with one of the most popular monetization strategies, let’s move to another one.

2) In-app Advertising Model

Show ads to your users & earn money, this is the gist of this monetization model. Basically, it is one of the common entertainment app monetization models through which you can earn revenue for your business. Without charging any money from users, you can show them ads & for clicks or impressions, you get paid.

But, one thing to take into consideration, make sure your ad doesn’t disrupt the experience of the user & keep your audience engaged as usual. One of the famous examples is Instagram.

Usually, people don’t like ads, but if it is related to what you are searching for, you will surely stop and take a look at it. Exactly, this is how Instagram leverages in-app advertising.

They control the intensity of content & display ads to solve their user needs. As a result, the ad revenue from 2024 has already seen an increase of 17.9% increase from 2023 & fueled the desire in people to develop their own social media apps like Instagram.

Well, we will just stick to its model which you can use in your entertainment app; it’s an effective & popular way to make money. All you have to do is make sure to show relevant & well-thought ads to your users.

3) Subscription Model

When we talk about subscriptions in entertainment, one app that comes to mind is ‘Netflix’. First, let’s understand the subscription model, and then we will move to how Netflix used this to increase revenue & pave the way for success.

The subscription model is one of the most popular media app monetization strategies through which a fee is charged to customers repeatedly for a product or service. They can renew, & cancel the subscription at any time. Netflix has leveraged this to make billions of dollars.

What started as a small DVD rental company has reached to top video streaming app. Today, Netflix is used by millennials to Gen-Z. Given its massive popularity, Netflix uses a subscription model & uses different types too to cater to users.

Once you download the app, you can only access the content of the app by paying a particular amount. Even many other streaming services like Disney+ also opted for this monetization model to enjoy exceptional profits & better user engagement.

4) In-App Purchase

One of the famous entertainment app monetization strategies is ‘In-App Purchase’. In this model, owners provide the app for free but sell virtual items to their users. If you think who purchases virtual goods in an app? Let us tell you every year $54 billion worth of goods is bought by users.

This amount is huge, and with young people piquing interest, such purchases are surely going to rise in upcoming years. Seeing this, many businesses have started leveraging it.

Take the example of Zepeto, it’s one of the fun apps/ websites to kill your boredom through which you can create 3D avatars & intermingle with them in different worlds. The app offers in-app purchases through which you can customize your characters & show your imagination.

Users who want to display their creativity find it amusing & fun to express themselves in their avatars. As a result, 1.5 million items are sold on this zepeto daily.

You can hire mobile app developers & integrate In-app purchases in your app, but make sure to offer such virtual goods that will be helpful for users & they see worth in spending their money.

With that being said, let’s move forward with getting to know other best ways to make money with entertainment apps.

5) Interstitials Ad

Interstitial Ad covers the complete screen covering the interface of the app. These ads can be in the form of a banner, videos, or prompts & provide a substantial boost to performance.

Such ads are designed to take all attention & especially shown between the transition points. If used smartly, this can generate a considerable amount of revenue.

Here is a small depiction of how interstitial ads work. Pretty impressive, right?

Now, you might have also seen such ads, let me remind you we all have used Facebook, sometime after reading a news story, FB shows you an ad with a link to visit the respective website. This is a form of Interstitials Ad.

Overall, this is one of the best media & entertainment app monetization models that many businesses incorporate in social media app development to promote their new goods or services or anything else.

Remember, Interstitials Ads have the highest rate of conversion around 15% in iOS & 20% in Android. So, capitalizing on this will be a smart move.

6) Affiliate Marketing

With 80% of brands using this monetization model, do you think we will leave this important element out? Well, no.

Affiliate Marketing is a way to compensate the marketing efforts of third-party publishers to sell products or services of a particular brand.

In the entertainment industry, the affiliate programs are widespread & profitable. For example, streaming apps like Hulu offer this program through which you can promote the app. Also, with every new subscriber added to the platform through your referral, you can earn commissions.

The market value of affiliate marketing is more than $17 billion & is expected to reach $40 billion. With that, it is the right way to monetize your media app & skyrocket your business revenue.

7) Pay Per Download

Well, Well, Well, Yet another money-making model.

Pay per Download is one of the impressive entertainment app monetization models through which you charge users a particular amount for downloading the app from the preferred store. Well, it’s not that driven though.

But for that, you have to make sure that your users see the value of spending money to download your app. For that, your app has to provide unique services that make users pay for it.

If you are just starting in the market, then we would not suggest opting for this model as your initial aim should be to make users see your services & form a positive impact of your brand. So, it’s better to let them download without asking for money.

Many gaming apps such as Minecraft use this model, but well it was backed by Microsoft and surely it’s a work of creativity which is why people are willing to pay for the app.

Before using this model, ensure to have a unique selling proposition & provide motives to users why your app is worth their money.

8) Sponsorship

As we talked about how to monetize your media & entertainment app, I was sure to talk about Sponsorship.

With a strong online presence and strategic approach, you can sponsor other apps selling niche products or services. It allows other companies to educate people about their services or products; in return, you can charge money.

Talking about sponsorships, who can forget the famous Nike & Headspace sponsorship? The idea to add mindfulness elements in the training workouts has attracted many customers & believed to be fruitful for them. You can also opt for such creative partnerships & make money with top-notch media & entertainment app monetization models.

Ready to Develop an Entertainment App with Nimble AppGenie?

If you are planning to develop an entertainment app, what’s better than to work with the best media & entertainment app development company i.e. Nimble AppGenie.

Why work with us? We will not only develop an entertainment app for you, but also make sure to integrate the best media & entertainment app monetization models by reviewing your audience & following trends. We also ensure to add features that provide end-to-end experience & work amazing for generating revenue.

If you have a query or idea, send us & we will make sure our expert is on call with you within a few hours.

Conclusion

Looking at the market, there is no scarcity of media & entertainment app monetization models. As you explore different options, you will realize not every option is for you. Understanding your business model & target audience is the keystone of a successful monetization strategy.

We have crucial aspects of entertainment apps above; hopefully, it will be of great help. Each model has its benefits & drawbacks, reading about your users will help you to pick the one that resonates with them.

Now that you understand the different niches available and how to generate revenue from them, it’s time to bring your dream idea to life with Nimble AppGenie and set a strong foot in this dynamic market.

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Niketan Sharma

Niketan Sharma is the CTO of Nimble AppGenie, a prominent website and mobile app development company in the USA that is delivering excellence with a commitment to boosting business growth & maximizing customer satisfaction. He is a highly motivated individual who helps SMEs and startups grow in this dynamic market with the latest technology and innovation.