Royalty Program — Summary (draft-2026-10-10)

What it is

Reading on BunCho is free. When readers choose to pay — gifts, early access, plays, AI reader features, ad-free membership or monthly author support — part of that revenue is paid to authors as royalties (license fees) under a licensing agreement with BunCho.

Author shares (※ defaults, subject to change with notice)

Gifts: 70% · Early access: 70% · Plays: 50% · AI reader features: 20% · Monthly author support: 70%

Ads: 50% of monthly ad revenue, split by completed episode reads. Ad-free membership: 50% of fees, split by members' reading time.

Not eligible

Works not enrolled in the program, works whose text was written directly by AI, and works that have not passed review earn no royalties (the sale is still recorded). Eligibility is decided when the sale happens.

Payment

Royalties are calculated monthly. Withholding tax under Japanese law, tax documents and payment to minors are handled separately and may require additional information from the author.

Translation costs

Revenue earned by a work's translated editions (ads, gifts, early access, plays and similar income from the translated pages) is first used to repay that work's translation cost. Only the remainder goes into the royalty calculation.

Translation cost is the actual AI cost recorded for each episode (capped at ¥15 per episode ※). Costs covered by a reader translation fund count as already repaid.

Revenue from the Japanese edition and monthly author support are never used to repay translation costs. If translated revenue never covers the cost, the author owes nothing.

Authors see and accept this rule when they allow their work to be translated.