Hello Tapastry Community!
Some of you may have already spotted the huge announcement which was published this morning. It is now officially confirmed: Kakao Entertainment is acquiring a 100% stake in Tapas Media, Inc. You can read the full announcement here!
Allow me to add a quote by our CEO Chang:
“We’re so thrilled to join forces with Kakao. To me, it just makes perfect sense. Kakao is relatively unknown outside of Asia, but they’re an entertainment content juggernaut with a massive library of original IP, which can be introduced to the US audience through the Tapas platform,” says Chang Kim, CEO and Founder, Tapas Media, Inc. “Meanwhile, with Kakao’s backing, we will continue the exact same mission, but on a bigger scale. This merger means a change of cap table, not of mission. Our team, our unique company culture, and our awesome creator community – everything will stay the same. Kakao is super impressed with our recent success. Our revenue grew five times last year, making us one of the top reading apps in the US; We developed more than 80 original stories with our creators, which are now being pitched as TV, film, and print book projects. Obviously when something is working well, you want to keep the formula. So, we will stay on course, just moving much more aggressively; and Kakao is fully on board with the plan.”
I’m so excited that we’re finally able to share the amazing news with you! Tapas is a site many of us visit daily in order to check stats, upload a new episode or find new, amazing series to read. I’m sure I’m not the only one who would say that Tapas is part of my life, and has been long before I started working here. The fact that this little site once known as “Tapastic” has grown to the size we are at now, gaining the support of an industry giant like Kakao Entertainment, is mindblowing to me.
Kakao Entertainment’s investment will allow us to expand our support of up and coming artists and storytellers that can be found within our community. Their involvement has helped us hire some of the best brains in the industry to ensure long term success, not only for the content Kakao has developed over the years, but also the great talent and stories found in our community. Tapas’ dedication to you, our independent creators, is as strong as ever.
I expect many questions from you, so let me answer a few right here! If there is more you would like to know, feel free to comment! I’ll respond where I can.
Are you going to get rid of the independent creator community?
No. As our CEO mentioned, everything will stay the same. We are incredibly dedicated to you, our independent creators, and are going to expand our service to you rather than reduce it.
Are you only going to showcase premium series on the front page now?
As the Head of the Community department I don’t shy away from the fact that our independent series don’t receive much exposure as needed currently. However, I’m excited to inform you that we didn’t create the Tapastry brand just to be cute and have an Instagram account (although I love it very much. @tapastry_TCC, follow it! ;D). You can expect to see more changes on our app and website that will bring more visibility to talented independent creators. This has been in the works for many months and I can’t wait to share more with you in the future!!
Are you going to make any changes to Tapas’ publishing guidelines and rules?
No. As an independent creator you continue to own your series, images, IP and so on. Tapas will never claim ownership over your series, so feel free to continue publishing without worry.
Is the Tapas team going to change?
You thought this was your chance to get rid of me, but sorry to disappoint ;D
No, there will be no change with the team. No restructuring is planned, as our team is growing rather than needing to shrink. Which reminds me, please take a look at our job site, we’re hiring!
I still don’t like that Tapas is being bought by another company.
Change can be difficult and scary, but it’s also a way to open new doors, find ways to improve and grow. For our team, more investment means more opportunities open up for our creator community, so we’re excited to work with Kakao and see Tapas (and you!) succeed. We will give our best to ensure that Tapas stays the way you’ve come to enjoy it.
I’m also upset about “X”, “Y” and “Z”!
In order to keep this thread on topic, I’ll avoid responding to unrelated topics. However, maybe we could run a more general Q&A for other questions you may have. Let me know if you’re interested in something like that.
Happy creating,
Isabell/Ratique
Creator Happiness Manager