PV Comics did away with the subscription model and has opened its comics archive to the public. A membership system will still be in place, but the specifics as to what benefits will be offered through it has yet to be announced.
Stuart Robertson posted the announcement on the site’s blog: “That’s right, we’re making some big changes here at PV Comics, and you can now read all of our comics for FREE! We’ll be contacting our current subscribers shortly with information on the extra benefits we’ll be sending their way, and answering any questions they might have on their existing subscriptions. For everyone else, you can now enjoy hundreds of pages of online comics from over a dozen talented artists.”
Which subscription folks are you referring to who are not “actually honest?'”
I agree that smart businesses adapt to what the consumers want. But it’s a given that all consumers of all products would rather not have to pay for them, and few viable businesses accede to that particular consumer desire.
No one in particular really. I just think if you sat everyone down in a room to talk about subscriber numbers, drop offs, etc… if there was like a “truth light” in the room or something, they’d all tell you it’s kinda sour business.
It doesnt mean it’s not a viable model. Just not quite yet. You can’t really force it. Something Barry Gregory said at the panel was probably one of the smartest things I heard about subscription models– the “illusion of value” where it looks like a great price until you read everything in a couple days, and then certain things dont update, some thing dissappear and dont get finished…. and those things cant be solved really until there is a way to make sure creators can afford their time in doing the comics. It’s sort of a weird catch 22 in a way. And you can’t just MAKE people finish their comics because YOU want to read them. But still, you can have premium content online without a bulk subscription service.
And I believe, just because you put any comics online, pay or not, doesnt make it any more of a viable medium. It gets people use to reading comics… A certain level of quality premium content would have to come first to REALLY make something you could call an actual “business” of webcomics.
We’re talking COMICS here. So really, comic readers are who I’d like to bring to the fold. Yes, from Print, whereever, it doesnt matter. And right now, the “trust” between creators and readers is shakey. People dont see the value in it. They have to REALLY REALLY, I MEAN REALLY like something to invest their money in it. There are those types out there… . but not enough to support some “industry” — yet.
I’m sorry the subscription model didn’t work for the PV Comics folks. Quality webcomics have value, the public should be willing to pay for them.
I firmly believe that paid content is the wave of the future. But it’s a tough sell in the current environment, where such a large number of talented artists are willing to give their work away for free.
Actually, you assume too much. The subscriber plan was working fine, but not good enough. I think other subscription folks would tell you the same if they were actually honest. For the amount of free viewers who come through to the number of people who actually subscribe, it doesnt make sense to build so many walls.
Stay Tuned though, there will be more news from PV a coming. Oh, and I think now, the creators themselves are freed up to build an even BIGGER audience, and the freedom to allow web exclusives for download, as well as print books. So it’s not completely PV relying on Print books. Thats just one massive weapon in the PV arsenal.
Smart businesses change and adapt to what the consumers want. Supply and Demand at it’s most simplest form.