Last night I was unfortunate enough to go to sleep at 2 AM, and saw the Skeb email that arrived at 1:30 AM on my bed. Huh guess I'll write about it when I wake up. The revision itself isn't alarming, and functionality-wise nothing about the site has/ will change. However nuance-wise there are some interesting changes for creators, to say the least. I've put my thoughts about the changes under the spoiler.
Disclaimer: this is less of an explanation bulletin and more of an opinion, so exact explanation of how Skeb is run behind-the-scenes will be omitted for the sake of briefness.
Notice of Renewal of Terms of Service
- The name of service provided by the website has changed. The website now offers services for "(cultural) works" (eg. illustration, writing, videos, etc.) as opposed to "the right to request for a work". This is merely a change in law terms and for clarity, nothing has actually changed. Creators still reserve full copyright of their works, and clients do not receive copyright of a work upon delivery.
- AI is now strictly banned. Again, nothing has changed as AI has been banned since the beginning, but they will now enforce the rule strictly.
- Service fees shall now be borne by the creator. This is done in order to comply to Japan's Invoice Law, coming into effect in September. If you are a client, this does not affect you.
- Termination of Skeb points and new system for points. This is the only point that affects clients directly.
Skeb points is the prepaid payment service used solely in Skeb, and has a 10 years expiry date. After another examination, it was found that the distribution of Skeb points falls under the jurisdiction of the third-party who distributes Skeb points, thus it is legally not under Skeb. In order to be able to distribute Skeb points legally (under Skeb Inc.), the current points in circulation will be refunded, and a new Skeb point with a 180 days expiry date will launch later.
In other words, if you ever bought Skeb points and haven't used it until September 1st, the points will become non-useable and you will be eligible for a refund. The refund can be made to a Japanese bank account or converted into the new Skeb point. (Details here.) - Creators will no longer be able to payout their earnings after a year. This is a change for creator side and not a new rule. However, Skeb has decided to strictly enforce this rule in compliance with the upcoming Invoice Law.
- Boosts will now have a minimum of 500 yen. This change is the only point that is unrelated to law, but rather Skeb's policy to help protect creators.
Thoughts on point 3, 5 and 6 below.
- Invoice Law sucks. In short, Invoice Laws stipulate that creators must file tax report on every transactions they do, even if it's creator-to-client and not creator-to-corporate. As creators are required to present an invoice to their clients, it also poses the problem that personal information (name and address) may be leaked. It puts a massive hurdle for creators to keep working, as the new law may discourage creators from making transactions at all.
- That said, point 3 may potentially be beneficial for creators, as their transaction income is deducted by the service fee (in the past, service fee was borne by the client). ...and i'm too hungry to explain why it's beneficial, but point is it's a good thing! However it may invite misunderstandings for creators.
- Point 5... ah yes here comes the math. Nalgami added an explanation on his Twitter. This is the point that is most disadvantageous for creators; and partly to blame due to Japan's whack banking system. Payout in Skeb has a minimum of 1339 yen. This is because banks take 880 yen if the payout fails, while the payout fee itself is 458 yen. (Common reasons of failure: wrong name, wrong bank code, etc.) -> in worst case, creators will get 1 yen from the 1339 yen they payout.
Yes you read that right, the payout fee is 458 yen!! This isn't Skeb's fault though, Japan's banking system is absolute whack.
Due to the crazy high fees, you'd imagine some creators leave their earnings on Skeb until they collect more money to be able to payout, right? Except life happens and some can't open commissions for a year, leaving the earning rotting in Skeb. Due to laws, Skeb has always had the rights to invalidate those earnings but hasn't strictly enforce the rules. And now due to Invoice Laws, once again, they decided to strictly enforce the rule. - Point 6 has been in consideration for some time now (Nalgami has talked about it in his tweets before), but there have been cases of people boosting 53 yen (read as 'gomi' / 'trash') with the purpose of harassing creators. Skeb's goal is to create a safe space where creators can create works without the fear of receiving backlash/ complains/ insults, hence the new boost policy. Ultimately, this is a good thing since 500 is a good baseline for leaving tips anyway.
- On another note though this incident finally led Skeb to share their data for boosts!! Personally I love seeing data so it's such a neat thing. The average boost is 1500-2000 yen, while the median is 900-1000 yen. I've looked up online opinions on how much boosts should be (emphasis on opinion) and some said that 5000 yen is a good baseline, though of course boosts were never meant to be compulsory. Now with official data being released, it's easier to determine how much to boost!
- As a bystander, I can see the Invoice Law hindering Skeb growth in the future, as Skeb has pretty much been operating on "creator opening Skeb attracts clients" basis. Skeb has never catered to [ clients ] but rather [ fans of creators ], so with the new law being disadvantageous for new creators to start creating/ open a Skeb account ...who knows what will happen to Skeb? Perhaps the market will grow stagnant in upcoming years.
I've run out witty last words so yeah..! Takaki Sohey quit Skeb anyway now I don't know how to throw my money at her q_q
Dokoka_me quit skeb??? ðŸ˜ðŸ˜
8 months, 13 days ago
she no longer puts skeb on her twt nor tumblr so i assume so 😔
8 months, 13 days ago