The rise of piracy in webcomics

Generally speaking, most webcomic artists publish their work for free. If they’re lucky they are supported on Patreon or manage to make a living on the side but, for the most part, it is a labour of love. So what can one do when they discover that their work is being pirated?

In an article published on the BBC, it talks about the personal cost of piracy, even if the comic is free. Creator Andy Kluthe commented that he used to run a webcomic, however, when the webcomic was reposted on Reddit, he did not see much of a return on the “exposure” even though it was already free to read. Unfortunately he has since had to discontinue the series.

With print comics on the decline and digital sales increasing in the past few years it can be inferred that readers are turning to the Internet as their main sources of comic consumption. Coupled with the explosion of the mobile friendly vertical scrolling comics on platforms such as Webtoons and Tapas where creators are able to access potential streams of revenue, the concept of mass consumption may, in turn, feed to desire to access that content illegally.

The article posits that for newer creators, the rise of online piracy can lead to a difficult stumbling block for them to overcome which, in turn, could drive otherwise talented creators away from the medium.

What did you think of the article? Has piracy affected your work personally? Let us know in the comment section below! And join us on Sunday evening for our Quackchat at 5:30PM(EST)!

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