Fontstore

Craig Eliason
Craig Eliason Posts: 1,440
edited July 2017 in Type Business
Looks like a new retailer has popped up, Fontstore. Offering users access to their whole library of exclusive type designs for $15/mo. 
Anyone know who's behind this? And what the terms are like from the type designers' side?

Comments

  • Ramiro Espinoza
    Ramiro Espinoza Posts: 839
    Satya Rajpurohit
  • George Thomas
    George Thomas Posts: 647
    Too cheap; bad model.
  • Stephen Coles
    Stephen Coles Posts: 1,008
    edited July 2017
    I suggested to Satya that he is more transparent about who founded and runs the company, and he agreed. I also suggested he addresses the very real elephant-in-the-room about type designer compensation. He did divulge this:
    All the fonts offered on Fontstore is commissioned work, and type designers were paid upfront.
    So it is similar to Google Fonts’ model, which of course begs the next question: how much are they paid? There are many respectable designers represented in the library, so one could presume it’s a reasonable fee. Long-term revenue is always uncertain (especially in the nascent font rental business), so the most obvious benefit to type designers is a known payment immediately rather than unknown (even if perhaps greater) payment over an unknown period of time.

    I don’t think we have enough information to say it’s a “bad model”. I do have concerns about the way (relatively) inexpensive library subscriptions affect the perceived value of type. It’s not such a bad thing for type designers to have an alternative way to earn decent money for making good fonts, but will prices drop to the point that other methods (such as designer-owned foundries) are not sustainable?

    @Craig Eliason You can find out the terms directly from Satya. See the last FAQ.
  • George Thomas
    George Thomas Posts: 647
    @Stephen Coles -- the "Too cheap" is the bad model I was referring to. The perceived value of type is affected by that in my view.
  • André G. Isaak
    André G. Isaak Posts: 634
    I have no particular view on what counts as too cheap, but $15/mo is actually more than the price of a monotype library subscription (if billed annually) which is a much larger library.
  • María Ramos
    María Ramos Posts: 100
    I heard they pay upfront for the exclusive distribution for a certain period of time. It doesn’t seem like a bad deal for designers depending on their status/experience in the market. I don’t remember how much they pay and how long the exclusivity last, but when I heard the figures, they sounded quite fair.
    As long as designers are fairly paid for their work and knowledge, any distribution model can be good. The cheap prices allow for a wider audience, making typefaces available to more users.
    Another thing to consider is the quality of the fonts in the catalogue. At first sight I have seen some promising ones but also some others with a questionable quality.
  • Malcolm Wooden
    Malcolm Wooden Posts: 58

    So it is similar to Google Fonts’ model, which of course begs the next question: how much are they paid? .... I do have concerns about the way (relatively) inexpensive library subscriptions affect the perceived value of type.

    So we are all in a 'race to the bottom' with Google leading the way?



  • Paul van der Laan
    Paul van der Laan Posts: 242
    edited July 2017
    Concerning the payment of type designers Satya has stated on Twitter:
    Yes. Designers have been paid a one-off fee upfront. Now whether their fonts sell or not, it’s my headache. Type designers are unaffected.
    This means exclusive distribution for perpetuity, and no royalties.
  • James Puckett
    James Puckett Posts: 1,998
    Paul van der Laan said:
    This means exclusive distribution for perpetuity, and no royalties.
    I doubt that matters much for most fonts. Few typefaces consistently sell in large number or sell large multi-user licenses. Especially not display fonts. Aside from John Downer’s Brothers how many display fonts of the last few decades have been used constantly?
  • Florian Hardwig
    Florian Hardwig Posts: 273
    Is the exclusivity perpetual or for a limited period of time? María’s comment suggested the latter.

  • María Ramos
    María Ramos Posts: 100
    Florian Hardwig said:
    Is the exclusivity perpetual or for a limited period of time? María’s comment suggested the latter.

    I’ve been told the exclusivity is for a limited period of time, but I didn’t get this information directly from Fontstore. Maybe someone has a better source.

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