I want to talk about Line Webtoon’s new “Super Like” program and why it sucks for literally everyone.
What is a “Super Like?”
According to their website, super likes are a new way for webtoon creators to monetize their work. Readers can pay real money to buy a super like for their favorite webtoon, and the creator gets a fraction of that money.
Wait, a fraction? Not all of it?
Yep! Webtoon skims quite a chunk off the top.
30% goes to Webtoon, and then another 30% of that amount goes to the payment processor.
So what do creators get? 49 cents for every dollar their fans try to give them. Literally half.
That’s pretty ludicrous, right?
Interestingly enough, they announced that they had a “tipping system” in the works in the same email they ended the CANVAS creator rewards program (and many comic creators livelihoods)
They said tipping system in their social media posts too
Obviously this tipping system is referring to super likes right? They say they’re going to do a tipping system, and then this rolls out.
But “tips” are not something that buisinesses can just take a cut of, at least not in the United States. According to the Department of Labor, it is illegal for any amount of tips from customers to go to an employer.
Webtoon is trying to walk back this language, of course. You won’t find the word “tip” anywhere on their website page explaining how it works. But those old social media posts are still up.
This is all pretty scummy
But wait, it gets worse!
They removed the Patreon button at the end of episodes and replaced it with this:
Yep! That’s right. Webtoon really said “what if we replace the tipping system that already existed with a shittier one where you only get half of it 🥺”
Unsurprisingly, they faced a ton of backlash.
Webtoon was quick to point out that the Patreon button was only removed from the end of episodes and there was still a button on the creator’s homepage. But of course, the end of episodes is where that button matters the most.
Creators know this. Webtoon knows this.
Eventually, after days of continued complaints from creators on social media, Webtoon went on damage control mode and announced that they would be putting the Patreon button back at the end of episodes—
As of right now (May 11th, 2024) the Patreon button is still not back.
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So…Super likes are “super totally not a tip.”
But if they aren’t tips…what are they?
Well there’s a bit more to the story of what a super like actually is. After announceing the program, the app updated to reveal a new ranking category on the front page
When you click on this ranking tab, you can see that there is now both a daily and weekly ranking
If you’re a CANVAS creator, you know how difficult and seemingly random it can be to get your comic on the front page of the app—so my immediate worry was that comic creators were going to buy superlikes on their own series to get in this ranking and…
Yep, that’s already happening.
But why would webtoon even allow creators to buy superlikes for themselves? How does that make sense?
Surely goading desperate creators into buying superlikes can’t be that lucrative, can it?
No. I think there’s another, possibly even worse reason.
Fandom wars
If you’re into music, you probably are aware of how common it is for super fans to make concerted efforts to get their favorite musician to the top of the billboard charts. They coordinate over social media, stream music on loop as soon as an album drops to inflate the numbers, buy albums in bulk to increase sales, all so that they can say their fav is number one. It’s especially common among K-pop fans and swifties
This phenomena is well documented
Fans of Webtoons can be just as ravenous as K-pop, so I think Webtoon is trying to capitalize on this. They want to encourage fandom war and make money. That’s why they have this ranking. Not only can super fans brag about their favorite series topping the charts but they can wear their super like proudly on their reader profile that webtoon will be rolling out soon.
They’re just testing this super like stuff out on CANVAS right now, but once this starts up with originals? Oh. It will be a very profitable, very terrible mess.
(Oh and I mean profitable for webtoon, not creators, in case that wasn’t clear.)
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Anyway, if you’re a creator, do yourself a favor and don’t enable super likes.
If you’re a fan of a webcomic, just donate to that creators patreon or Ko-Fi to show your support. Don’t give a red cent to webtoon because they did not do any of the work to make the series you love, alright?
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