Megatokyo's Fred "Piro" Gallagher goes full-time

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Greg Stephens
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Megatokyo's Fred "Piro" Gallagher goes full-time

Post by Greg Stephens »

Mr. Gallagher has been laid off from his day-job as an architect and is going to try to make a living as a full-time webcomic artist. Read about it here, but here's a quote:
Megatokyo will always be a free online comic. I will not be changing the site to put in-your-face advertisements on 2/3 of the page. I will NEVER offer popup windows. I will not experiment with subscription based services, or take any comic offline because it's gone to print, or even offer 'premium' services that let you view more material. Everything on this site will always be free and open for use. I prefer it that way. I want people to support Megatokyo of their own free will - not because they are forced to pony up before they get the goods.
I'm wondering how well this economic model will function, and I don't really have much faith that it will. Still, best of luck to him and we should keep an eye on this.
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japanimationfist
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Post by japanimationfist »

I would tend to agree with you Greg. Give him points for integrity, but knowing that only about 10% of the readers at Modern Tales are subscribers leads me to believe that people won't buy the cow when they can get the milk for free.
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Post by Alexander D. »

Brian Clevinger at 8-bit Theatre has shown that this can work, to an extent -- he brings in around $1,000 every month in donations. Of course, he does give people an exclusive wallpaper (new one each month) in exchange for their donation, but I really doubt that many people are donating because they actually want the wallpaper.

Still, I really have to wonder why Gallagher is so opposed offering even a small token of extra incentive to donate. That would hardly show a lack of integrety -- it's just a way of saying "thanks for your support."

I never will understand this sort of insistence on keeping everything free. Of course, I've never really felt comfortable with having so many things free -- if I haven't paid for something, I feel guilty taking advantage of it. I've never even downloaded an MP3 if I didn't pay for it.

Of course, I'm also nearly broke, so if everyone did go pay only, I'd be out of luck. That, or I'd ask for a bunch of subscriptions for Christmas, which would make me both happy and guilt-free. Better yet, maybe someday I'll get a real job, and then I can actually start making donations to the artists whose work I read. And still pay the rent afterward. Wouldn't that be nice?
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