This is kind of a big deal. This is a Time/Warner company coming to the internet and investing in a very young and unexplored market. We all know they’re only doing this to mine intellectual properties and possible franchises but that’s great for would-be creators.
Everyone’s inventing on the internet, if you have a web cam or a stylus you can pretty much tell whatever story you want. There’s no money in it though. It’s very hard to get an end user to open up their wallet for your art. If you aren’t giving it away for free on the internet someone else is.
So DC takes the hit up front, paying you despite the fact that you will probably never make them a dime. DC’s doing you a favor in the hope that your idea might be licensed as a teen drama on the CW.
It makes the internet the official testing ground for unsolicited work. Not that it wasn’t already but it’s only a matter of time before DC’s model spreads to NBC. Fall line ups will be determined by canvassing YouTube shorts with potential to be expanded into half hour sitcoms.
There’s a democratization of media happening there. You don’t like the movies/tv shows/music being produced, make your own. If the product is any good you could end up with a development contract. I know work for hire is tricky, in the end someone is going to get screwed and it’s most likely not going to be the publishing imprint of a world wide conglomerate.
So, we all know what Time/Warner is really up to but there’s more at stake. DC heralds the corporate arrival of content poachers to the internet. The participation of comic creators and readers will influence how the model evolves and is adopted elsewhere.
Interesting view!
I’m also amongst those who have a more neutral perception of Zuda.
The fact is, if isn’t another “Epic”, I believe it is a platform that might work for some creators. At this stage it is hard to tell, as there is not much about Zuda out there yet.
I’ll be watching, especially for the legal agreements they have suggested they would be posting.
Right after I posted this article Zuda amended the copyright rules on their site to include the creators.
So there’s even been some concession to play by the internet’s rules.