Member eli… Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 This topic was imported from the Typophile platform "Monotype Imaging acquired the font business of rival Bitstream for about 50 million in cash, a move that gives it greater clout in the world of digital typography." What consequences do you see? Link to comment
Member HVB… Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 It's another 'captive' distributor. I would see them doing the same thing that Google does - raising their own products to the top of lists such as search responses, 'more like this' lists, etc. But look on the bright side. At least it wasn't Microsoft that bought it! - Herb Link to comment
Member Ric… Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Craig, we already had this discussion:https://typography.guru/forums/topic/87045-forwarding#comment-483579 Link to comment
Member Ric… Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 For my part, I've seen fewer fonts sold at MyFonts and a decline in performance in their WhatTheFont server. Link to comment
Member eli… Posted March 20, 2012 Author Share Posted March 20, 2012 Oh yeah, I thought this all seemed familiar! Link to comment
Member Mar… Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Riccardo, do you sell a lot of fonts there? I haven't noticed anything like that. Link to comment
Member Ric… Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Sorry, I meant that the offering seems to have shrunk. At least regarding Monotype's own typefaces (which now still aren't sold by MyFonts even in Adobe's versions). Link to comment
Member hra… Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Yes, better Monotype than Microsoft, but that's not fair to the largest company that actually cares about typography. Really, it has been the 90s for a while now. hhp Link to comment
Member eli… Posted March 20, 2012 Author Share Posted March 20, 2012 @riccard0 I think they've just been added back, actually. Link to comment
Member Ric… Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Yes, it looks that some of them have been added back (still no Helvetica Neue, for example). We will see how it turns out, I suppose. Link to comment
Member eli… Posted March 20, 2012 Author Share Posted March 20, 2012 Maybe there's not Helvetica Neue, but there is Neue Helvetica! Link to comment
Member Ric… Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 A couple more acquisitions, and we will have Unica too! ;-) Link to comment
Member 5st… Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 I noticed today that Mono's shares are trading about 3 bucks above their '07 IPO value (?) And they achieved that without a Obama bailout / handout :) Whether or not Monotype's strategy is good or bad for the average bezier bandit I don't know, but I hope it is. Bezier Bandit, lol. Link to comment
Member hra… Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 BTW, FWIW, I recently had an exchange with Monotype concerning some ancient Linotype royalties, and they handled my request with extreme grace and kindness. hhp Link to comment
Member Mar… Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Riccardo, Linotype and Monotype fonts were pulled from MyFonts about a year ago (I don't remember exactly), apparently because MyFonts was doing so well that more Lino/Mono fonts were being sold there than on the Lino/Mono sites, with MyFonts taking a cut. Now that they are one company, they are back, as one would expect. I wonder how soon I will lose my top spot on the MyFonts best sellers page now that Helvetica is back. Link to comment
Member Nic… Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Dude, you would still be top of the indie charts, man. Way more cred. Uh, if they had one... Link to comment
Member dez… Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 I have noticed a drop in sales since the Monotype buyout. It appears that the number of times my fonts appear on the front page is off significantly. I used to randomly see my fonts on the front page about as often as anyone else. Now, I have not seen them there at all. I am not saying anything is amiss, perhaps there have been so many new people that the odds are far less. I do see some fonts there more frequently than the odds would seem right. Link to comment
Member hra… Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Wow, there really was no Helvetica on MyFonts for a while?! How cool is that. BTW, this maneuvering seems quite revealing. If Mono/Lino did indeed pull out of MyFonts because they thought they were losing too much to MF's cut (maybe they assumed people buy their fonts "with intent", as opposed to "running into" them on places like MyFonts; or maybe they underestimated people's comfort with shopping at MF) but then they came around to buy MF, they must have noticed a marked drop is sales in the interim. Which means MF really works. I guess $50M sort of indicates that too... hhp Link to comment
Member dez… Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 That 5oM is a sure sign ;-) Link to comment
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