Now We Know the Size of the Direct Market – [updated]
by Joey Manley
From Journalista:
For what ICv2 calls “the first time,†Diamond Distributors has released actual sales numbers to the general public, revealing that the company grossed over $350 million in 2006, and estimating that the Direct Market as a whole saw retail sales of over $650 million for the year.
The “Direct Market” is the network of comic book specialty stores that serves as the primary outlet for Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, Image, and a host of other smaller publishers, who cater to hardcore comic book fans.
$650 million? Sorry. I’m just not that impressed. The inescapable conclusion for somebody writing a business plan relating to webcomics: as an industry we have to aim well beyond hardcore comic book fans, to even make it worth our time. The next question, of course, is harder: how? Well, that’s the thing. I think we already have.
I could be wrong.
[update: holy cow -- I've just realized what these numbers mean. One company, Diamond, makes more than half of all the money made in the Direct Market.]
Tom Spurgeon’s post yesterday on the states of the various business niches of comics (Direct Market, newspaper strips, manga, etc.) plays into this somehow, too, though I can’t yet put my finger on it quite yet. Here’s the most interesting part:
I’m becoming more and more of the mind that the recent surge in business for many comics industries has for the first time in the medium’s history not had an identifiable, corresponding impact on the fortunes of comics creators.
Now: what can we in webcomics do about that?
More to follow.
June 4th, 2007 at 8:51 am
I’ve written Tom a long reply which he may post. The gist of it is that I think he captures the situation in the markets of the previous generation well, but shows little interest in the markets that have emerged in the last fifteen years, and those markets HAVE improved cartoonists’ fortunes. Somewhat.
June 4th, 2007 at 8:56 am
Manga is a this-generation market, at least in the US. No? One could argue that the success of manga reprints — which are generally the vision of one creator, who owns all (or a substantial stake in) the intellectual property rights — can be seen as a benefit to lots of creators, not just Japanese ones — if the Western markets catch up to those more enlightened business practices. Notice that I’m not mentioning TP’s OEL line. That’s because I’m not mentioning it.
June 5th, 2007 at 7:50 am
[...] “[H]oly cow — I’ve just realized what these numbers mean. One company, Diamond, makes more than half of all the money made in the Direct Market.” – Joey Manley [...]
June 6th, 2007 at 1:01 am
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