Covid-19 Industry impact

[Vaporo]

I'll, err.... it seems like that one got a little caught up in the internet culture wars. But new risky projects that bomb is always supposed to be a thing in art. It doesn't mean much of anything by itself.

Oh, it most certainly is caught up in the Culture Wars™. The Internet is still busy ripping Marvel to shreds about it. That video is a real rabbit hole that I fell down by putting Youtube on autoplay while I studied. It's not just the one video, though. The controversy extends so, so much further. Basically, it can be summed up like this: A lot of Marvel's long-time fans have become frustrated that the main goal of Marvel Comics for the last few years seems to be pushing social justice and political issues at the expense of quality, rather making good action and superhero stories, and those readers view this new comic as the greatest symptom of the issue. A lot of long-time fans are saying that they've lost interest Marvel because of it.

Anyways, I'm not here to discuss politics. My point is that if Marvel Comics goes down because of COVID-19, this controversy will likely be another contributing factor.

 

[Devor]

Okay, against my initial inclination I did some research.

Here's the graph of comic book sales illustrating the complete collapse of the industry.

The numbers show that the industry has been shockingly stable since 2000. This is unit sales so it doesn't account for the price per unit.

However this doesn't account for digital sales, which are a thing and aren't published, that by some estimates account for as much as a third of the industry.

That is, physical comic book sales have not collapsed even as digital sales have grown.

Of course everything has collapsed now because of Covid-19. However the internet rumor that Marvel and DC comics were both on the verge of death (which I remember hearing before now that I've given it more thought) are unfounded.

 

[Vaporo]

Interesting. I've heard for years about how much comic book companies struggled, but that graph provides some evidence to the contrary. That said, the graph stops at 2018, right after there had been a bit of a downturn.

 

[skip.knox]

One of my fondest memories is of buy comics off the stands at drug stores, etc. In fact, my first four purchases were at a 7-11, entirely on a whim, for I'd not read comics as a kid. I was 24 when I bought Avengers, FF, Captain Marvel, and the fourth has slipped away. I do, however, remember that it was Steve Englehart's run on the Avengers and that it was right at the start or just before Jim Starlin's storied turn at the helm of Captain Marvel. I was hooked, though by the mid-80s my fascination had played out.

But I have strong memories of getting a new issue, reading it on a porch or curled up on a couch. I bought myself a year of Marvel's digital. It's not the same, not even close. The colors on that old newsprint paper, the ads, the fan letters, even Stan's bullpen missives are gone from the digital version. All that was part of the experience. It was like getting a present. Mine was the last generation to get to enjoy all that.

 

[Maker of Things Not Kings]

But I have strong memories of getting a new issue, reading it on a porch or curled up on a couch. I bought myself a year of Marvel's digital. It's not the same, not even close. The colors on that old newsprint paper, the ads, the fan letters, even Stan's bullpen missives are gone from the digital version. All that was part of the experience. It was like getting a present. Mine was the last generation to get to enjoy all that.

It was also the last generation of collecting that was not driven by speculative worth. Today everything is viewed with any eye toward future value and collectibility which may have as much to do with the steady print comic numbers as anything else. That and the now-common variant covers done by different artists for the same issues. It's amusing to think that people believe having a #1 issue will ever have the value of those rare old comics when there are thousands of people saving each new comic that is printed now. I had boxes of comics as a kid and didn't care about what got spilled on them, or if I cut them up for some other play project. And I recall going to the newsstand every Sunday with my mother and being allowed to pick out four new ones each week. They were treasures on rainy days or weekend nights. I can't imagine buying new comics and not even opening them so as to not risk their "mint" condition. But it has helped kept the comics industry afloat.

I tried digital for a few years and still have a few of those saved that I tend to return to. Once or twice a year I find an online source for print comics and buy a few that appeal to me. I get them, read them, curl them etc and then pass them on through our local library in far less than mint condition.

However the internet rumor that Marvel and DC comics were both on the verge of death (which I remember hearing before now that I've given it more thought) are unfounded.

If I had a dollar for every time I've heard in my lifetime that Marvel and DC were teetering on the verge of collapse. . . lol

They've had their share of troubles and navigated some real dips and landmark shifts in the market but they've gotten on board with the industry continuing to become more inclusive and that, along with the long stranglehold they maintain on print publishing and distribution, I think they'll be doing their thing as long as they desire. I've never been a big superhero fan but their new comics are as good as ever, even though I do find the lack of story continuity when a title is passed from writer to writer a little perplexing at times.

 

[The Dark One]

Wouldn't DC and Marvel also be making a fortune from movie royalties?

 

[Demesnedenoir]

I have no idea about industry impact, but my sales in April are slightly up in general (not just numbers but ROI compared to ad dollars) but right now I’m at almost a paperback per day average, which is peculiar. Paperbacks always move, but not like this. This kind of parallels the pre-order for the series conclusion in June, so it’s hard to draw precise conclusions.

In ebook sales, if I didn’t know about coronavirus, I wouldn’t be able to say there’s been any real difference I wouldn’t attribute to other factors.

 

[Svrtnsse]

The Reedsy newsletter came out today, and it had some interesting news on this topic.

It sites an email from Draft2Digital, which says:
“Currently, ebook sales are doing incredibly well on all retailers, including Barnes & Noble. In fact, ebook sales have never been higher than they have in the past month.”

D2D is the main distributor of indie books to non-Amazon retailers.

The mail (from Reedsy) then goes on to say the following - citing a contact at D2D
"Overall, they've seen sales go up over 25% across all retailers this month, with libraries up over 100%."

This may sound like a questionable source if you're not familiar with it, but Reedsy, in my experience, have been providing good information in the past and seem to be well respected among indie authors.

 

[Demesnedenoir]

I noted library sales for sure via D2D, and I wouldn’t doubt upping sales by B&N by 25%, but for me that means very little seeing as those sales are minuscule, LOL. Apple books is my primary non-Amazon retailer outside of B&N spikes.

Just checked hardcover sales and moving a little above average there as well... but again, I have promos running for the end of the series, so... hard to tell what is doing what.

The Reedsy newsletter came out today, and it had some interesting news on this topic.

It sites an email from Draft2Digital, which says:
“Currently, ebook sales are doing incredibly well on all retailers, including Barnes & Noble. In fact, ebook sales have never been higher than they have in the past month.”

D2D is the main distributor of indie books to non-Amazon retailers.

The mail (from Reedsy) then goes on to say the following - citing a contact at D2D
"Overall, they've seen sales go up over 25% across all retailers this month, with libraries up over 100%."

This may sound like a questionable source if you're not familiar with it, but Reedsy, in my experience, have been providing good information in the past and seem to be well respected among indie authors.

 

[Jordan]

Two of my favorite authors had book releases right as covid was starting to knock out most people's travel plans and it caused them (as well as many other authors) to cancel their book tours. However, as everyone learned to shift to video conferencing on all of the different platforms that support that sort of thing, they have been able to host numerous events on Twitch, Instagram and Youtube so. I have personally found this to be pretty fantastic for a number of reasons because, where I wouldn't have been able to see them speak at all pre-quarentine, I have been able to watch numerous interviews with them, and ask them questions, that they have answered (!!!). Also, because some of these interviews have been thrown together last minute and they have sometimes been hosted by other authors who had to cancel their own tours and I've been lucky enough to discover other authors because of this format, and through the books they discuss.
I am curious if any of you have experienced anything similar. Do you think that this is something that will continue, post quar'?

 

[Svrtnsse]

I've noticed that musicians I know (of) have begun to do little live shows from their own living rooms. Ranging from the girl who plays guitar at the coffee shop up the road (Sara Ryan, she's awesome), to The Rolling Stones (they're pretty good too). It's kind of bringing people closer.

I've seen more live readings from authors I know as well (including myself), and I think that's something that will probably continue even after the quarantine is over.

 

[Svrtnsse]

Here's another update, this time from Bookbub. How Reader Behavior Is Changing During the COVID-19 Crisis

It seems that ebook sales are doing really well, while physical books are struggling.

 

[Demesnedenoir]

Saw that in my email earlier but haven’t gotten to it... are they breaking that down between brick and mortar and online sales of physical books? The store sales would obviously be getting killed, and shipping delays are also annoying... a guy who ordered Trail of Pyres, it took over a week for Amazon to ship... so that might slow things. But my 1 person experience is physical books almost doubling in sales. Maybe more than that, although there are other factors.

Here's another update, this time from Bookbub. How Reader Behavior Is Changing During the COVID-19 Crisis

It seems that ebook sales are doing really well, while physical books are struggling.

 

[Svrtnsse]

Saw that in my email earlier but haven’t gotten to it... are they breaking that down between brick and mortar and online sales of physical books? The store sales would obviously be getting killed, and shipping delays are also annoying... a guy who ordered Trail of Pyres, it took over a week for Amazon to ship... so that might slow things. But my 1 person experience is physical books almost doubling in sales. Maybe more than that, although there are other factors.

There was some talk of how deliveries of physical books weren't doing too shabby, iirc. People are still ordering physical books for delivery.

 

[Devor]

I'm curious if there's a shift in what kind of books people are buying. Even within the fantasy genre people sometimes get different things at Walmart, Barnes & Noble, an Indie Bookstore, and on Amazon. It'd be interesting to see if buying patterns have changed as people move from bookstores to Amazon, or if people are holding steady.

 

[angelleaping]

The pandemic is changing the way we live. Books and reading are way up.
Here is a link to Ingram Spark and a marketing company I use Bublish.com
with the latest in publishing. How Reading Habits Have Changed During Quarantine (And What to Do About It)
https://www.ingramspark.com/blog/reading-habits-and-trends-during-quarantine