While we're getting back onto the topic of Premium vs. free to read comics, I wanna point out real quick another platform that has been doing what Tapas does for years now, and does it really well.
ANOTHER LONG POST AHEAD SORRYYY
You'd think for a platform based ENTIRELY in Korea, LINE Webtoons would be the poster child for promoting repetitive BL/romance-tropey stories with Korean leads. But, no. They've got a huge variety of stories that, even if not all are represented equally (their free to read section is called Canvas) have struck a healthier balance between the two categories (paid and unpaid) and don't all fall into the Korean vertical webtoon style of storytelling that's basically become cookie cutter for Tapas at this point. Yes, their comics are all vertical, but there's diversity. There are characters with different backgrounds, ethnicities, etc.
As of writing this, every single comic on Tapas's scrolling banner (on the app which i'm opening for the first time in 6 months to write this post lol) features anime-drawn, white characters. Only 2 of them (out of 8) don't feature mono-romance as the main pull through either the banner art, title, or summary. All white, and "Ring My Bell" is as far from the typical Korean anime style as it goes.
Meanwhile, Webtoons has 8 banners up, and out of those 8, 3 of them are animated, 5 of them have people of color, and only 2 of them have two characters featured alone together (and it's not rly romantic or with romantic undertones/implications, Cupid's Arrow has more of a Men in Black/camaraderie vibe going for it; Soul on Hold is as close to romantic as it gets until you see the animation and it becomes a little more sinister and complex). The other 6 banners either feature 1 character (in the case of The Wolfman of Wulvershire it's 1 character per slide as it's animated) or a multitude with variety and diversity. Only 1 banner has art that could pass as the typical Korean webtoon style; every other comic looks like something a unique artist could have drawn, with styles ranging from loose realism to straight up Western cartoon. These are their "Premium" series. And they fit right in while also making an impression.
Better yet, they have a payment system on Webtoons (with Coins) but it's for Early Access. Early Access. So for those that don't want to wait three days for the next episode, they can pay up. But those that don't or CAN'T won't miss out on a series they've been enjoying due to a paywall. Having to wait sucks, but everyone is capable of waiting. There aren't barriers to those who maybe can't spend $10 on Internet currency or access ads on the daily to get free currency.
And best of all, when you open the Webtoons app, they don't bombard you with ads to take part in their currency. Because Webtoons undoubtedly knows that that currency doesn't exist - so you can't very well rely on it forming an economy that's capable of sticking around for the long run. It's a bonus, not the backbone of the website.
That being said, IDK how Webtoons makes the money it does. I know they're paired with LINE (a texting service in Korea) so that's gotten them a lot of investments over the years. And some of their series are making it big, I know I saw an article about Netflix being interested in adapting Lore Olympus into a show, that was a few months ago now tho so idk. Either way, Webtoons obviously has a lot of sources for funding, but my god do they use that funding well. I think my only real gripe with their website/app is that there's no profile or forum functions so it can make communicating with your readers difficult, but as a webcomic-reading app, it's pretty great.
Going back to the whole Coins vs. Ink thing, I feel like Tapas' platform is built on quite a lot of privilege. Maybe that's a bold assumption to make, but honestly. Their premium comics are perma locked behind paywalls. Sure they give you ink every now and then but often it's only for the comics they GIVE you, not the ones you've actually been wanting to read. They offer the Ad View options so you can get free ink, but it's very little and even less so if you live in a region that doesn't offer as many ads (I remember this being an issue when the app first launched). They primarily focus on featuring comics of the same style, narrative and targeted demographic, even if it means every character you see is going to be white or Korean (which is again, weird considering Webtoons doesn't have this issue and they're from Korea). Most of all, with their current paywall system, they basically punish you for not having the privilege they demand of you. No ink? No webcomics for you. Honestly, it may be for the better - for every generic cookie cutter Premium comic someone can't read, that's very well a free to read comic that's getting the views instead, possibly one that could use that support.
Tapas has been playing it so safe the last few years that they've become a watered down version of their own potential - and a lot of that potential you can see in other platforms like Webtoons. With their more community-based platform (at least on desktop) with profiles and wall posts and forums, etc. they have the potential to be even BETTER than Webtoons, which lacks those features entirely. But they keep squandering it in favor of playing to their bottom line. When they first started out, this would make sense, new business treading dangerous territory (webcomics, not exactly a profitable business 10 years ago) and there's no shame in playing things safe while you get your toes wet. But it's been at least five years since the app launched and the platform has become entirely more so 'samey' since. You can only play things safe for so long before you become forgotten for stagnation.
I'm sure a lot of what I'm saying here is rooted in hyperbole. I realize how much of a tangent I went on lol but I think a lot of these things are why it's just not worth going Premium on Tapas - and why it's certainly not true that Premium comics are popular just for being good comics. Being good and being popular are pretty much mutually exclusive from one another. It's simple marketing - they're popular because Tapas made it so. But will they be remembered 5 years from now? Probably not. A handful of the ones that have broken from the mold (ex. Witch's Throne) will surely stick around in our collective memories for a long while, but it's hard to be memorable when those controlling your image and popularity do so with the most fearful-for-their-brand methods possible. Meanwhile, there are so many great comics out there that are accessible, inclusive, and memorable, not because a company wills it as so, but because they just are.
And I don't want people thinking I hate Tapas or something lol I don't, I'm just tired of seeing them squander their potential so they can play it safe. When it comes to the creative world, no one ever made it anywhere by playing it safe. Or rather, playing it TOO safe, to the point that you just become a shell of what you once were because you're too afraid to splash in the shallow end.
On the whole, they've got a detrimental paranoia that's keeping them from doing anything unique at this point. And it's really sad to see 
