Thread "problems at WOWIO" in forum "Comic Talk and General Discussion *"

Posted at 7:08AM, Aug. 29, 2008

It looks like WOWIO is running behind on payments. Does anyone have ay experience with WOWIO? i was considering joining but now i'm hesatent.

http://www.newsarama.com/comics/080828-Wowio.html

Posted at 3:08PM, Aug. 29, 2008

the online comics publisher (recently acquired by Platinum Studios) is late in paying a large number of creators and publishers their second quarter payments.

NRAMA: Did the conditions/terms change at Wowio when it was acquired by Platinum?

SH: Yes. Their contract addendum basically cut everyone's earnings by 95% by removing most free downloads in favor of a paid download/weak ad model. That, and the fact that we don't like Platinum Studios, led Smashout not to sign the addendum. That left only getting paid for Q2, due Aug 15 (and not paid as of Thursday) and then be done with them forever.

…..Wow. Hating platinum is bit of a tend here now but this is pretty ridiculous on all levels.

NRAMA: Currently, how much are you owed by Wowio?

SH: A bit over $7,300. $1,700 to my company and the rest to other creators.

On the flip side this is also ridiculous, by that i mean the fact that he made 7k off something he was going to do for free or as he stated earlier 'didn't do so well on' -_-

Never ceases to amaze me the arrogance people will get when their free work isn't being paid for.

Posted at 10:08PM, Aug. 29, 2008

By the sound of it, Wowio was having problems before Platinum got hold of them.

Posted at 11:09PM, Sep. 1, 2008

This saddens me greatly.

Posted at 9:09AM, Sep. 2, 2008

It's disappointing to read Wowio is having such problems. I hope things get better for the folks involved.

Posted at 9:09AM, Sep. 2, 2008

@Steve Horton

Your payment is less than 2 weeks late and you run to the press? Seriously, dude. That's just moronic. Most contracts I've seen have a 90 grace period to protect the company.

Yes, they owe you the money, and yes you 'deserve' it (for playing a 'bookie' or something to other artists that could have just as well done it on their own).

But 2 weeks? Geez. Welcome to the real world.

Posted at 10:09AM, Sep. 2, 2008

But 2 weeks? Geez. Welcome to the real world.

For jobs I do where I'm personally in contact with the person, 2 weeks is about the limit, but jobs on the net… You're right. 90 days is more like the max. It's strange they're being babies about it. Still, that's a good amount of money so I suppose it makes them hungry for it lol!

Posted at 8:09AM, Sep. 3, 2008

It's cute how people still think there is real money in webcomics. :3

Posted at 12:09PM, Sep. 3, 2008

i made 2 cents on my comic. yaaaaaaay!

Posted at 2:09PM, Sep. 4, 2008

Platinum should never have acquired Wowio. When you look at it, Platinum is an incredibly badly handled company. They fail to pay creators employed directly by them, and now they're not paying people who signed up on something that then came in to their ownership. Not a good incentive for more people to put their stuff on Wowio.

Also Platinum posted losses of $4.3 million in 2006 and $5.1 million in 2007. A company can't continue long with that kind of losses while failing to pay their own people.

Posted at 4:09PM, Sep. 4, 2008

However, these debts were owed BEFORE the acquisition. PS is just left "holding the keys" as it were. ;)

It's fine if you want to say that PS shouldn't have acquired Wowio. But nobody else was looking to buy them. AT least these people still have a shot at getting paid, instead of Wowio just closing down.

Posted at 8:09PM, Sep. 4, 2008

Spang's right CCS, apart from the fact about the losses, the rest is speculative opinion and in the case of Wowio; quite wrong.

It all had nothing to do with Plat, but Wowio itself , as Spang says. ;)

My guess is that, as is typical with web startups, things were just too good to be true. They start off all bright and shiny with lots of funding and then the business model doesn't prove that great and the investors leave. Pretty soon they have to make hard decisions in order to stay afloat so payments get late, deals become less generous and they star looking for new investors… Or in Plat's case, a buyer that'll make them look better to investors…

The "plat" is bad for comics angle is heavily influenced by a core of stroppy comic fans who don't like them- which is fine and dandy, but doesn't mean they'll be unbiased commentators. Be careful with received opinion, it'll lead you wrong. :)

Posted at 8:09AM, Sep. 13, 2008

I hope Wowio can right itself, I really enjoy the site.