'Mobile Font' Purchases Up 776% YoY... "Attributed to Changes in Copyright Awareness"

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] It has been revealed that the number of domestic mobile font purchasers has significantly increased over the past year.

Creator content platform company Sandoll announced on the 11th that as of last month, the number of mobile font purchases increased by 776% compared to the same month last year. In particular, since July, the application of SandollGureum fonts to KakaoTalk on the iPhone operating system iOS has become possible, greatly increasing mobile font usage. As of August, the number of downloads of the SandollGureum iOS mobile app increased by about 300% compared to the previous month.

The SandollGureum mobile app offers over 270 fonts optimized for mobile environments and more than 910 free fonts. It features a subscription service for individual fonts, allowing users to select and purchase only the fonts they want.

Since September last year, the most popular mobile font has been ‘GF Yeonpilrosseun Gothic Bold,’ ranking first. Second was ‘GF Yeonpil Gothic Gray Light,’ third ‘GF Bihaenggi Medium,’ fourth ‘TSC Butter and Vanilla,’ and fifth ‘TSC Cookie Bear.’ Most of the fonts in the rankings have a cute, handwritten feel.

Sandoll cited the ‘integration of font usage scope’ as a factor for the increase in mobile font use, which has changed awareness of font copyrights. To eliminate the burden on consumers who found it difficult to check usage scope one by one before using fonts and to prevent copyright-related disputes, Sandoll launched the industry’s first ‘Font Usage Scope Integration Campaign’ in April 2020. Fonts provided in the SandollGureum mobile app can also be used without usage scope restrictions, allowing users to safely apply SandollGureum fonts not only to messages but also to various content created on mobile devices.

A Sandoll representative said, “As users can now use fonts that reflect their personality even in everyday KakaoTalk, the scope of font usage has greatly expanded as an entertainment element. Not only KakaoTalk messages but also the population enjoying creative activities as hobbies through mobile devices, such as vlogs and daily webtoons, is increasing, so the role of fonts as content will grow even more.”