How the freemium aspect of Webtoons (Naver) affects small indie artists/authors

[nixxusnibelheim]

Something I don't see talked a lot either from the consumer (obviously because it's free, why complain?) but also creators. I would like to know your opinion on it, especially as a creator.

In the comic world, when indie authors are creating a comic they will naturally put their work in a shop, to be purchased (comixology, gumroad, itchio, kickstarter, own website). In fact, while free comics exist, it is part of the culture and is expected and accepted as a consumer to buy those products (digital or physical copies.), getting free comics is almost like god-given.

Now when it comes to webtoon formatting, I have yet to see any author asking people to buy their comic and setting shops. They all rely on Tapas or Webtoons for some reasons.
And to be honest, even as a creator it feels wrong to sell a webtoon instead of putting it for free on the platforms above. First, because I feel Naver did shape the culture to be this way, and second, because of it western readers don't even think about buying webtoons and take for granted the freemium aspect of it.

As an artist, I don't know how to feel about this. I love the format but I'm skeptical about where the culture is going. Especially how traditional indie comic artists have a tougher time finding their footings in the industry ever since the wake of webtoon format.

[VibrantFox]

personally i dont have concerns. ive still seen people purchase digital or physical copies of comics when creators offer them or buy other bonus items if they're available.

if anything i think that hosting platforms like webtoons or tapas (despite their own unique flaws) can serve as a leg up to creators because it doubles as a means for personal advertising. even from a reader perspective i can recall inatances when people would post maybe the first two maybe three chapters of a work (or whatever length they felt was enough to garner attention and build hype) then navigate readers to where they were selling the full versions.

if anything poeple can use some of these platforms in a way that tapas sets up their premium series. having an intro to stories and characters then placing the rest of the content behind paywalls. and its not like tapas, webtoons and other sites havent offered avenues to earn financially on their sites there's just various options and pathways. tapas offers tipping, both offering ad rev (each w their own limitations and parameters) and the biggest that a large portion of folks seems to strive towards which is being a premium/featured creator on either site.

maybe its because im used to having witnessed some of the early comic days where growth was up to the individual and how they marketed their personal websites versus now where theres platforms letting you host content and advertise whatever you aim to sell in the future. like yes theres definitely a subset of folks who expect and demand free content but theres also just as many of not more folks who are willing to pay for stuff its just matter of finding them and gaining their interest.

[Kaydreamer]

Good topic! We're definitely going through a huge shift in how comics are created and consumed, and it's something we as creators should be discussing a lot more. I'm optimistic overall, though there are some definite drawbacks which are worth dissecting.

I intend to make a living as a comic creator, in time. I'd be happy enough working as a comic illustrator within the traditional publishing sphere, but I can see the way the wind is blowing, and I think even the big comic publishers are going to begin earnestly experimenting in the vertical webcomic format soon. So I'm throwing my energy behind making my own webcomic, not because I think mine will become huge (not my current one, at least), but because I want to master the format, build an awesome portfolio focused on that, and find paid work. If WEBTOON picks up one of my series in the future, that'd be amazing. If not, so long as I can earn a good wage as an artist for a publisher, or make a living via Patreon, that's good.

I'm perfectly happy to have my webcomic freely available. Keeping it free-to-read is a great way to build an audience, something I've always struggled with as an illustrator. Posting on WEBTOON, with their massive reader base, is an obvious choice for any small creator trying to grow.

Something I am happy to do, which WEBTOON does with its originals, and which many indie creators do with their Patreons, is having people pay to read ahead. That's pretty compelling for a lot of folks. Not to mention, on Patreon, that usually comes bundled with behind-the-scenes glimpses, sketches, process videos and so-on. Patreon and Ko-fi are both very appealing methods for smaller creators to monetise their work.

Both indie webcomic creators and WEBTOON original creators can reformat their comic into a physical book, for sale either online, or at conventions and such. So that's another potential revenue stream.

The lower barrier to entry is both a pro and a con. It's great that people who may have never otherwise made a comic, or had a way to get it in front of an audience, are now able to find success. I would never have thought to start mine if my only option for publishing it were a traditional publishing house. The downside is over saturation of the comic market with poorly-made work, much of which gets abandoned. Still, quality work tends to be noticed in time. It's harder now than it was a few years ago (going by what I've heard) but it's still achievable with patience and tenacity.

Lastly, something I absolutely adore about publishing online episodically, rather than in a graphic novel, is the audience engagement we get to enjoy as creators. That just doesn't happen in the same way if, let's say, you're publishing a graphic novel through a book publisher. I love that feedback, I love reading people's reactions to jokes, big reveals, and so-on. I originally envisioned my Dragonfeathers comic in a graphic novel format, but I'm truly re-assessing that now.

[nixxusnibelheim]

@VibrantFox For sure at the end of the day, it's about knowing your target audience. I do see people buying indie comics digital or physical, I'm one of them but indie webtoon? I don't know. I feel like those paid webtoons are rare in the independent scene and it's not as accepted and practiced as traditional comics.
The premium model is well known and accepted in Asia but in Europe and the US, I don't know?
Of course, there are other venues for us to be financed through tip and patreon for example, but it feels more like a support/donation more than letting people know that webtoons are products too that required time and work.

I've been thinking of the possibility of selling my webtoon as I would do with a digital tradition comic but I can't quite put my finger on why it feels weird to me.

@Kaydreamer That is true. We're going through a huge shift. And maybe the solution isn't to replicate what is done traditionally but to find a different and viable method to be sustainable. Being free-to-read is definitely helping small artists, I guess we have to find a way to make it work.

[sushy00]

I am on Tapas (and webtoon too, but less active there) but I still sell my comics and artwork on other sources. I also link to them on Tapas and Webtoon.

[memologue]

I’m going to try be a bit more positive about this as quite a few webtoons in Asia do end up being published into a physical format. I can only guess that it has a fan base that enjoys the work so much that they want to own it. It definitely makes it more of a luxury product. Initially I thought that formatting scroll into page wouldn’t work, but as in the screenshots below, it doesn’t look too bad :] So I wouldn’t strike out the idea of selling your webcomic ^^ Not 100% sure if I’m really on topic but hope this helps

[nixxusnibelheim]

It indeed looks awesome! My post wasn't meant to be negative in any way, simply to start a conversation, my bad if it comes out too pessimistic

My observation was referring more to independent creators, people like us. I follow a lot of comic artists and most of the people who do traditional layouts, sell their comics digitally and physically (later on), and do fine.
But when it comes to webtoon layout, I have yet to see an artist putting their webtoon behind a paywall (no early read but legit pay-to-read). We're all posting our entire comic for free without thinking of leveraging it (for some people).

I'm assuming it's because the webtoon culture in Europe and the US isn't too open about paid webtoon (yet?) and it is what I'm trying to understand. As a webtoon reader, because we're so used to read for free, the idea of investing money for it can feel weird. And as a creator, thinking of putting our work behind a paywall could feel like bad practice.

Is it how things should be? Like if we want to do a webtoon, we're stuck to make it all free while trying to build some sort of support through Patreon/ko-fi? Or is there more alternative for it?
Should creators start to be more independent and less dependent on platforms like Canvas or Tapas to share their work? I remember a time where almost all comic artists had their comic on their own website, it was hard to get traffic ofc but more friendly to sell the comic or merch.
Being a comic artist is to begin hard to make it sustainable but now, if you are specialized in webtoon, it's even harder because webtoon readers expect to consume for free.

One solution could be Tapas or Webtoon letting their creators set their comic behind locked episodes or being free-to-read.

[drawnbyyannan]

I really hope that locking episodes will be more widely available soon, but at the moment it's limited to a ridiculously high bar of needing at least 600,000 monthly US page views on Webtoon and it's not available on Tapas. (Excluding the premium series, of course.) I really don't know why they can't make this feature more available to us "indie authors" as you say.

But since I can't do that, I've been using Patreon to upload episodes early, so it has a similar effect. Except only really dedicated readers will go through the hassle of paying to read ahead on an entirely different platform.

[Zugaikotsu]

Companies don't open for everyone to get these features because when they do this, it's like they are 'selling' your comic. therefore, they'll have to pay taxes for transations. If the comic won't sell well, they will be losing money, and they don't want this, ofc.

Btw webtoons lowered the bar to 200k. Still high, but lower

[Zugaikotsu]

I can't get exactly what is your complaint, but, yes, the marketing seems to be going towards the direction of paid content. Most big creators, even if they share their comics for free, they have some sort of content behind a paywall in patreon, kofi, ink, etc.

idk why do you think is weird? im a creator but read tons of paid content and have no problem in supporting other creators for their hard work and high quality. There are platforms that are all paid for read, as well as patreon exclusive comics. And yes, webcomics are in a road to be 'gatekeeped', but there will always have space for who wants to update for free and we all can improve our game.

[nixxusnibelheim]

I probably didn't explain myself clearly.
My gripe is why we, as creators, treat webtoons differently than when we make traditional comics (physical or digital/webcomic). I'm on the same boat as you, I don't mind paying for what I consume and this is exactly what I'm pointing. Why independent webtoons with a paywall isn't normalized as much as traditional comics?

When somebody is thinking of making a webtoon, they are thinking of making it free-to-read all the way through, it's almost a natural instinct but it's not when making a traditional comic. This is the different standard that I find weird because both are under the roof of comic making.

I'm not aware of every comic artist out there but if you know a webtoon artist who posts their webtoon exclusively on Patreon, gumroad or other similar services, I would like to know and support!

I'm not trying to say "why should I pay for anything?", i'm saying the opposite xD Why most comic artists I found make their hard work for free?
This is why I mentioned the freemium strategy of Naver Webtoons. They obviously shaken up the comic industry and a lot of readers (old and new ones) start to take things for granted. Sure you can always bank on other avenues to get your income but what I'm wondering is why the actual webtoon can't be the actual revenue stream?

[Zugaikotsu]

Oh, now I understand.

Song Inkollo posts his comics mostly in his patreon page. He has some he uploads for free, but mostly they're just teasers and you need to pay if you want to read the whole thing. Aenaluck too. She has a comic based in her Ocs and it's only available in her patreon page.

Many indie artists share free content because this is their way to advertise. If you're indie, you kinda need to make your name known somehow. Companies pay social media advertisings with their isekkais full of comics using the same 3d assets...

Also if the person wants to give it all for free it's their choice. or they don't have, or think they dont have quality enough in their work to market it. also if you're successful enough in their system (webtoons) you can, yes, get revenue.

[drawnbyyannan]

Yeah that makes sense, I was just disappointed by just how high that number had to be.

Really? Where did you see the 200k views announced? It still says 600k on my dashboard.

https://www.webtoons.com/en/notice/detail?noticeNo=1495

[writercynknapp]

"Free" - I created something. It did not attract any offers, I am offering it for free. Maybe someone will be interested in the new work I am creating.

"Free for now" - I am an unknown. I hope my stuff will be popular. I dream of book deals and movies. Maybe I will attract fans and collaborators. I post to sites that protect my content rights, so I could sell in the future.

"Freemium" - I offer most chapters for free, but set some chapters at a price. [I actually have not found a site for this].

[Zugaikotsu]

https://www.webtoons.com/en/notice/detail?noticeNo=1704&page=1

[ccmatta]

I usually do purchase early access from indie creators here on tapas (when I can afford, cuz my countrys money is way too desvalued rn). I think the western consumers is used to download illegaly mangas/anime so they feel like it's natural to get it for free here too. I can say for sure that's the case on my country, as it's too expensive to buy things.

As a creator, I for sure don't feel like I can keep working everyday on my comic and get nothing out of it... It's rly hard, as I take it as one of my jobs, even if I'm so small in this plataform. It's a complex subject, since i can understand who can't afford every webtoon they read (i'm one of those who reads A LOT). That should be something Tapas whould change, maybe, like giving more suport to indie creators. It's been a year since I started and I'm far from getting the chance to offer early access here, I rely on patreon. Adsence give us nothing hahahaha so yeah

[Rhonder]

It's definitely something of a double edged sword. On one hand, creators with lower skill levels, smaller audiences, or who just want to post as a hobbyist to share the stories that they made with the world need a free to read option because... otherwise it's very possible no one would look at their stuff. For example, I have like 100+ comics in my library on tapas. I admittedly only keep up with a few of them with any regularity, but if they were all suddenly pay-to-read stories I would likely have to drop like 90% of them. I like supporting my friends' work, but I'm not made of money and can't afford to pay all of them out of pocket.

But on the flip side, the necessity for this free to read option makes it increasingly difficult for skilled and experienced creators to break into the monetization space as well. It's easy to get stuck in "mid tier hell" where you're pushing out professional level work that's considerably better than some of the low tier stuff, but not as good or marketable as the premium content that have teams and editors behind them so... you're just left kind of fighting for scraps I guess? Like at that point if you monetize your work there's a real risk of no one choosing it in lieu of similarly high quality other "mid tier" options, or instead paying for the "high tier" works if they have to pay anyways. Of course, leveraging options like Patreon or optional physical prints is a decent middle ground that a lot of people utilize. Try to access the best of both worlds- have free work to draw people in, and hope to attract those that are willing to pay in some capacity.

Kind of a lose-lose situation and makes for brutal competition. It's possible to reach the summit, of course, but it's understandable that a lot of folks either fall off before then or succumb to just taking it easy and doing it for fun or whatever the case may be.

[drawnbyyannan]

Oh wow! So it'll change tomorrow! Thanks for sharing that with me I don't know how I missed that notice.

[rajillustration]

It really is a situation of trying to get people to buy into a patreon or buy merch or printed versions--and so the webtoon is sort of like...a sneak peek or a good way to find and build an audience (especially if you're starting out). I think a lot of artists see it as an end to a means, to eventually print their comic to the same audience reading it, planning ahead to eventually stop posting so their audience will have to buy the rest (there's a bunch of artists who've done that and made enough money with a kickstarter to fund the entire project). But all that kind of changes the more digital we go, so I don't know what the future would be.

It would be nice to see more models where you can choose to have your comic pay-to-read past a certain point, kind of like a subscription. I feel like we're going to eventually go in that direction, even for people that aren't premium or originals.

Like you mentioned, I don't love the culture that comics should be free--of course it shouldn't, it's very hard to make. But, for as long as there's been webcomics, there's been free webcomics. They're just attached to stuff you buy, generally, that and we used to make a LOT more off of ad revenue. We never really found a replacement for the ad revenue of old, sadly.

[Caro]

This perspective has always been really interesting to me as a full time indie cartoonist mostly outside of the world of Webtoons and Tapas.

I feel like I’ve never had too much trouble getting people to pay for my comics and also offer them for free because, heck, most of the comics I read are from my local library and thats basically free. I don’t ever want to limit the potential readership of my work. But since I come more from the traditional publishing side I think my audience is more comfortable with idea of paying for the work.

I also have some experience with Webtoons having done a featured thing with them and it really is a whole different (and much younger) audience. I can definitely how see trying to cater specifically to that audience could be less than ideal if you’re trying to actually make money. I definitely make more money not putting all of my focus on Webtoons.

But on the other hand Webtoons does employ a lot of people who, frankly, would have a lot of trouble breaking into the traditional models of mainstream or even indie comics. There’s a lotta bad and there’s a lotta good.