WEBTOON has come under a new wave of criticism after Covenant author LySandra Vuong (also known as explodikid) revealed that the platform has prevented them from promoting the book's upcoming print edition in techno comics number. Covenant has been serialized as a WEBTOON Original series since August 30, 2020, and has since attracted more than 24.8 million views and nearly 700,000 followers.
In post shared on their social media accounts, Vuong alleged that WEBTOON blocked their attempts to add news about the print edition to the comic itself even though such practices had been allowed in the past. Oni Press will publish the print edition of Covenant on May 14 as WEBTOON holds exclusive digital publishing rights. The author goes on to make claims about the lack of pay increases and general support, which has greatly impacted their mental health. Vuong was instructed to post ads on the author page (which serves as a kind of social media platform for WEBTOON creators) but they pointed out the difference in views and followers: vs. 700,000 comic readers, only about 11,560 people directly follow the explodikid account.
Anime Corner has reached out to WEBTOON for comment on these allegations, and while the company has not directly addressed Covenant, it has emphasized that it is working to streamline its advertising policy rules. reported in each episode so that it is consistent. Full statement below:
“Providing creators with a platform to build global fandom and monetize is our top priority at WEBTOON. We have a long-term policy on advertising and promotions in the chain. We provide multiple spaces within the platform that allow Creators to promote their work outside of their platform and share important updates with fans, including Author Notes and Creator Profiles create. Creators can use their Creator Profiles to promote any project, as long as the content of the post complies with community guidelines. This can include direct sales links in their bio.
We're reviewing our processes to ensure our advertising policies within each episode are clear and consistent, along with ways we can better support creators in promoting their work of them both inside and outside of WEBTOON.”
The Covenant advertising controversy comes less than a month after an anonymous poster on Reddit claimed that WEBTOON had offered them a contract for their work, allowing the company to also publish technical digital and print as well as merchandising rights and the ability to purchase intellectual property (IP) rights. In a statement to The Beat, WEBTOON claimed that the post “misrepresents” how they work with creators. During our conversation with them, they again stated that the post (posted by an anonymous user who deleted their account) was misinformation and that no one was trying to take ownership wisdom. Beat articles also include testimonials from creators who have published their work on the platform (or are considering doing so).
In addition to Originals, the WEBTOON platform also hosts Canvas allowing users to share their content freely without contractual obligations. Both Originals and Canvas have space for Patreon links, allowing creators to collect donations from readers. On April 30, Canvas introduced the new Super Like program.
The problem with this feature is that the original Super Like replaced the Patreon button at the bottom of each episode both on the site and the app, forcing creators to promote Patreon, ko-fi, and similar services within the episodes themselves. , just like they have done so far. However, after outrage from both creators and readers, WEBTOON has promised to restore Patreon option.
To be eligible for the Super Like program, the series must have 500 likes or more and the creator must be over 18 years old. When a reader purchases a Super Like (any tiered option) and sends it to a creator, the creator earns, more specifically 70% of the net revenue (gross revenue is deducted by 30%) . The wording in the announcement seemed a bit confusing, and it wasn't clear whether the creator received 70% of the total income or 70% of the 70% of the total income, so we once again reached out to WEBTOON for comment:
“For Super Likes, Creators receive 70% of net revenue for purchased Super Likes, which is total revenue minus 30% app store fees (WEBTOON does not receive any fee share any app store). Creators receive the majority of net revenue at 70%, while WEBTOON spends 30% of net revenue to cover operating costs, transaction costs, and other costs associated with running the user platform. global innovation.”
While this is a satisfactory solution, there seems to be growing discontent between WEBTOON, its creators and users, as evidenced by the lack of communication with the creators clearly reflected in Covenant situation. We reached out to explodikid, who agreed to briefly comment on the statement we received from WEBTOON:
“I was never made aware of any 'standing policy' other than that my title tags could not be longer than 1000px.
I just want my colleagues and myself to be treated fairly and allowed to promote the books in our episodes to the audience we've worked so hard to build, which has always been allowed on the platform before This incident occurred.”
Naver's WebTOON has been the go-to place for creators from all over the world for quite some time now. While initially known for its Korean content (which spawned hits like Tower of God), in recent years it has become home to many acclaimed English-language originals, while Also bought Wattpad. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the publishing industry has seen one of its biggest booms, which is especially evident in digital releases. WEBTOON is the leading company in this field.
The webtoon/digital comic industry is still expanding with more readers than ever, thanks to many factors including the consolidation of previously exclusive manga/anime fandoms and despite the The unfolding of this may not be the same as it was during the lockdown, you cannot deny that it still exists. However, creators seem more dissatisfied than ever, and the problem seems not to be a lack of support from fans but a lack of communication with the platforms where their work is published. published and serialized. The Super Like/Patreon event on Canvas shows that communication and listening to feedback still exists on the WEBTOON platform, and it remains to be seen whether that will be implemented when it comes to Originals authors, who are ultimately are the ones who bring a large audience to the platform.
Featured images: Covenant, WEBTOON