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You still cannot make in-app purchases on Comixology in iOS, right?
I ask because I read the @ComicsXF 2021 survey and am mulling over how comics could have the extended reach in digital distribution of music or TV/film, and even though they've got the walled garden approach with MCU/DCU, the lack of mobile purchases hurts https://www.comicsxf.com/2021/01/04/we-asked-people-to-take-the-2021-cxf-comics-survey-heres-what-they-said/
Single issue comics, and even most graphic novels, are less like BOOKS as a unit of entertainment and more like an album or an episode
When a new song or show gets a ton of press, EVERYONE knows where to get it. When a comic gets a ton of press…it doesn't SEEM like much happens
When a new song or show gets a ton of press, EVERYONE knows where to get it. When a comic gets a ton of press…it doesn't SEEM like much happens
On one hand, you have music industry's approach of TOTAL UBIQUITY.
Don't want to buy it? Stream it on a paid service. Or a free service! Or, heck, just come to YouTube, we monetized it there too.
We know you could just pirate it so we're EVERYWHERE we could possibly make money.
Don't want to buy it? Stream it on a paid service. Or a free service! Or, heck, just come to YouTube, we monetized it there too.
We know you could just pirate it so we're EVERYWHERE we could possibly make money.
On the other hand, you have TV/film retreating further and further into walled-garden networks as they decide subscription dollars are the answer.
Want to watch our show? It's one more reason to subscribe to NETWORK X.
Maybe we'll offer a physical medium version. Eventually.
Want to watch our show? It's one more reason to subscribe to NETWORK X.
Maybe we'll offer a physical medium version. Eventually.
At first blush, Big Two comics have opted for the walled-garden approach with MU and DCU, with CXU as as the sort of "semi-indie" third way.
Yet, they're all on a lag, and I question if Random Person gets the model. Heck, even a lot of HARD CORE COMIC FANS don't get what's on MU
Yet, they're all on a lag, and I question if Random Person gets the model. Heck, even a lot of HARD CORE COMIC FANS don't get what's on MU
Meanwhile, a rational person who primarily consumes media via phone/tablet sees a headline about the new Batman being black and thinks "COOL." They do the logical thing and get the Comixology app, see you can't buy anything on it, check out DCU, see it's not there, and...give up?
Every time people bring up how digital could be the way forward, the reply is that single issue digital sales are not growing.
But, uh… NO ONE IS EVEN TRYING ANYTHING.
(Meanwhile, the 10th-most-popular "action" comic on WebToons has 5x the subs of Batman's floppy sales.)
But, uh… NO ONE IS EVEN TRYING ANYTHING.
(Meanwhile, the 10th-most-popular "action" comic on WebToons has 5x the subs of Batman's floppy sales.)
When it comes to digital, American Floppy Comics think of themselves more like FILMS than songs, and that they have PULL to bring interested readers to their walled-garden networks.
In fact, this is a delusion. Films not only have WAY MORE PULL, but are more of a pain to pirate.
In fact, this is a delusion. Films not only have WAY MORE PULL, but are more of a pain to pirate.
In reality, comics are more like songs. Songs are often single-listen. There are many ways to pirate them. They don't have subscription-pull on their own. Even most big artists don't have pull on their own.
The only answer for music has been ubiquity.
Comics need that.
The only answer for music has been ubiquity.
Comics need that.
I wonder what would happen if Marvel or DC decided that 2-3 of their flagship books with strong cross-media appeal could be loss leaders for a year, and made the most-recent three issues free on their apps.
Want more? Time to subscribe.
Want more? Time to subscribe.
I wonder what would happen if Marvel or DC decided to take one of their digital first series and straight-up put it on YouTube like all of those pirate channels - basically, a screen-recorded guided view with music in the background.
Want a better reading experience? Buy it.
Want a better reading experience? Buy it.
Both of those ideas could be awful, and maybe they've already been tried and failed.
My point is that comics have the grip on our unconscious that they do partly because for GENERATIONS they were AS ubiquitous as songs. They were in every drug store check-out aisle, everywhere.
My point is that comics have the grip on our unconscious that they do partly because for GENERATIONS they were AS ubiquitous as songs. They were in every drug store check-out aisle, everywhere.
If you talk to people of a certain age, even non-comics fans amongst them had bought at least one comic in their lives. Or had comics from a sibling. Or had a stack of their parents comics handed down.
That comes from ubiquity of access.
That comes from ubiquity of access.
Today, that ubiquitous experience does not exist in any physical space. It exists in-browser and on-device.
When WAP reached meme status last year, did you have any trouble finding the video?
When Queen's Gambit achieved headline status, did you know where to stream it for $12?
When WAP reached meme status last year, did you have any trouble finding the video?
When Queen's Gambit achieved headline status, did you know where to stream it for $12?
Yet, when Batman is black, or the X-Men are cool again, or there is a Brazilian Wonder Woman, or Spider-Man gets a new costume, or the Hulk just cannot die, does everyone from your parent to your co-worker to the youngest kid you've met know where to find those stories.
Nope.
Nope.
If I come across as anti-DM, this is why
Floppy sales compared to people who have cell phones is minuscule. Even if every LCS in the world mounted a million-dollar ad campaign, the resulting audience would be a fraction of the digital market
But, you need to actually SELL TO IT
Floppy sales compared to people who have cell phones is minuscule. Even if every LCS in the world mounted a million-dollar ad campaign, the resulting audience would be a fraction of the digital market
But, you need to actually SELL TO IT
This topic vexes me, because Marvel, DC, and other primarily-floppy American publishers have SO MUCH AMAZING CONTENT for people of all ages and walks of life, and I feel like their stubborn focus on keeping the DM alive, Comixology, and walled-gardens is ensuring their obscurity.
