The ebook-distribution site WOWIO recently went offline for “retooling,” spurring rumors that the company — increasingly popular with comics creators and small publishers — has been sold.
Now comes an official announcement that Platinum Studios is negotiating to acquire WOWIO, thereby continuing “the expansion of Platinum Studios’ global digital media distribution strategy.”
It’s news that undoubtedly will meet with … let’s call it mixed reaction from creators who use WOWIO for digital distribution of their comics.
June 30th, 2008 at 11:44 am
Uh-oh…
Well, I guess we’ll see what happens.
-D
June 30th, 2008 at 11:49 am
My sentiments exactly. I guess it’s going to be wait and see for a bit now.
June 30th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
I don’t know anything about Platinum Studios and I’ve only used Wowio a couple times. Why would the purchase be a bad thing?
June 30th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
My thoughts are…
1) If Mike Miller is still involved with Wowio…things haven’t improved and people are likely to get ripped off.
2) Platinum from what I’ve read hasn’t been doing so well paying their artists/clients. So I’d be leary of that.
3) Will the powers that be at WOwio still be involved? They’ve done a great job. I’d hate to see them go.
4) Will Platinum try to change the contracts? Will they pay less (if we get paid at all)? Will they want rights they have no right to ask for (movie, games, etc)?
Many, MANY questions we’re all asking ourselves. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
June 30th, 2008 at 1:28 pm
Mike Miller’s definitely involved with Wowio. On the old message board all his posts were always linking there.
June 30th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
It’s the perfect marriage of bullshit! Like chocolate and peanut butter, only made of shit.
June 30th, 2008 at 1:50 pm
Yeah, unfortunately we have no way to know until the thing goes live again. Hopefully those of us who are content providers get an early email letting us know what is going on.
June 30th, 2008 at 2:33 pm
I for one hope this site stays as is or close to as is because this was one of my favorite sites to get older indie comics. I especially liked the heroic publish stuff. They even had Gravyboy which was a fun comic i wish we’d see more of. Platinum makes some decent comics the recently liscensed Kiss, and They made a decent series called Uinque. Unique was cool in concept and lead up story but the ending was disappointing.
June 30th, 2008 at 3:41 pm
“Platinum negotiating to buy WOWIO…”
with what?
June 30th, 2008 at 5:17 pm
After what happened with DJ Coffman, I not all that thrilled at the prospect of Platinum being involved with anything.
July 1st, 2008 at 8:47 am
Platinum = FAIL
July 1st, 2008 at 6:39 pm
Bottom line guys, is we have no idea how things are going to be handled, could go forward as is, there might be changes. We don’t know so there is no real use speculating and all getting upset until we know.
July 18th, 2008 at 3:19 pm
Read this, its a done deal.
http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/07/18/wowio/
July 30th, 2008 at 1:37 pm
WOWIO Countdown is on!
July 29, 2008 Uncategorized No Comments
As we edge closer to the relaunch of the Wowio website this Thursday, we are getting more and more excited about it. We have had some great response from publishers in both the comic book and traditional book segments and we are looking to add some new categories that will really enhance the offering for readers. The new revenue model should make it very attractive for publishers to add a supplemental revenue stream from a truly global distribution outlet. Some of the restrictions on downloads were self-imposed and others were restricted by pre-established agreements that some publishers had with their distributors. We think we’ve solved that problem with the new ad-supported preview section.
In addition to offering multiple opportunities for distributing content, we are also looking to bring some brand building into the equation here as well. We think our audience will want to see extensions of their favorite brands and so we are envisioning an extended e-commerce storefront where our publishers can offer other wares and products to expand their reach to their readers and fans. Of course, this is all part of the next iteration of Wowio…first, we relaunch Thursday with new features, more publishers, additional categories, and an expanded global audience. We are excited about this new world of possibilities for Platinum, the Wowio team and our publishing partners.
Explore the new Wowio experience starting at 9:00 am PST, this Thursday, July 31, 2008 at http://www.wowio.com.