How Universal’s Cosy Project beat the publishing industry’s downturn
Diversifying revenue is an ongoing challenge for publishers, as advertising spend dissipates. Mumbrella’s Zoe Samios chats with Cosy Project founder Emma Perera, about launching a publication in the digital age.
For years, successful publications survived off advertising revenue. They were dependent on a model that would and could collapse if brands showed disinterest.
And as that started to occur, publishers looked to diversify revenues. Some invested in events, others in branded content. Some, in an attempt to continue to attract advertisers, unveiled new premium advertising inventory, promoting high viewability.
But e-learning portals and e-commerce don’t necessarily sound like ingredients for a publication. That’s unless you turn to Universal Magazine’s Cosy Project, an online craft marketplace launched by Universal Magazine’s Emma Perera.
While I applaud Universal Magazine’s ability to break away into a new business model, it is one at the expense of their designers.
Cosy Project in no way engaged with their ‘stakeholder’ designers. We were told that it was being launched and offered 10% of sales (or revenue share), whether or not we wanted to be part of it or not. This has certainly not been journey taken together – communications have been sluggish if at all existent. There is absolutely no transparency in this process at all.
Additionally, it is insulting to say that the designers aren’t tech savvy and don’t have other ways to distribute their patterns, that’s rubbish. As many other platforms allow designers to make between 95% and 100% of sales, I’m really not sure how this is a good deal for the designers or one they would want to be part of. I’m happy to have cut ties with company that does not respect it’s designers.
You can read more about how the designers feel here:
https://craftindustryalliance.org/cosy-project-not-cosy/
Although this may have seemed like a positive move for Universal, it came at the expense of the company’s relationships with the design community. The designers create the patterns and projects that made these magazines popular. They now don’t trust Universal and want nothing to do with the company. That reputation is very hard to rebuild.
Profit percentages may be up, but it can’t be by much in real dollars. The checks designers have received thus far are minuscule (between $1-6).