While the promotions tool is still in parts all over the floor and all vital site operations are being handled by broken algorithms and outsourced chat agents, MyFonts is focused on minting apes.
I didn't see this one becuase I have an email filter that doesn't allow anything with the term NFT. It's an interesting move considering the polarized opinion on the topic. Some people see crypto as exciting and progressive while others classify it as fraudulent and evidence of a need for stronger market legislation. However, I don't think this crusade would be significantly more expensive to pull off than any other MyFonts marketing campaign. Maybe there's cogent overlap of crypto fans and people who think Helvetica is cool. Damn—that last sentence feels too plausible. Personally, I think crypto feels shady and Helvetica is the furthest thing from cool. But I admit that Helvetica is useful and crypto is handy for doing crime and probably some other activities. I'm struggling to see the positive side of this. Maybe it'll be short lived?
Despite my not having any good feelings about NFTs, I'd love to hear from anyone who has anything positive to say about this campaign. Also, I've been thinking about it more and wondering if this is part of a strategy to differentiate their MyFonts storefront branding from Monotype's other storefronts.
Whenever big companies get into NFT I wonder if they got duped into it by some consultant, or if they actively set out to defraud their customers, or both. In the meantime, I'll wait for fontcoin or some such.
I hate monotypes business practices, but I wish I could use many of their typefaces, I use to subscribe to their subscription service via MyFonts ages ago and got a lot of value from it. I cannot see any current subscription service, does one exist?
It’s called Monotype Fonts, but chances are it’s not what you were hoping for. Plans start at a whopping $2,500/year. While that gives you access to the library for prototyping, it covers only 3 fonts to be used commercially per quarter, for either on the web or in an app.
(Don’t get me started on the German translation from the Zeitalter des gegossenen Hartbleisatzes.)
I have the darnest feeling my fonts sell on there, but they manipulate the data so it seems no sales transpired. And so they can collect the whole sum and not pay me royalties... it's only a personal hunch tho, nothing confirmed.
Yesterday, I received an email from a “Sales Development Representative” at Monotype. He was writing to registered users of the now defunct FontExplorer X Pro to set up one-on-one appointments to discuss their new product “Monotype Fonts,” as mentioned above by Florian Hardwig, and described quite accurately by Joyce Ketterer as "the worst possible subscription model."
Who would buy such a thing, I wondered, especially at the highest tier? Perhaps large corporations trying to avoid legal entanglements. In other words, it's a kind of "protection racket." Here is a summary of their business plan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhaDA7TneL4
Viewed along with Monotype's NFT offerings, this seems to be the scheme of a company that's been losing a lot of money and is desperate to stay afloat. I suppose the best word to describe the situation is "Malthusian." Too many fonts, not enough customers.
If I had to choose the best place for buying fonts in terms of not having shady practices and helping type designers, where would that be? The designers' official website?
Yes, visiting the designer or foundry is always the best place to start. If their fonts are not available directly, they will usually link to the provider that benefits them most. If you're seeking retailers with a large selection and good practices I personally recommend Fontspring, Fontstand, Future Fonts, I Love Typography, and Type Network.
the thorny part for me is Monotype own a number of exclusive typefaces, both in their own library and from FontFont, and I guess now H&Co (but they still seem a seperate entity from a customer perspective). Monotypes prices have pretty much always been out of reach for me, hence the old subscription being enticing. I use to love using Carter Sans for example but at around AUD $830 for the 8 font pack it is just not feasible to licence because I like it. But this has the flow on effect of me never trying it in projects as it is not available.
I truely believe if they lowered their prices for their exclusives and / or had a subscription model similar to what is now Adobe Fonts then they could attract a lot of customers.
Heck, if they don’t want to manage it then they could also simply add all their exclusives to Adobe Fonts, they have some there but the offering is limited.
@Scott-Martin Kosofsky I regret saying that. They might take it as a challenge and come up with something worse. It could be a failure of imagination on my part that I can't currently think of anything worse.
Comments
Most of the marketing images I make for MyFonts etc. are already NFT-worthy art, and I’m not the only one.
See also
You can find one quality release among 100.
I specifically mean on MyFonts.