Pirating Comics and Economical Strategies

Luminosophy 2020-03-08 17:46:33 UTC #1

Once in a blue moon I'll see tweets like this crop up:

And it always gets me wondering. We know that pirates are an unfortunate fact of life. Whether these individuals are poor or well off, much like the new phenomena of 'porch pirates' as one tweeter there pointed out, they feel entitled to the fruits of other's labour and will ironically put in significant effort to 'strategically acquire' comics that otherwise exist behind paywalls.

I don't want to bring this topic up to debate the morality of it all, rather I'm curious to know what people have done in order to combat pirates economically. One such philosophy was a common backbone of the Patreon model, though it was not really intended this way. When creators post their works for free and collect coins in the tip jar model, it hardly provides much reason for anyone among their fans to post the works elsewhere, and why would they? It's free.

Though unfortunately for the creator, this model is not financially stable, and their earnings may pale in comparison to the mammoth time and effort required to produce the work. Shounen Jump took proactive measures in recent times by moving their business to an almost 'Netflix' like structure. Though this doesn't help the creators who want to publish independently, especially when some publishes are laser focused on niche genres.

So, what are strategies individuals might use when producing independent comics that;

A: Make it uneconomical for people to pirate (pay for content and re-upload for free elsewhere) and
B: Ensure the creator is still appropriately compensated to continue to produce the work

I'm interested in brainstorming or otherwise being pointed to creators who have already done this sort of thing. Maybe the artist has their own website, and can give accounts something like basic attention tokens that can be claimed on store merch when the user has accumulated enough? Granted this has it's own overhead costs associated with it.

Iris-Grimoire 2020-03-08 17:50:27 UTC #2

Piracy ALWAYS finds a way if the supply problem isn't solved (re: Shonen Jump, Steam and Netfix pre-other companies screwing that up). The best you can do is make sure the customer that pirates first and pays later can still find you.

So, it's good to have link backs, signatures that are readable and don't make anyone want to remove them, and stop people who just want an easy picture to save and repost with basic things like reports and whatnot

With independent comics though I'm not sure how is the piracy scene with that, after all to get into that industry most people already want to pay someone directly to see more of that good work; except for people stealing Patreon content because they feel ALL of a work should be free.

vothnthorvaldson 2020-03-08 18:35:18 UTC #3

That Patreon thing is pretty horrifying. It's just one step away from breaking into creators' houses and throwing their prints/buttons etc. through the windows, and people flock to the front lawn to pillage what they can. It's not only disgusting from the pirates, but also the people who read.

I don't blame too much people who read pirated comics as I like to know what I buy before buying (obviously if you never buy anything, then there is a problem), but stealing the Patreon extras, that's simply repugnating 🤮

Freemints30 2020-03-08 18:47:23 UTC #4

Here's a thing with piracy. IT WILL NEVER GO AWAY. Measures that try and prevent piracy thus far, has only really led pirates to consider it a challenge and go on to do it more. In video games we have seen this to its fullest, (with the measures actually encouraging piracy because it more convenient than actually legitimately buying the game). With comics the best that can be done is making buying the comic or works legitimately more convenient than pirating, however even then some rather read it for free before they buy it, like me, I want to buy more hard copies later once Im making a steady income and not living off on savings and loans.

But some people feel entitled with patreon exclusive stuff and that's pretty disgusting.
I don not have a full proof method to prevent it, but we can call out and making socially unacceptable to do this kind of shit. Shame them, tell them to fuck off and report them if you can if you know its stolen.

Cavechan 2020-03-08 18:49:20 UTC #5

It's a problem with the oversaturation in the market nowadays. Back in the day, scanlations were a thing because there was literally no other avenue to read the manga. There was demand and no supply.

Nowadays I feel it's the opposite problem, there is a lot of supply and a steadied demand.

When streaming videos became a thing it was amazing because you could go to Netflix or Crunchyroll and have a huge assortment of series to choose from. Now there's Crunchyroll, Funimation, Hulu Netflix, Amazon Prime, HiDive, VRV, RT, Disney+ and that's just off the top of my head. It used to be "I can pay $15 a month and watch a ton of shows" now it's $15 a month per 10 different services and not really worth it. So then people still pirate because of the oversaturation and not wanting to pay for a dozen different services.

So services need to develop around this competition. I think the new English WSJ does a pretty good job of the first 3 and latest 3 chapters are completely free to read (with some region restrictions which are also stupid imo). Then it's something cheap like $2 a MONTH for their back catalogue.

I think at this point stuff does kind of have to be free or very cheap or a way to like earn ink and unlock the paid stuff. Once the audience builds around that free thing, now you can offer paid options that the audience will WANT to put their money towards. The bonuses, exclusives, merchandise, spin-offs, etc.

Hodge 2020-03-08 19:01:15 UTC #6

Hmm well independent comics will have an easier time dealing with piracy since the creator has more control and flexibility. They only have to manage their own title(s), and they get to choose when and how its distributed. Some make their own site, some use password protected links, etc.

While if you're working with a publisher and notice your work is being pirated, more often than not the publisher can't do sh*t (https://twitter.com/rhea_silvan/status/1231825326293962754). And if you as the creator try to confront the problem, you're gonna be met with a lot of rude and entitled behavior. There will always be a group of people that don't care about you they just want free entertainment, but its still worth minimizing the damage.

It's really sad cause a lot of these creators are Japanese/Korean and don't speak english.

But we speak english, and so its easier for us to communicate our audiences and funnel them into a space where they feel as if they are part of a community and the reading experience is more enjoyable/accessible than on piracy sites (no ads, easy to pay, mobile app, etc.). But then the question is how do we provide that?

That's when it get frustrating, because if you're independent chances are you don't have the reach or resources. Best you can do is offer it for free on platforms and then have patron exclusive content. I remember one creator from Webtoon canvas that created their own site and made it pay to read, but I don't think it worked out. Then I guess there's the option of doing regular kickstarters and releasing it as a pdf and print to backers first, which is not a bad way to go about it and many even smaller comic creators have had success with it but its different.

For now, I think most creators just need to focus on growing an audience, trying to get those numbers up, and of course making the best comic they possibly can. Probably this might mean it'll be a few titles and working with publishers before you're big enough to really go "independent". At least, if you're trying to make a sizable income off of this relative to what you'd get working with a publisher. Then tackling piracy will become a real issue.

I don't know if any of this addressed to topic really but as someone who does this full time its something I've considered in my career planning.

GesuGesu 2020-03-09 01:25:38 UTC #7

What I noticed as a consumer is that if you can't find it for free anywhere online, then of course the only way you can access the content is by paying for it legally.

That's what made me buy coins to read stuff on Lezhin. I also ended up buying a few series off Renta! digital licensing. I double check if their series have a "free illegal rip" somewhere first before I decide to buy it.

Just make it HARD/IMPOSSIBLE to get for free. There are definitely some people out there like me who are willing to shell out $2 or $8 just to read something because I honestly can't get it anywhere else and it's my only choice left. I'm not gonna grumble about having to pay if I really want it.

As for those nasty readers who assume manga should be free because they're used to getting it free, we can't really stop them unless manga piracy truly gets completely cracked down. At most we can just try to have them learn to appreciate what they can have and understand that they should pay if they can. if not, then don't bother reading.

The shitty thing is that Japan doesn't give overseas readers enough options for consuming their works. I had to go out of my way to learn Japanese just to play some games that they refused to localise.

bakasama25 2020-03-09 01:50:39 UTC #8

I remember reading Japanese artists and companies HATED the concept of webcomics partly because of piracy until recently. Meanwhile in South Korea webtoons become a huge thing because of lack of editors and also because of piracy was a threat to manhwa sales.

Iris-Grimoire 2020-03-09 02:17:24 UTC #9

Streaming is still considered piracy by videogame companies like Atlus, so it's not just with visual art. It's very easy to "experience" a game or comic through the unusual means but it's harder still to notice that audience might not even know it exists and is good without Twitch or a webcomic plataform like Tapas/WT.

LordVincent 2020-03-09 02:21:51 UTC #10

One big thing you should focus on is trying to make offers that give people a lot for their money and is as convenient for them to use as you can make it with the tools and time you have available. Convenience is a big thing for potential pirates, a lot of people who used to download music illegally for monetary reasons are quick to opt for some type of monthly subscription service that gives them access to nearly any music they could possibly want, when they can afford it. The reason is convenience. Illegal downloading is less convenient than having your favorite music just two taps away. If it wasn't, few would change habit. Emotions win over any moral opinion people may have on the matter.

Also giving audiences a glimpse of your personality here and there, and not being too formal wherever you sell your stuff, will make them see you for the person you are. It's harder to legitimize stealing from a person than from some random username thta happens to spit out content you like. Also be a nice person and show that you are open to help new customers figure things out if needed.

Even with all of this, some will still steal, just like irl. But if you minimize the likelihood of it happening, that can be enough to make the difference between part time and full time in the profession one day.

jensrichard77 2020-03-09 04:01:43 UTC #11

That! And combined with this:

That was what Steve Jobs did when the music industry was attacking Napster instead of creating iTunes as he did.

You have to be where your audience is, and you have to be present.

Well... That’s what I try to do, and so far it has help