Radix Analysis of Renewal Rates for Top 10 New TLDs Places Four of Their TLDs Among the Market Leaders 

Radix, the operator of ten new gTLDs, has issued a new report on first time renewal rates for their top TLDs - a key metric in determining the success of any domain extension. Their internal analysis of 2022 renewal rates across the new gTLD industry found that the rate for

all new TLDS (standard registrations only) came in at 18%, slightly less than the 20% rate posted in 2020 and 21% in 2021 (both years that benefited from a Covid generated boom in online activity). However, Radix was able to document growth rates for their top TLDs that easily outperformed the overall market numbers.

As shown in the graph above,  highlighting Radix's standing among the top ten new gTLDs in terms of actual first-time renewal numbers, Radix claimed four of the top ten (.online, .store, .site and .tech) with those accounting for 36% of the renewals among the top tier of new gTLDs.

Radix also showed a 45% increase in their first-time renewals from 2020 to 2022 and, as shown in the graph they below, they wound up booking nearly half a million total first-time renewals in 2022, compared to 350,000 in 2020. As indicated in the data below, .Store enjoyed the biggest boom, soaring 92% in absolute first-time renewals in 2022 compared to 2020. .Online and .Site also impress with first-time renewal numbers jumping over 40% in the same period.

In terms of dollar value for top ten ranked first time new gTD renewals in 2022 (broken down in the graph below), Radix said that .Online and .Store ranked #1 and #2 with over $4.5 million and $3.2 million respectively (excluding registrar markup). Again, as noted above, These revenue figures take into account only first time renewals from standard registrations and exclude premium renewal revenue.

The graph below illustrates the 2022 first-time renewal revenue split among the top 10 nTLDs. It shows .Online accounting for 24% of the total renewal revenue, and cumulatively,  four Radix TLDs generated approximately 57% of the total renewal revenue for the top ten.

Radix, whose full roster of TLDs includes .ONLINE, .STORE, .TECH, .WEBSITE, .SPACE, .PRESS, .SITE, .HOST, .FUN and .UNO, also provided these details about the study.

Methodology:

This analysis of renewal data was conducted by Radix using publicly available domains data and applying standard renewal costs across registrars, assuming the margin across TLDs to be more or less the same. All data points exclude registrations and renewals from China. The data is solely based on standard registration renewals and exclude premium renewals.

Disclaimers:

This data report has been prepared using publicly available data sources, along with internal tools and methodologies developed by Radix. While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the information presented, the data and estimates provided may be impacted by limitations in the available data, with an error rate of ~2% to 3%

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New Book from Startup Expert Colin Campbell Tells Entrepreneurs How to Start. Scale. Rinse. Repeat!

Just yesterday I was talking about the extraordinary level of creativity we see in people connected with the domain industry. That post was about Rob Grant releasing a new major label contemporary classical music album, Lost at Sea, that soared to #1 on the iTunes Classical Albums Chart. Now, don't be surprised if you see another industry veteran, serial entrepreneur and author Colin Campbell at #1 on Amazon's list of Top Business Books and the New York Times Best Sellers list this fall.  

That is because Colin (who was profiled in a 2016 DNJournal Cover Story) has just completed a landmark book that he has been working on for much of the past decade. Titled Start. Scale. Exit. Repeat. (now available for pre-order with an October 3, 2023 delivery date), it is an indispensable guide that will be a must read for every start up business owner - and every one who wants to be one. 

Colin has successfully completed that cycle several times in his career and just as importantly, he has learned invaluable lessons about how to recover if things don't go as planned (that's why our cover story about him was titled "The Comeback Kid: How .CLUB's Colin Campbell Rebounded From a $100 Million Setback and Took a Lead Role in Reshaping the Web.") Everybody loves to talk about the successes, but the most critical insight often comes from the setbacks.

While Colin is best known in the domain business as the Founder of the .CLUB TLD that he sold to GoDaddy in 2021, his string of startups dates back decades and includes such familiar names as Internet Direct, Hostopia, Tucows, GeeksforLess, Paw.com, US SDS and Escape Club, Today he spends much of his time on another creation - one he was born to run -  Startup.club, a rapidly growing  business incubator with offices in Fort Lauderdale. 

Over the years, many of you have had a chance to hear Colin speak about his experiences at major conferences, but for those who have never had the opportunity, Start. Scale. Exit. Repeat. will give you access to a treasure trove of startup wisdom earned over a lifetime spent in the business trenches. In the book, Colin expands beyond 

Colin C. Campbell
Serial entrepreneur and Author 

his own experience by also taking you inside the minds of more than 30 experts, authors, and seasoned entrepreneurs so you can learn from their hard-earned lessons as well. The winning patterns of these successful businesses can then be applied to your own startup. You will also learn how to avoid  common pitfalls, master the art of hacking your way to growth, secure the right funding, navigate thriough potential buyers and cash in on an exit. With a Kindle pre-order price of $8.99, that has to be one of the best business book bargains you will ever see.

Colin Campbell speaking at the 2018 Merge! Conference in Orlando. His book Start. Scale. Rinse. Repeat. will be released October 3, 2023 and is available for pre-order now.

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Rob Grant's New Lost at Sea Album Hits #1 on the iTunes Classical Music Chart!

I've said it a hundred times over the years - the domain industry has some of the most talented and creative people I've ever met in any industry. Longtime friend and industry legend Rob Grant, who was profiled in a 2008 DNJournal Cover Story, just proved that again in spades. Rob happens to also be a very talented pianist and, as most of you know, his daughter, global pop superstar Lana Del Rey, has been one of the world's most popular singer-songwriters over a decade now. 

Rob played on "Sweet Carolina", a track from Lana's 2021 abum Blue Bannisters and while in the studio his keyboard skills caught the attention of Lana's producers. That led to Rob signing a contract himself with Universal Music Group's  Decca Records as a contemporary classical crossover artist. His debut album, Lost at Sea, just came out June 9 and immediately soared into the week's #1 position on the iTunes Classical Music Album Chart! 

I had a chance to listen to the blissful 14-track collection over the weekend and was enthralled by how masterfully Rob was able to evoke the transcendent, peaceful feeling one gets when surrounded by the breathtaking beauty of the open sea. 

His playing is backed with the magnificent strings of the Budapest Art Orchestra and Lana was involved too - contributing her unmatched ethereal vocals to the title track, "Lost at Sea" and the closing track "Hollywood Bowl." Lana's presence is obviously a big draw but make no mistake, as much as Rob embraces his "Nepo Daddy" nickname, his music occupies a unique and soothing space of its own.

An amazing thing about Rob's paying is that he is entirely self-taught and doesn't read music. He sits down, focuses on the sea as his muse and the impromptu compositions flow out! There is nothing contrived about that relationship with the open water. Rob has lived and loved it for as long as I've have known him (15 years plus).

 While his main residence has been in Lake Placid, New York his is just as likely to be found at a second home on Florida's Anna Maria Island (located just south of us off the Tampa Bay area's Gulf Coast). For many years he kayaked solo at all hours of the day before adding a boat. We've been out on it with him and that is when he is  clearly 100% at home and  in his element.

Above: On this visit to see Rob and his wife Patty, Rob helped my wife bring Diana bring her first catch of the day on board.

Below: After a day on the water, what better place to have lunch than by the water! (Left to right are Rob & Patty Grant, Diana and Ron Jackson). Unfortunately, this restaurant on the old Anna Maria Island pier was destroyed by a hurricane the next year but a new stronger structure has been built in its place. Meanwhile, Rob continues to sail the waters that inspired his new album.

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Must See Video from NamesCon Provides Inside Look at Historic Home.com and Chat.com Sales 

In our review of the 2023 NamesCon Global conference I talked about see one of the best business sessions at a show that I've seen in 20 years of covering them. That opening day session on May 31, titled The Greatest Stories Never Told, featured pioneering domain brokers Andrew Miller and Larry Fischer who provided an unprecedented look behind the curtain at how they got two of the biggest sales in history done (an eight-figure deal for Chat.com and another blockbuster in Home.com). 

The dynamic duo (seen above with Andrew at left and Larry at right) took things to a new level when Andrew got his long-time

Andrew Miller (Hilco Digital Assets) and Larry Fischer (GetYourDomain.com) speaking at NamesCon Global 2023

friend, David Lazowski, to join them via an Internet connection. David was a huge get because he is the President, Retail Sales East, for Fairway, the company that bought Home.com (for an undisclosed price). In his first hand account of why the company dug deep for Home.com, David explained what having that domain will mean for the company for generations to come and why it will be worth every penny it cost.  

David Laszowski, President, Retail Sales East
Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation

In my review I noted that a video of this session should be saved and shown to every corporate buyer in the world who is thinking about why they should invest in a category killing domain name. Thankfully that video is now available for all to see since Andrew posted it on his LinkedIn account. The video (below) was shot on a single NamesCon camera at the back of the hall that remained focused on the stage. As a result, you will not see David who the live audience watched on large screens on each side of the stage, but will hear everything he said while talking with Andrew and Larry. The 45-minute video gives you the entire session, so you also get all of Andrew and Larry's fascinating anecdotes before and after David joined them. It is great that this was preserved and made available to all who want to learn from the masters why top tier domains command the prices they do.

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Global Domain Name Registrations Reach 354 Million According to Verisign's Latest Industry Brief for 1Q-2023

Verisign (the administrator of the .com and .net TLDs) has released their latest quarterly Domain Name Industry Brief (DNIB) covering the 1st quarter of 2023. The quarter ended with 354 million domain name registrations across all top-level domains (TLDs) worldwide, a jump of  3.5 million domains (+ 1.0%) from the end of the previous quarter. Registrations were up by the same numbers year over year (with 3.5 million added from the same point in 2022). 

.Com (the most dominant TLD on the Internet) finished 1Q-2023 with 161.6 million registrations, up about 600,000 domains from the previous quarter but only 300,000 from the same point a year ago. Verisign's .net TLD actually declined slightly year over year, sliding to 13.2 million after having 13.4 million registered at the same point in 2022.

Total country-code TLD (ccTLD) domain name registrations were 135.7 million at the end of the first quarter of 2023, an increase of 2.6 million domain name registrations, or 2.0%, compared to the previous quarter. ccTLDs were also up 1.7% year over after year, adding by 2.3 million domain name registrations.  

Total new generic TLD (ngTLD) domain name registrations were 27.3 million at the end of the first quarter of 2023, a decrease of 200,000 domains from the previous quarter. However, ngTLDs did post a 3.6% gain year over year, having added 900,000 domains from the same point a year ago. 

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We're Back from NamesCon Global With Production of Our Wall to Wall Review Now Underway

Editor's Note: The article is live now - https://www.dnjournal.com/articles/2023/namescon-global-review.htm 

As we expected once the NamesCon Global 2023 conference  got underway last Wednesday (May 31) in Austin, Texas, we were too busy covering all of the events to post while the show was underway. We're back now though, going through the more than 1,000 photos we shot during NamesCon and stacks of notes about the outstanding business sessions and social events. We gathered all of this material so we can bring you the most comprehensive review of the world's biggest domain investor's event available anywhere - an article that will also provide a permanent record of where were at this point in industry history. Based on where we are in the production process now and how much we still have to go through, I would guess the article will be ready to publish around lunch time Wednesday, June 7 (US Eastern time) so stay tuned!

Below: A photo from the opening moments of the 2023 NamesCon Global conference in 
Austin Texas, Wednesday, May 31. Out complete show review is in production now.

(Posted June 5, 2023)  

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