The demons of streaming

In its most recent share­holder letter, Net­flix reports:

KPop Demon Hunters, which is now our most pop­ular film ever (325M views), is another example of our ability to create large breakout hits and for our films to be part of the cul­tural con­ver­sa­tion and zeitgeist. [ … ] We are actively expanding the KPop Demon Hunters uni­verse, bringing fans new expe­ri­ences and prod­ucts worldwide. Ear­lier today, we announced Mattel and Hasbro have each been named a global co-master toy licensee for KPop Demon Hunters. [ … ]

One thinks back to Star Wars, and to the for­tune that flowed from the toy license … which was owned, of course, by George Lucas.

The most recent Writers Guild strike had a lot to do with the uneven bal­ance of power in the streaming world, with writers demanding (at the most basic level) more infor­ma­tion about the per­for­mance of their work, and (at a some­what higher level) bonuses based on that per­for­mance.

But a bonus, by design, does not cap­ture the value of a true breakout hit. Only own­er­ship does that, and Net­flix owns its pro­duc­tions outright. (If there are known exam­ples of cre­ators retaining an own­er­ship share, let me know — my strong impres­sion is that Net­flix has been unyielding on this point.)

How do the cre­ators of KPop Demon Hunters feel about their movie’s success? I mean … probably not TOO bad. I’m sure they are well-compensated, and of course it’s sat­is­fying to know that hun­dreds (!) of mil­lions (!!) of people spent time in the uni­verse of your imagination. But … do they get a cut of those Mattel and Hasbro deals? I doubt it. I could be wrong — I would like to be wrong — but I doubt it.

It’s the old DC/Marvel vs. Image/indie conun­drum again! When you write a comic for DC and Marvel, on one hand, it’s so perilous, because if you create an amazing character — the next great Batman villain, the next cult favorite mutant — you don’t own it; they do. On the other hand … you get to play with the really good toys.