I'm hoping this gets the message across to more people...

We are deviantART, We are the product, We are how they make money......In other words, We have power and we are going to need to get together and use it, very soon.

Let me break it down for you...


Look at how deviantART makes money.

Advertising
Subscription Revenue
Print Sales
Print Account Sales
Software Development

1. Our artwork are what drives people to this website, every single piece no matter how good or bad has something to do with that fact. We create the traffic flow and that is what enables them to sell advertising space.
2. Subscriptions help offset the expense of those users that do not pay for subscriptions.
3. The sale of a print is pure profit for DA, when a sale is made they receive 50% of the profit from that sale.....pure profit.
4. The fee to get a print account also has to have profit built into it, but this is a one time purchase so I have no idea how much profit margin there is on this product.
5. The code that runs this site can be used for many other applications, this is the perfect testing and proving ground.


I may be missing some other ways deviantART creates income from it's user base, please add to this thread if you know of other ways.

deviantART exists because of the community
The community is what puts cash in the bank

If there was no artwork, no users, no traffic, there would be very little in the way of income potential.


Just keep all this in mind while the powers that be start to re-shape what the place is about over the next few weeks and months. If it goes in the direction that some of the top level people want, your art will be judged on it's ability to generate income for them and the censoring of work being submitted here will start.

You can read about this all you want in 's journal and if that is the direction we let this site take, you can count me out, there will be a new place to call home.


Yellow Day 08.07.05 Show Jark your love and support