Worth selling assets on Unity (and other) ?

[Deleted User]

Hi all!

I have been thinking about selling music on the Unity Asset store (or atleast attempting to) with the aim of simply generating an extra income, but I have never done any of the sort so I am pretty much lost.

Are there any of you either actively selling/buying on/from the Unity Asset store (or perhaps another asset store) or used to do so in the past?

What I want to know is if it is actually worth it? (My mind tells me it will simply be a droplet in the ocean situation)

What are your experiences using asset stores? Is it something you would recommend?

Are there any other asset stores worth mentioning?

What advise would you give someone interested in selling their art/ craft on asset stores? I assume you would have to market it as well instead of just uploading it and hoping someone will come across it one day.

Thanks!

Moga

Good question @Edward_van_der_Merwe
I have bought about 20 packages off the asset store not including the many great free packages. I have also thought about putting assets up as well but have not yet. I do recommend the store. I would definitely put a sample package on the store for free and a Paid version with more audio.

Funnynel42

It's kind of yes and no.
Yes it is a bit of extra income, no because you do get taxed on it and have to deal with a lot of people complaining about various things or not having enough of one thing. Just know that it won't sell fast as you think.
I've published an asset (Another Easy Terrain Material) on the UE4 marketplace middle of the year and only sold 7. With that said, I never marketed it or spread the news anywhere, it might have been more if I marketed it a bit more.
Just know that the time and effort you put in now won't always show at first with the sales figures.
Unreal also has a set strict rules and a checklist to check if your product matches their standards so it can work with multiple people and if it doesn't fill all the requirements they will tell you how to improve on it.

Moga

The conventional wisdom says you needs to spend as much effort marketing your work as you do producing it. Whether its you doing the work or paying for it. For small indie developers I think this can be best accomplished by sort of branding your product consistently throughout difference spaces. If the work is high quality your reputation will be begin to proceed you in a way that attracts more people.....I think...

[Deleted User]

Thanks a ton @Moga & @Funnynel42 for your valueble feedback!

I guess if you really want to make a constant, fair amount of money selling assets you will need to spend not only a large amount of time creating content, but also do persistent marketing and tweaking and modifying it as feedback might request, otherwise you won't really make enough money that will have an impact on your finances. This is pretty much true for all things I suppose. Now I am starting to feel like I should rather spend my time and effort networking and finding prototypes and early builds (specifically on makegamessa) and contribute to these projects instead (even if a lot of them might lead nowhere or is just part of a gamejam) and in doing so place my focus on accumulating contacts and building relationships rather than trying to generate an extra income.

But at the present time I am horribly lost at sea with no compass, so I might change direction again :p

Leslie

The asset store can become your sole income, depending on what you create and how much you need monthly. It works really well for certain tools/code assets and art assets. I know of coders and artists who lives off of asset store sales only.

I do not think it will work too well for sounds/music though, especially with so much of it present already at really cheap prices. But it might generate a little extra income at least. Try it if you got some music/fx laying around.

I doubt marketing through channels like Google or Facebook is needed or even works. At least from what I've read about other publishers' experience. Personally I've never found assets I used outside of Unity's (the engine I use) own channels (news letters and forums) or by just browsing the store.