Webtoon Artist Reports Revenue Tripling After Piracy Site Shutdown
The revenue jump suggests that shutting down major piracy sites can directly benefit creators even when their work was not hosted on the site, by shifting former pirate users toward legitimate platforms.
Reporting from 1 sources: Anime News Network.
Korean webtoon creator Hyunwook Park reported that his paid-view revenue roughly tripled in May after the illegal distribution site Newtoki shut down in late April. Park noted he did not expect the impact since his work was not on the site. Other creators reported similar revenue increases. The suspected operator of Newtoki was extradited from Japan to South Korea on June 11.
Webtoon creator Hyunwook Park (pen name Hyunwook) posted on X/Twitter on June 1 that his paid-view revenue for May rose about three times compared to the previous month. The jump followed the late-April shutdown of Newtoki, one of South Korea's largest illegal webtoon distribution sites. Park wrote that while he cannot prove a direct link, he believes the closure is the right outcome. A web novel author reported a similar 2.5-fold revenue increase. The suspected operator of Newtoki was extradited from Japan to South Korea on June 11. The South Korean government launched a new rapid blocking system on May 11 aimed at faster response to copyright infringement, though authorities said full dismantling of illegal platforms requires international cooperation.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.
Sources
- Anime News Network Interest Webtoon Artist Reports Revenue Tripling After Piracy Site Shutdown