This post is a continuation of the
Great Independent Comic Survey and covers distribution and merchandise rights.
Question
5: What percentage of your sales are hard copies?
Answer: 53% of the group makes
75-100% of their sale in hard copy.
Answer Choices
|
Responses
|
less than 25%
|
23.33%
|
25-50%
|
10%
|
50-75%
|
13.33%
|
75-100%
|
53.33%
|
Question
6: What percentage of your sales are digital?
Answer: 73% of the group
claims less than 25% of their sales come from online distribution.
Answer Choices
|
Responses
|
less than 25%
|
73.33%
|
25-50%
|
16.67%
|
50-75%
|
6.67%
|
75-100%
|
3.33%
|
Question
7: How much of your sales happen at conventions?
Answer: 40% of the group
sells less than 25% of their sales at conventions. This question had the most
even distribution of all the survey questions.
Answer Choices
|
Responses
|
less than 25%
|
40%
|
25-50%
|
16.67%
|
50-75%
|
23.33%
|
75-100%
|
20%
|
Question
8: How much of your sales happen at comic book shops or other brick and mortar
stores?
Answer: 60% of the group sells less
than 25% of their books in comic shops.
Answer Choices
|
Responses
|
less than 25%
|
60%
|
25-50%
|
26.67%
|
50-75%
|
13.33%
|
75-100%
|
0%
|
Total
|
30
|
When these distribution questions
are taken together, they suggest that
there is significant room for growth in the digital sector, since both convention
and bookstore sales do not appear to be robust. Reducing or eliminating the
issue of shelf space, printing costs and shipping costs could have the effect
of increasing sales and decreasing costs, but I don’t have enough information
about fixed digital distribution costs to make a definitive statement about
that.
Question
9: Do you control the merchandise rights to your title?
Answer: 73% of the group
controls the merchandise rights to their titles. This is encouraging because
there has always been a trend of certain publishers taking many other rights in
addition to the publish rights needed to print the book (see Get What You Give). The
downside to this is that 23% of the group learned to retain their rights after
the rights to some titles were taken away.
Answer Choices
|
Responses
|
Yes
|
73.33%
|
No
|
3.33%
|
I control the rights
to some properties but not others.
|
23.33%
|
I'm not sure who
controls the rights to my titles.
|
0%
|
Question
10: Are you already selling merchandise based on your title?
Answer: 67% of the group is
not selling merchandise. This is encouraging for two reasons. First, the fact
that a third of creator owned books has some kind of merchandise supports the
idea that there is a market for these goods. Second, the results show untapped
potential for more merchandise, especially when you consider that a majority of
artists retain the right to sell it.
Answer Choices
|
Responses
|
Yes
|
33.33%
|
No
|
66.67%
|
Conclusion
Based
on the results of the survey, the market does not have the necessary volume for
my proposed merchandise platform to thrive. That doesn’t mean that there is
no value in releasing a creator owned book. It doesn’t mean that individual
creators can’t set up their own creator owned merchandise and make it
profitable. It does mean that there is an opportunity in both digital
distribution and merchandise that independent creators can use to enhance the
popularity and sales of their books.
If you have any questions about this
survey, please let me know.
Have fun.
Gamal
Gamal