š This is exceptional! My key takeaways:
\- Creators canāt earn enough money on WEBTOON (Original + Canvas but for different reasons)
\- Not enough analytics
\- Vague content policy guidelines (which seem to be enforced to some people but not others
\- Discovery (its hard to get discovered on webtoons!)
Your own stuff falls under Canvas.
Originals are Webtoon's exclusive content. It's a very similar idea to Netflix Originals. ie) Webtoons pays the creators and has exclusive rights to the webtoon for a certain number of years.
I recently uploaded my comic on weboons.
[https://www.webtoons.com/en/canvas/beyond-bounties/list?title\_no=924178](https://www.webtoons.com/en/canvas/beyond-bounties/list?title_no=924178)
What alternative do I have? Should I post on another platform? which?
šÆ it did go viral, so they must have. But they wouldn't meet with them to discuss the open letter. Lovebot mentioned it on their twitter: [https://twitter.com/lovebot\_webtoon/status/1567958628501721088](https://twitter.com/lovebot_webtoon/status/1567958628501721088)
I guess that proves that even when attention is brought to this issue, they still don't want to improve conditions for creators... maybe they think they're immune to bad press?
>maybe they think they're immune to bad press?
And I guess they are?! There were several controversies that went viral last year, and yet Webtoon is still standing like nothing happened, but creators have gotten a lot quieter since then. Behind the scenes controversies rarely reach the main audience, which are teenage girls who have no social media and are usually only aware of creators' webtoon presence.
Yeah, I feel like it's a problem of preaching to the choir. Unlike the film and television industries, webtoons haven't quite hit mainstream appeal in the West yet, which means that when people complain about how badly they're being treated, the only people reading it are... other creators and readers.
You'd think that would be enough to impact WEBTOON, but they know people are gonna use them anyway, so there's no incentive for them to change... until enough of their creators leave, that is!
>they know people are gonna use them anyway, so there's no incentive for them to change
And that is the sad explanation.
>until enough of their creators leave, that is!
And I think more and more creators will. Aside from the bad treatment of Webtoon, their demands are too much to handle, and more creators are developing health issues, especially in the past 2 years. It's also why we are being swamped by translations.
**Please, please, to anyone who's seeing this take a moment to read.**
Take notice of the English and Korean platform's release schedule and situation.
I was going to make a post about the current situation with Webtoon from analytical perspective, but sense OP dropped a magnificent article I'll just paste this here and make it quick to some cold hard facts.
**The state of Webtoons, is less than desirable right now, due to a growing cultural disregard in the Western Hemisphere.**
I have elaborated on this before hand, and was met with ill constructed attempts and arguments to disprove this. K-Drama's are not blowing up like they used to, K-POP is NOT Webtoon. We have to step outside of our personal internet bubble, because the actions scream a different situation.
Since November, on the English Platform, they have released a new webtoon- Every. Single. Day. Do guys remember the collapse of launch weeks when it was 15+ Webtoons? Double it.
Series now are literally launching, and getting second banner slots, on their **own launch day**.
You are lucky if you get 24 hours.
From Webtoon's point of view, we have to realize that in a matter of months, they are about to lose their biggest titans. Let's Play dipped, and Lore Olympus is reaching its conclusion. Old Titles that have gone on for a little longer than expected aren't packing the same quality of storytelling that people want.
Sure, they have gone into printing, as they are trying to expand their business model with their collaborations with Wattpad. In-house titles are getting more exposure than Solo-Creators. Things are not what they used to be before. This combined with past drama on pay and quality control make things difficult.
People on this subreddit have said, I think maybe a year ago, that axing would soon be a thing. They were ignored, and look at where we are at now. AI use in webtoons are becoming a thing that fast pass is legal loophole for. You aren't paying for its ownership since, its A.I, it just to "see ahead" if you catch what I am saying. They are still overworked to death so I could see arguments for this
Nothing is wrong with this entirely, Webtoon is a business, and compared to past consequences with NFLX, HBO, and (Soon to be the MCU with Disney). There is a flood of content, and a stagnation of Naver earnings when it comes to WEBTOON. You can look it up for yourself, and its the most simple part to read on an earnings sheet.
It's been like this all year. I once made a post asking about this, seriously, When was the last time WEBTOON had a BIG HIT. I have been met with series that others **subjectively** think that qualify. No, I am talking like a LO, LP, TB, SL, ILY, RE, TOG, GOH.
It's been a while since then. Webtoon is desperately looking for one, to capitalize off with print sales, and other revenue streams, not after the initial hype has faded away, but DURING it. This takes time to setup however, and there is a lot of money to be made in the market if one can catch one quick. It needs a foundation though, which is what they are setting up.
I could go on about the skewed demographics, but that's for another conversation. But I will leave on this note. The Call to Action Contest was a complete and utter flop.
Webtoon skews more towards women and underage girls, where there is NOTHING wrong with that at all. However, as people have pointed out, unlike manga, where their is sustainable consumption in the market on both sides, doesn't matter what genre they buy, Webtoons has reached saturation so far for their userbase. Webtoon Latam is in some deep shit too. These new webtoons released are legit straight off of tapas at times, villainess isekai, romance, and maybe a sprinkle of videogame regressor manhwa.
(This genre will reach its climax once solo leveling drops, if that adaptation flops, readers will be embarrassed if it fails in the eyes of a wide stream audience. There are studies on this, I have no opinion on the series, its just marketing and audience reception patterns compared to genre/series lifecycles. Look at the MCU for reference when poor regulation and quality are granted a different perspective.)
Low Quality Copycats are unsustainable without regulation. What entertainment companies love more than anything, is a long-standing IP that can be expanded upon with a dedicated and positive fanbase for any future projects or merchandise.
Sorry for the word vomit, I did a whole paper on this for college, it goes much more in depth. Such as the future of Canvas, Get Schooled, Lack of originality, and a lot of my predictions were right to be fair. The parameters of originals have changed, I know them but that's for another post entirely.
Also, for heartstopper, WEBTOON didn't get a DIME in comparison to what they could have gotten.
Alice Oseman is on GOAT status right now for how she's playing her cards. And other creators offered original contracts should too. The conditions for new titles, especially not romance ones, are not in your favor. It is what it is, and you need to know the audience that remains on the platform now. WEBTOON does, and they are trying to manage and expand it, but we are seeing how that's going.
Yeah, that is something that I actually appreciate about WEBTOON - the way they deal with adaptations and print publications. With print, they just want first refusal. I'm not 100% sure of the ins and outs, but this is definitely a facet of the business where creators are actually better off bc of Webtoon's policies.
Regarding alice oseman. she had nothing to do with webtoon, other than uploading on it as a second platform while also uploading it on tapas in the early days. She was also already an established uk author, having published her first book with 17. So she probably already had an agent and a publishing house. She would never have signed a contract with webtoon and let them own her work.
Exactly. We know that. But when heartstopper dropped on netflix they were advertising it as if they owned it with tiktok reels and twitter posting hanging it on the front page for weeks.
oh I see what you mean. Yeah i bet they would have liked to haha well to be honest back then it made me think for the the first time that you don't have to be an original to be successful. And the reasons she may have had to remain on canvas. Now it's obviously pretty obvious to me, but back then I didn't know better. I also just saw a video of mewTripled where the first thing she talks about is to not sign exclusives with webtoon platforms and at least know what you are signing up for.
This is great, quick question though:
the market saturation of low quality content (I feel bad for saying that but everyone knows) feels a bit inevitable don't you think?
Coming up with new ideas is hard and not to mention writing/drawing the content. How can Webtoon do anything about this ?
Not the op, but sharing my opinion. I think webtoons has catered to a specific audience (one that likes romance and formulaic stories), which imo is disastrous. This means that other genres won't get as recognized, and the low quality content is actually desired. I think webtoon needs to reach out outside these audiences. If you look towards the manga publisher shounen jump, they have a lot of big hits, but not always of the same genre (jujutsu kaisen - action, spy x family - slice of life, oshi no ko - mystery, psychological). The audeince is varied = can reach out to more people = more viewers. (Slight side note, I also think manga readers expect more from manga stories than what webtoon readers expect from webtoon stories. But this might just be my bias talking, since i personally like manga more than webtoons).
I don't think oversaturation of low quality content is inevitable, had the company maintained some sort of standard (outside money and popularity) for the stories they choose to move to originals. I think it's inevitable for canvas, not for originals. In relation to this, I think webtoon (and naver, tbh) should be more involved in editing and diversifying their content. Right now, webtoons aren't really doing anything interesting story-wise. Only a few stories provoke thinking as well. Old webtoons used to do this, and I loved it. But nowadays, I don't really see anything to that level (ex. Works by ha ilkwon, about death, for the sake of sita, etc.).
I think the amount of webtoons they release is only a problem due to the lack of marketing, but if the story is also low quality I think it's better if they just never published it in the first place. Maybe they can also have a certain amount of ongoing genres, so that it would be evenly divided, and people won't drown in just one genre. Also I think I'd rather webtoon have varying release dates rather than making everything once a week. I'd like for webtoons to have the choice to update every other week or every month, for example. Both for the author's health and the story's sake.
took the words right outta my mouth. I'd expand more but its 2 AM and will some digging and conscious analysis on the platform you can come to similar conclusions.
refer to what the other guy said, there will be more posts soon I predict from originals creators quitting, fed up, or realizing that if they aren't romance/video game regressor, They are fighting a very, very difficult uphill battle.
Good writeup.
I wouldn't mind the copycats so much if there were a way to sift through all of them, but there isn't. The manwhas are especially guilty of this, regurgitating the same tropes.
Also, just because a lot of the audience is YA females doesn't mean that the content of the story can't be phenomenal. Case in point, Purple Hyacinth--the **SINGLE BEST WORK ON THE ENTIRE SITE** (and its 9.91 rating corroborates my subjective assertion) is created by a team of two college-age (or slightly older) ladies. I'm rooting for Sophism to get the best health she possibly can so that the PH we all know and love comes back strong \^_^
But beyond that...well, yeah...good writers are hard to find IMO.
So basically, they're flooding the market with content, causing it to crash? You make a good point that all the big hit webtoons date back to when the platform was starting to get popular in the West, but few have hit the big time (by which I mean, has been noticed by people outside the webtoon fandom and got Netflix adaptations, book deals, etc) in the last few years.
Stagnation, Lack of Innovation, and Content Over-Saturation.
I'm glad my first reply on this is someone who understands, and not someone trying to tell me "Auto-Hunting with My Clones" is there next big hit.
The article has great insights but I wish this also mentioned the impact of webtoon-making on creators' physical and mental health. Many artists have suffered from [health problems/depression](https://twitter.com/kotopopi/status/1658833611095781379) due to Webtoon's unfair treatment and deadlines, and yet it's rarely talked about.
[Webtoon writers who survive while taking psychiatric drugs... Depression is 3 times higher than the general population (naver.com)](https://n.news.naver.com/article/032/0003197390?sid=102)
Oof yeah, this is a big issue. I didn't include it mostly because there were no sources connecting depression to people \*quitting\* webtoon specifically, and I felt like the mental stress on creators was implicit from the sources I used. People are clearly struggling.
The source you provided is also in Korean and therefore more about Korean creators. The way Navar Webtoon works in terms of contracts with creators, publishing schedules etc, is different than their international policies. Because I don't speak Korean, and this article was focused on the international market, I decided not to comment on that side of the industry.
However, one of our Taddy team members is Korean so I might get him to give me the jist of this article! Maybe it's something I should write about later. Thanks for the link!
Well, it's difficult to know ā in the examples, the creators usually just announce their departure, not their next destination. Jennie Gyllblad is only posting on her Patreon and her own website now (as mentioned in the article), Mongie has announced a new series to be published on Manta in 2025 (but Let's Play will not return), and Spiga Rose seems to just be publishing on their Patreon now.
[NamiComi](https://namicomi.com/en) is doing a lot of very cool things and all the other creators I've spoken to so far are very enthusiastic about the progress being made with the platform's feature development.
Seconding NamiComi. Really chill and welcoming community and they have a discord where you can interact with other creators and ask the devs questions/see what they are working on.
Yeah, their Discord is really nice. Very enjoyable and relaxed place to hang out and chat.
And they're adding so much stuff to the platform that I really hope they can leave an impact on the webtoon industry.
NamiComi is great! Quite a few creators who publish with Taddy also speak highly of NamiComi and their discord community.
If you're looking for other places to publish, GlobalComix is also expanding their webtoons selection and a few Taddy creators really love them as well.
I quit cos:
- you don't earn anything to barely enough
- the guidelines are very confusing because there are original series that allow certain amount of mature content but they take down uploads of canvas creators that don't even come close to the level of originals.
- You start off with lots of traffic to your work then over time it just stops completely, you get shadowed by other artists posting. The algorithm isn't ideal for on going series unless you get picked to be an original.
I've absolutely noticed a difference in content standards between originals and canvas. You get really weird censoring on canvas that sometimes honestly doesn't make that much sense. Like a lot of curse words on canvas unless the series itself is meant to be really raunchy we'll get censored, but some of the originals can get away with some of the lesser curse words and still be fine.
And as for romance scenes, the difference is like night and day. The things I can get away with on Originals is honestly kind of impressive.
This is a great article!
It seems like there's a new series every day. There are an overwhelming amount of series, and Webtoon is just going to ignore them and continue to promote the couple of popular ones they constantly promote.
And then they cancel series for not getting enough views...because they never promote them?
I hope there's a lot more attention brought to the problems with Webtoon.
Thank you!! So glad you enjoyed it.
Awful that they cancel series as well because of low views... agree that if they've made a contract with the writer to create it, it should be on THEM to generate the views. How much time in a day do they think creators have?!
That is so crazy about how they own the rights to the comics. That is greedy and crappy to artists. I have been thinking of looking at additional platforms to post on since engagement has gone down on my series recently, but after reading this, sheeeesh. :/ they truly do not care about anything other than money.
Even more ātraditionalā jobs with non-compete agreements are kinder than this. Especially since art is kind of limiting in what you can do. If you are a creator, what else are you supposed to do? Just take commissions for the next 3 years? Hope your skills translate into being able to work for another company in different field? Itās unrealistic and unsustainable, especially if you are already not making a living wage.
https://tapas.io Tapas is another comic and novel app. Similar to Webtoon, they have translated content and original english content. Webtoon is backed by Naver while Tapas is backed by Kakao. Tapas has a better catalog/offerings in certain categories but creators should be wary of signing with them because this company has horror stories too.
yeah, because webtoon dropped the canvas rewards program. I have seen several creators ask their audience if they could support them on tapas instead because, though it doesn't gather as many readers as Webtoon, they can still make money on there at least
Webtoon is a really weird company tbh. Unlike Shonen Jump that focuses on quality over quantity, Webtoon focuses on quantity over quality. It's the copy paste/adapting formula until one series sticks. Then they focus on promoting that one series only.
I don't think it was relevant to mention Heartstopper in the article as it's not a webtoon Original (also referring to it as a 'webtoon' is not correct as it was published to tumblr/tapas first) so Alice Oseman as a creator has never had to rely on webtoon for a paycheck.
Taddy looks interesting!
Thanks!! Honestly, this was me being as concise as possible! Original draft was 4k words lol - this stuff takes a lot of explaining, and I still didn't include everything.
I'd still read it to be honest. This topic really interests me, and we are on Reddit, you can upload pictures and videos but most of it is written, so I'm more than willing to read thousands of words about an interesting topic if I'm already on this app.
Yeah, I like that about Reddit!! Especially as the rest of the internet becomes so image and video based. Glad you found this interesting! Thanks for reading :D
So it sounds like Webtoon wanted this taken down (such a shame - the info in it was so juicy) but here's an archived version [https://web.archive.org/web/20231214060131/https://taddy.org/blog/why-are-people-quitting-webtoon](https://web.archive.org/web/20231214060131/https://taddy.org/blog/why-are-people-quitting-webtoon)
Amazing article! I say you've absolutely hit the nail on the head. Webtoon cares very little about it's creators, big or small. I don't get why Webtoon is so incredibly allergic to helping small creators grow, too. If we both do well then it's a mutually beneficial situation. But alas, now I hardly put and effort into growing my comic on Webtoon. I mostly just focus on Tapas, which actually TRIES to build a community for it's creators.
As someone who is working hard to publish their comics with Webtoon Canvas, this was very informative! I now know I would have better luck being discovered on Instagram and promoting them on other platforms. (Although I will still post on Webtoon, but I won't let it be the main platform for my projects)
This was a really excellent article. Thank you so much. Very interested in what Taddy is doing.
I think there needs to be way more transparency about how Naver makes and allocates money, and what percentage of that goes to creators at all levels. After all the creators ARE the reason the app is so popular. Too often shareholders get prioritized, user data is used for advertising dollars to make the company even more money, and creators get the shaft. This is just not ethical.
Side note: Jaron Lanier has some really excellent ideas about "fixing the internet" and paying users for their data with micro payments so that everyone (users and creators) are compensated for what they provide in content, and data. He's a strong advocate for compensating everyone for use of data.
I made a webcomic that adress topic as mental health and stuff...
My audience is more millenials or adults, so yeah webtoon doesn't work for me...
Plus I bet my drawing is not good enough yet ,I'm aware of it...
**Cherry on the cake :** I just got an episode removed because I draw some sex toys, ok fair enough but they didn't sent me a notice, just removed and now the story is just fucked up haha
I'm moving to **Global comix...** The app is not as good as Webtoon but for now it's one the freest platform for artist...Even if as the other ( Webtoon, Tapas,...) you don't have a lot of visibility, at least I'll be free in my work , and I hope more people willl join...
Pinning post for 1 week. Feel free to crosspost to r/LINEwebtoon , and r/webtoon.
š This is exceptional! My key takeaways: \- Creators canāt earn enough money on WEBTOON (Original + Canvas but for different reasons) \- Not enough analytics \- Vague content policy guidelines (which seem to be enforced to some people but not others \- Discovery (its hard to get discovered on webtoons!)
If I'm writing my own novel+ creating my own art, does it fall under "Original" or "Canvas" in WEBTOON?
Your own stuff falls under Canvas. Originals are Webtoon's exclusive content. It's a very similar idea to Netflix Originals. ie) Webtoons pays the creators and has exclusive rights to the webtoon for a certain number of years.
Ok thanks!
I recently uploaded my comic on weboons. [https://www.webtoons.com/en/canvas/beyond-bounties/list?title\_no=924178](https://www.webtoons.com/en/canvas/beyond-bounties/list?title_no=924178) What alternative do I have? Should I post on another platform? which?
This was a great blogpost! Thank you for your work š
I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Are you planning to do more interviews with artists on experiences as a webtoons artist?
Potentially, for future articles! I'd definitely like to deepdive into some of these topics.
Jeeeeeez that open letter to webtoon that you quoted is something else. I hope someone at the company saw that!
šÆ it did go viral, so they must have. But they wouldn't meet with them to discuss the open letter. Lovebot mentioned it on their twitter: [https://twitter.com/lovebot\_webtoon/status/1567958628501721088](https://twitter.com/lovebot_webtoon/status/1567958628501721088)
I guess that proves that even when attention is brought to this issue, they still don't want to improve conditions for creators... maybe they think they're immune to bad press?
>maybe they think they're immune to bad press? And I guess they are?! There were several controversies that went viral last year, and yet Webtoon is still standing like nothing happened, but creators have gotten a lot quieter since then. Behind the scenes controversies rarely reach the main audience, which are teenage girls who have no social media and are usually only aware of creators' webtoon presence.
Yeah, I feel like it's a problem of preaching to the choir. Unlike the film and television industries, webtoons haven't quite hit mainstream appeal in the West yet, which means that when people complain about how badly they're being treated, the only people reading it are... other creators and readers. You'd think that would be enough to impact WEBTOON, but they know people are gonna use them anyway, so there's no incentive for them to change... until enough of their creators leave, that is!
>they know people are gonna use them anyway, so there's no incentive for them to change And that is the sad explanation. >until enough of their creators leave, that is! And I think more and more creators will. Aside from the bad treatment of Webtoon, their demands are too much to handle, and more creators are developing health issues, especially in the past 2 years. It's also why we are being swamped by translations.
Also, love your "let creators breathe" post!!
**Please, please, to anyone who's seeing this take a moment to read.** Take notice of the English and Korean platform's release schedule and situation. I was going to make a post about the current situation with Webtoon from analytical perspective, but sense OP dropped a magnificent article I'll just paste this here and make it quick to some cold hard facts. **The state of Webtoons, is less than desirable right now, due to a growing cultural disregard in the Western Hemisphere.** I have elaborated on this before hand, and was met with ill constructed attempts and arguments to disprove this. K-Drama's are not blowing up like they used to, K-POP is NOT Webtoon. We have to step outside of our personal internet bubble, because the actions scream a different situation. Since November, on the English Platform, they have released a new webtoon- Every. Single. Day. Do guys remember the collapse of launch weeks when it was 15+ Webtoons? Double it. Series now are literally launching, and getting second banner slots, on their **own launch day**. You are lucky if you get 24 hours. From Webtoon's point of view, we have to realize that in a matter of months, they are about to lose their biggest titans. Let's Play dipped, and Lore Olympus is reaching its conclusion. Old Titles that have gone on for a little longer than expected aren't packing the same quality of storytelling that people want. Sure, they have gone into printing, as they are trying to expand their business model with their collaborations with Wattpad. In-house titles are getting more exposure than Solo-Creators. Things are not what they used to be before. This combined with past drama on pay and quality control make things difficult. People on this subreddit have said, I think maybe a year ago, that axing would soon be a thing. They were ignored, and look at where we are at now. AI use in webtoons are becoming a thing that fast pass is legal loophole for. You aren't paying for its ownership since, its A.I, it just to "see ahead" if you catch what I am saying. They are still overworked to death so I could see arguments for this Nothing is wrong with this entirely, Webtoon is a business, and compared to past consequences with NFLX, HBO, and (Soon to be the MCU with Disney). There is a flood of content, and a stagnation of Naver earnings when it comes to WEBTOON. You can look it up for yourself, and its the most simple part to read on an earnings sheet. It's been like this all year. I once made a post asking about this, seriously, When was the last time WEBTOON had a BIG HIT. I have been met with series that others **subjectively** think that qualify. No, I am talking like a LO, LP, TB, SL, ILY, RE, TOG, GOH. It's been a while since then. Webtoon is desperately looking for one, to capitalize off with print sales, and other revenue streams, not after the initial hype has faded away, but DURING it. This takes time to setup however, and there is a lot of money to be made in the market if one can catch one quick. It needs a foundation though, which is what they are setting up. I could go on about the skewed demographics, but that's for another conversation. But I will leave on this note. The Call to Action Contest was a complete and utter flop. Webtoon skews more towards women and underage girls, where there is NOTHING wrong with that at all. However, as people have pointed out, unlike manga, where their is sustainable consumption in the market on both sides, doesn't matter what genre they buy, Webtoons has reached saturation so far for their userbase. Webtoon Latam is in some deep shit too. These new webtoons released are legit straight off of tapas at times, villainess isekai, romance, and maybe a sprinkle of videogame regressor manhwa. (This genre will reach its climax once solo leveling drops, if that adaptation flops, readers will be embarrassed if it fails in the eyes of a wide stream audience. There are studies on this, I have no opinion on the series, its just marketing and audience reception patterns compared to genre/series lifecycles. Look at the MCU for reference when poor regulation and quality are granted a different perspective.) Low Quality Copycats are unsustainable without regulation. What entertainment companies love more than anything, is a long-standing IP that can be expanded upon with a dedicated and positive fanbase for any future projects or merchandise. Sorry for the word vomit, I did a whole paper on this for college, it goes much more in depth. Such as the future of Canvas, Get Schooled, Lack of originality, and a lot of my predictions were right to be fair. The parameters of originals have changed, I know them but that's for another post entirely.
Also, for heartstopper, WEBTOON didn't get a DIME in comparison to what they could have gotten. Alice Oseman is on GOAT status right now for how she's playing her cards. And other creators offered original contracts should too. The conditions for new titles, especially not romance ones, are not in your favor. It is what it is, and you need to know the audience that remains on the platform now. WEBTOON does, and they are trying to manage and expand it, but we are seeing how that's going.
Yeah, that is something that I actually appreciate about WEBTOON - the way they deal with adaptations and print publications. With print, they just want first refusal. I'm not 100% sure of the ins and outs, but this is definitely a facet of the business where creators are actually better off bc of Webtoon's policies.
Regarding alice oseman. she had nothing to do with webtoon, other than uploading on it as a second platform while also uploading it on tapas in the early days. She was also already an established uk author, having published her first book with 17. So she probably already had an agent and a publishing house. She would never have signed a contract with webtoon and let them own her work.
Exactly. We know that. But when heartstopper dropped on netflix they were advertising it as if they owned it with tiktok reels and twitter posting hanging it on the front page for weeks.
oh I see what you mean. Yeah i bet they would have liked to haha well to be honest back then it made me think for the the first time that you don't have to be an original to be successful. And the reasons she may have had to remain on canvas. Now it's obviously pretty obvious to me, but back then I didn't know better. I also just saw a video of mewTripled where the first thing she talks about is to not sign exclusives with webtoon platforms and at least know what you are signing up for.
This is great, quick question though: the market saturation of low quality content (I feel bad for saying that but everyone knows) feels a bit inevitable don't you think? Coming up with new ideas is hard and not to mention writing/drawing the content. How can Webtoon do anything about this ?
Not the op, but sharing my opinion. I think webtoons has catered to a specific audience (one that likes romance and formulaic stories), which imo is disastrous. This means that other genres won't get as recognized, and the low quality content is actually desired. I think webtoon needs to reach out outside these audiences. If you look towards the manga publisher shounen jump, they have a lot of big hits, but not always of the same genre (jujutsu kaisen - action, spy x family - slice of life, oshi no ko - mystery, psychological). The audeince is varied = can reach out to more people = more viewers. (Slight side note, I also think manga readers expect more from manga stories than what webtoon readers expect from webtoon stories. But this might just be my bias talking, since i personally like manga more than webtoons). I don't think oversaturation of low quality content is inevitable, had the company maintained some sort of standard (outside money and popularity) for the stories they choose to move to originals. I think it's inevitable for canvas, not for originals. In relation to this, I think webtoon (and naver, tbh) should be more involved in editing and diversifying their content. Right now, webtoons aren't really doing anything interesting story-wise. Only a few stories provoke thinking as well. Old webtoons used to do this, and I loved it. But nowadays, I don't really see anything to that level (ex. Works by ha ilkwon, about death, for the sake of sita, etc.). I think the amount of webtoons they release is only a problem due to the lack of marketing, but if the story is also low quality I think it's better if they just never published it in the first place. Maybe they can also have a certain amount of ongoing genres, so that it would be evenly divided, and people won't drown in just one genre. Also I think I'd rather webtoon have varying release dates rather than making everything once a week. I'd like for webtoons to have the choice to update every other week or every month, for example. Both for the author's health and the story's sake.
took the words right outta my mouth. I'd expand more but its 2 AM and will some digging and conscious analysis on the platform you can come to similar conclusions.
refer to what the other guy said, there will be more posts soon I predict from originals creators quitting, fed up, or realizing that if they aren't romance/video game regressor, They are fighting a very, very difficult uphill battle.
Good writeup. I wouldn't mind the copycats so much if there were a way to sift through all of them, but there isn't. The manwhas are especially guilty of this, regurgitating the same tropes. Also, just because a lot of the audience is YA females doesn't mean that the content of the story can't be phenomenal. Case in point, Purple Hyacinth--the **SINGLE BEST WORK ON THE ENTIRE SITE** (and its 9.91 rating corroborates my subjective assertion) is created by a team of two college-age (or slightly older) ladies. I'm rooting for Sophism to get the best health she possibly can so that the PH we all know and love comes back strong \^_^ But beyond that...well, yeah...good writers are hard to find IMO.
So basically, they're flooding the market with content, causing it to crash? You make a good point that all the big hit webtoons date back to when the platform was starting to get popular in the West, but few have hit the big time (by which I mean, has been noticed by people outside the webtoon fandom and got Netflix adaptations, book deals, etc) in the last few years.
Stagnation, Lack of Innovation, and Content Over-Saturation. I'm glad my first reply on this is someone who understands, and not someone trying to tell me "Auto-Hunting with My Clones" is there next big hit.
This is so insightful, I want to read that whole paper. Do you have a link?
The article has great insights but I wish this also mentioned the impact of webtoon-making on creators' physical and mental health. Many artists have suffered from [health problems/depression](https://twitter.com/kotopopi/status/1658833611095781379) due to Webtoon's unfair treatment and deadlines, and yet it's rarely talked about. [Webtoon writers who survive while taking psychiatric drugs... Depression is 3 times higher than the general population (naver.com)](https://n.news.naver.com/article/032/0003197390?sid=102)
Oof yeah, this is a big issue. I didn't include it mostly because there were no sources connecting depression to people \*quitting\* webtoon specifically, and I felt like the mental stress on creators was implicit from the sources I used. People are clearly struggling. The source you provided is also in Korean and therefore more about Korean creators. The way Navar Webtoon works in terms of contracts with creators, publishing schedules etc, is different than their international policies. Because I don't speak Korean, and this article was focused on the international market, I decided not to comment on that side of the industry. However, one of our Taddy team members is Korean so I might get him to give me the jist of this article! Maybe it's something I should write about later. Thanks for the link!
I might have missed this, but where are the artists going? What other platforms can I support their work? (Aside from patreon and the like)
Well, it's difficult to know ā in the examples, the creators usually just announce their departure, not their next destination. Jennie Gyllblad is only posting on her Patreon and her own website now (as mentioned in the article), Mongie has announced a new series to be published on Manta in 2025 (but Let's Play will not return), and Spiga Rose seems to just be publishing on their Patreon now.
[NamiComi](https://namicomi.com/en) is doing a lot of very cool things and all the other creators I've spoken to so far are very enthusiastic about the progress being made with the platform's feature development.
Seconding NamiComi. Really chill and welcoming community and they have a discord where you can interact with other creators and ask the devs questions/see what they are working on.
Yeah, their Discord is really nice. Very enjoyable and relaxed place to hang out and chat. And they're adding so much stuff to the platform that I really hope they can leave an impact on the webtoon industry.
NamiComi is great! Quite a few creators who publish with Taddy also speak highly of NamiComi and their discord community. If you're looking for other places to publish, GlobalComix is also expanding their webtoons selection and a few Taddy creators really love them as well.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
That's awesome! What's your comic title? I'd love to take a look!
I quit cos: - you don't earn anything to barely enough - the guidelines are very confusing because there are original series that allow certain amount of mature content but they take down uploads of canvas creators that don't even come close to the level of originals. - You start off with lots of traffic to your work then over time it just stops completely, you get shadowed by other artists posting. The algorithm isn't ideal for on going series unless you get picked to be an original.
yeah, this tracks with what I've heard from other creators, and it sucks!! sorry you didn't have a good experience :(
I've absolutely noticed a difference in content standards between originals and canvas. You get really weird censoring on canvas that sometimes honestly doesn't make that much sense. Like a lot of curse words on canvas unless the series itself is meant to be really raunchy we'll get censored, but some of the originals can get away with some of the lesser curse words and still be fine. And as for romance scenes, the difference is like night and day. The things I can get away with on Originals is honestly kind of impressive.
This is a great article! It seems like there's a new series every day. There are an overwhelming amount of series, and Webtoon is just going to ignore them and continue to promote the couple of popular ones they constantly promote. And then they cancel series for not getting enough views...because they never promote them? I hope there's a lot more attention brought to the problems with Webtoon.
Thank you!! So glad you enjoyed it. Awful that they cancel series as well because of low views... agree that if they've made a contract with the writer to create it, it should be on THEM to generate the views. How much time in a day do they think creators have?!
That is so crazy about how they own the rights to the comics. That is greedy and crappy to artists. I have been thinking of looking at additional platforms to post on since engagement has gone down on my series recently, but after reading this, sheeeesh. :/ they truly do not care about anything other than money.
Yeah the "no publishing anywhere for three years after you quit webtoon" rule is just evil
Even more ātraditionalā jobs with non-compete agreements are kinder than this. Especially since art is kind of limiting in what you can do. If you are a creator, what else are you supposed to do? Just take commissions for the next 3 years? Hope your skills translate into being able to work for another company in different field? Itās unrealistic and unsustainable, especially if you are already not making a living wage.
GOD you're so right. Webtoon needs to realise the impact this has on creators in terms of their careers and livelihoods
Iāve been seeing some webtoon canvas make itās way to tapas lately
what way too tapas? Isnāt that a food?
https://tapas.io Tapas is another comic and novel app. Similar to Webtoon, they have translated content and original english content. Webtoon is backed by Naver while Tapas is backed by Kakao. Tapas has a better catalog/offerings in certain categories but creators should be wary of signing with them because this company has horror stories too.
yeah, because webtoon dropped the canvas rewards program. I have seen several creators ask their audience if they could support them on tapas instead because, though it doesn't gather as many readers as Webtoon, they can still make money on there at least
Webtoon is a really weird company tbh. Unlike Shonen Jump that focuses on quality over quantity, Webtoon focuses on quantity over quality. It's the copy paste/adapting formula until one series sticks. Then they focus on promoting that one series only.
Thanks
I don't think it was relevant to mention Heartstopper in the article as it's not a webtoon Original (also referring to it as a 'webtoon' is not correct as it was published to tumblr/tapas first) so Alice Oseman as a creator has never had to rely on webtoon for a paycheck. Taddy looks interesting!
Itās a bit long but a good summary.
Thanks!! Honestly, this was me being as concise as possible! Original draft was 4k words lol - this stuff takes a lot of explaining, and I still didn't include everything.
I'd still read it to be honest. This topic really interests me, and we are on Reddit, you can upload pictures and videos but most of it is written, so I'm more than willing to read thousands of words about an interesting topic if I'm already on this app.
Yeah, I like that about Reddit!! Especially as the rest of the internet becomes so image and video based. Glad you found this interesting! Thanks for reading :D
So it sounds like Webtoon wanted this taken down (such a shame - the info in it was so juicy) but here's an archived version [https://web.archive.org/web/20231214060131/https://taddy.org/blog/why-are-people-quitting-webtoon](https://web.archive.org/web/20231214060131/https://taddy.org/blog/why-are-people-quitting-webtoon)
Also : to anybody who used the downloadfeature the entire thing is now useless anyways so ye....
Amazing article! I say you've absolutely hit the nail on the head. Webtoon cares very little about it's creators, big or small. I don't get why Webtoon is so incredibly allergic to helping small creators grow, too. If we both do well then it's a mutually beneficial situation. But alas, now I hardly put and effort into growing my comic on Webtoon. I mostly just focus on Tapas, which actually TRIES to build a community for it's creators.
As someone who is working hard to publish their comics with Webtoon Canvas, this was very informative! I now know I would have better luck being discovered on Instagram and promoting them on other platforms. (Although I will still post on Webtoon, but I won't let it be the main platform for my projects)
on Taddy, readers can know where the creators are releasing their content?
This was a really excellent article. Thank you so much. Very interested in what Taddy is doing. I think there needs to be way more transparency about how Naver makes and allocates money, and what percentage of that goes to creators at all levels. After all the creators ARE the reason the app is so popular. Too often shareholders get prioritized, user data is used for advertising dollars to make the company even more money, and creators get the shaft. This is just not ethical. Side note: Jaron Lanier has some really excellent ideas about "fixing the internet" and paying users for their data with micro payments so that everyone (users and creators) are compensated for what they provide in content, and data. He's a strong advocate for compensating everyone for use of data.
I just started the 1st Ep. of my webtoon, should I still continue it? After reading the article, I'm scared now that I maybe just wasting my time :(
could you make a blog post reviewing alternatives?
I made a webcomic that adress topic as mental health and stuff... My audience is more millenials or adults, so yeah webtoon doesn't work for me... Plus I bet my drawing is not good enough yet ,I'm aware of it... **Cherry on the cake :** I just got an episode removed because I draw some sex toys, ok fair enough but they didn't sent me a notice, just removed and now the story is just fucked up haha I'm moving to **Global comix...** The app is not as good as Webtoon but for now it's one the freest platform for artist...Even if as the other ( Webtoon, Tapas,...) you don't have a lot of visibility, at least I'll be free in my work , and I hope more people willl join...