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David Miller
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 16 April 2004
Posts: 3083
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| Posted: 21 September 2016 at 10:03am | IP Logged | 1
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It's not as if we need to speculate about how much different and better things would be in a world without the DSM.
Earth 2 exists right in front of us, where publishers of poetry, literary fiction and news magazines have seen their sales and circulation dwindle along with their retail outlets, with neither a thriving nationwide network of shops dedicated to their specific output, nor the security of non-returnable advance orders. Over on Earth 2, not even porn publishers can figure out how to make a profit amid the disappearing bricks and mortar bookstore market, nonexistent newsstands and steeply discounted online sellers.
Time magazine, which used to sells in the millions, currently sells 60,000 copies per issue -- or twice the Captain America circulation we're scoffing at. That's the proper comparison -- the comic industry versus the contemporary publishing industry, not versus the comic industry as it existed forty years ago.
Personally, I think comics were fortunate enough to have developed their own independent market, and it turned out to be a handy thing as the rest of the publishing industry collapses around us. From where I'm looking, the comic book industry might not exist at all without the DSM.
Like all grotesques of capitalism, the Direct Sales Market is a compromised, imperfect thing. But what is the alternative? The realistic alternative? |
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 133248
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| Posted: 21 September 2016 at 10:48am | IP Logged | 2
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Theres no denying print is dead -- or, at least, sitting in the corner coughing blood. But the decline of print media is only partially responsible for the death of comics. An equal, if not larger, portion of blame goes to the lunatic idea of turning a mass market product into a niche market product, then exploiting that niche market to the point that it burst at the seams and shrank to a tiny percentage of its former "glories."
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Joseph Greathouse
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 19 August 2015
Location: United States
Posts: 591
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| Posted: 21 September 2016 at 11:12am | IP Logged | 3
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"Ahh, the Direct Sales Market has done SO much good for the comicbook industry, hasnt it?"
Considering the state of the newstand, would there be any industry without the DSM?
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Jason Larouse
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 10 May 2011
Posts: 515
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| Posted: 21 September 2016 at 2:56pm | IP Logged | 4
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When Chris and I were doing X-MEN the book was lucky to get over 150,000 units per month, and was always just a step ahead of cancelation. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, meanwhile, was averaging around 400,000.Ahh, the Direct Sales Market has done SO much good for the comicbook industry, hasnt it? *****
Looking at the statements of ownership, it looks like X-MEN was selling around 230k when they sent it into reprints originally in the 60s. That seems insane compared to that comic book market today.
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Robert Shepherd
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 30 March 2014
Location: United States
Posts: 1268
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| Posted: 21 September 2016 at 3:27pm | IP Logged | 5
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I was a fan of the DSM when things were thriving, but seeing the long term effects, it's clear it was a short sighted strategic move for all the reasons JB has mentioned.
What was the average percentage of returns before the DSM? 40%? Thats a huge number eating into publishing profits.
Anyone know how the profit per printed book today compares to the profit per printed book 20 years ago? Any numbers?
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Joseph Greathouse
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 19 August 2015
Location: United States
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| Posted: 21 September 2016 at 3:32pm | IP Logged | 6
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I have quarterly and annual reports from around 20 years ago and up to the sale to Disney. If those work for you, I can dig out revenue, cost, margins, and the like. Its likely as close as you can get to a per book number.
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Robert Shepherd
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 30 March 2014
Location: United States
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| Posted: 21 September 2016 at 3:45pm | IP Logged | 7
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That sounds like its exactly what I need if they show numbers from the mass market....awesome. If they only show DSM numbers, then no need to spend time on it.
I know the DSM was profitable for the publishers because it shifted all risk to the customer (comic book shops), but I have always wondered which business model was ultimately better at the per/book level.
I have to wonder if its even possible to go back to a mass media business model with paper prices and fuel costs being so high now.
Thanks in advance Joseph.
I'll google this as well. Maybe I'll find some stats online.
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Andrew W. Farago
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 19 July 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 4079
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| Posted: 21 September 2016 at 4:06pm | IP Logged | 8
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Print comics are doing fine, and reaching more young readers than they have in generations. GHOSTS is tearing up the best seller charts, and the MARCH trilogy literally caused a paper shortage for its printer.
No idea what Marvel and DC's digital sales are like, but they're apparently enough to keep books that sell 20k print copies a month solvent.
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Rick Whiting
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 22 April 2004
Posts: 2210
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| Posted: 21 September 2016 at 11:16pm | IP Logged | 9
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Here's an article about the direct market by retailer Brian Hibbs.
http://www.comicsbeat.com/tilting-at-windmills-254-the-one-a bout-nighthawk/
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David Lowe
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 25 June 2012
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 44
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| Posted: 22 September 2016 at 1:36am | IP Logged | 10
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I'm not an expert in these things (unlike our host and others on the board), but I remember reading an online column around the turn of the millennium on CBR by the comic writer Steven Grant (he used to do an entertaining weekly column on there). I'm paraphrasing, because I can't find the original column, but he said something to the effect of "Comics didn't abandon the news stand; the news stand abandoned comics". The point being that the direct market was a defensive response to comics being removed from other sources of retail because they weren't as profitable to retailers as e.g. magazines.
My question to those on the forum more knowledgeable on these matters is, is/was that true? If so, then that might at least partially explain why the comics publishers went down this path. Other than greed/stupidity.
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005
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| Posted: 22 September 2016 at 5:49am | IP Logged | 11
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The DSM began as a way for dealers to maintain their stock of back issues. It was created to be what we would today call an after-market. It was never intended to be the sole venue thru which the product was sold. What made it that was pure greed. The publishers realized what they sold to the DSM was pure profit. For the newsstands they had to print 300,000 copies to sell 200,000. For the DSM they printed only as many as were ordered (with a few extra for spoilage, pilfering, etc). A deliberate decision was made to abandon the newsstands.
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David Lowe
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 25 June 2012
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| Posted: 22 September 2016 at 6:25am | IP Logged | 12
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Thanks for the response JB - it's good to get an expert's view. It's a shame I couldn't find Steven Grant's column on this - I'd have been interested to get your view.
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