Posted in: Comics, Current News | Tagged: diamond, lunar, massive

Massive Indies' Terms To Distribute Other Publishers Through Lunar

The terms that Massive Indies requires to distribute other publishers' comics through Lunar Distribution comes with a $500 cost minimum

Published Wed, 05 Feb 2025 08:09:08 -0600

by Rich Johnston

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Article Summary

Massive Indies partners with Lunar for indie comic distribution with a $500 minimum listing fee.
Publishers cover production costs, while Massive retains a 15% distribution fee on sales.
Massive handles Lunar listings, but publishers must produce and ship titles independently.
Massive's deal suits mid-range publishers, expanding reach via Simon & Schuster for book markets.

Earlier yesterday morning, Bleeding Cool reported that in the light of Diamond Comic Distributors going through Chapter 11 bankruptcy, that Massive Publishing had joined up with Lunar Distribution instead but had agreed to launch Massive Indies as a new sub-distribution initiative for independent publishers and self-published studios. to go through Lunar without actually dealing with Lunar. Which for some had become a bit of a struggle. And now Bleeding Cool has the terms that Massive Publishing is asking of interested publishers, to subdistribute them through Lunar. Which comes with a minimum cost of $500 an issue to be listed.

Massive Gets Lunar Distribution, Will Bring In Other Publishers — Massive Lunar logos

The following are key deal points between Massive ("Sub-Distributor") and the vendor/client ("Publisher/Studio")
$500 USD listing fee paid by Publisher/Studio for each listing (per listing, not cover) Note: This is an advance on Sub-Distributor's portion of the 15% Distribution Fee.
Sub-Distributor shall retain a Distribution Fee on cover price for floppy comics, trade paperbacks, graphic novels (over 100 pages), mangas, and other book formats Note: Total 15% distribution fee with Lunar's own distribution fee paid by Massive.
Sub-Distributor has the exclusive rights to list Publisher/Studio's product at Lunar Distribution
Publisher/Studio has the sole responsibility of producing, printing, and shipping its titles to satisfy the purchase order (PO) provided by Lunar Distribution which included a 5% overage and 5 comp copies of each issue's primary cover. Publisher/Studio may provide a maximum print run limit but must make at least 500 copies available for order of its primary cover.
Publisher/Studio is responsible for adhering to all copyright & trademark laws, state and federal laws. Sub-Distributor takes no legal liability for products listed on behalf of Publisher/Studio
Publisher/Studio is responsible for all design elements of their titles (Massive's name and logo are not to be used on any digital or physical material without Massive's express written consent)

I'd love to know more details, but it seems that the 15% distribution fee is in addition to the retailer's discount, usually somewhere around the 50-60% of cover price level. That $500 might be a bit high for the smaller publishers, this looks like it might suit the mid ranger publishers, but we will see how it shakes out. Massive will begin soliciting products through Lunar Distribution in February. For publishers and studios interested in submitting to Massive Indies, go to their new website. Massive Publishing is also available to the book market through its exclusive book market distribution agreement with Simon & Schuster.

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