Lot of misinformation, misinterpretation and misguided feelings in this thread. Not sticking up for Maker at all, just I have been a partner in 3 large networks since I started in 2005. Every single one offered some things, did not follow through with others and downright lied about others. Ultimately it is up to YOU to take control of your business. No contract owns you at the most they own your current content. If you dont like it, then make a new channel and start over. If your subs are legitimate then you should have no worries about moving to a new channel.
It's good to see a change of opinion from the mainstay of "yeah man, Maker Studios is the devil, you see what they did to RWJ?" characteristic I fear might have engulfed the thread. I agree -- they are not the incarnation of Lucifer. They are simply incompetent and unprofessional; occasionally to the point of breaking their own contracts in order to cut corners.
At the same time, I don't think you've interpreted my side of the story correctly either. I took charge of the situation with my relationship with Maker Studios, was excommunicated by my manager and initially dismissed by RPM support, and had to do a very impulsive thing to get out of my contract.
Dont like something, leave, suck it up and start over with new name and series.
Had I simply given up, BarackObeezy would be bound to Maker's CMS, my money would be held in a piggy bank I couldn't access until I reached a certain amount (despite promises to the contrary; including
in my contract), and I would accept being a victim of Maker's illegal act; breach of contract.
If what you say is true - that you've been making videos since 2005 and that you've been through 3 networks already, what are they and why did you stop making content on your other channel(s)? Surely you couldn't have been a content creator on YouTube since 2005 and yet not have a single video on your channel until late February of this year.
Honestly there is a bunch of whining on this thread and its being directed at one network when every single one has its foibles. Read a contract completely, if you don't like it don't accept it. If you don't understand it, it is in YOUR best interest to get a lawyer.
I know better than to assume that this part of the post is directed at me; I read my contract thoroughly before signing it and made clear of it in my post. Nowhere does it say I am subject to holds on my account (although I do acknowledge newer contracts have them written in), but it
does say no changes to the agreement can be made unless there is separate approval between both parties. Obviously, I never consented to the change, but they still did it anyway because they thought they could get away with it. And they almost did, if it weren't for an email I happened to come across from 2012 from Royalties letting the partners know of a minor error that happened with the statements.
After all, signing something without proper knowledge is foolish, and you have no one to blame but yourself.
Not even Maker could foresee the irony in your post. They're supposed to be worth millions, and they couldn't even manage to follow their own contract. It's a shame.
I was paid three months late, but that is better than not being paid at all. Despite what Maker say, I didn't get dropped from Maker, I dropped their network because they broke their promise, and their contract. I had no exit clause, but I had the end of my term coming up, but even then they tried to change the dates and disregard the emails I sent to their @makerstudios.com addresses. But I defeated them, I regained control of my channel despite the odds, and all this without a single legal threat. That, my friend, is resourcefulness. I don't have to start all over again on another channel for that.
I respect your opinion, as well as the opinions of other people who choose to disregard these posts and join Maker Studios. I'm not going to go into the "I got accepted by RPM" thread and shitpost because they have the newer contracts and what Maker is going to do to your money is already spelled out in the contract. I never had any of that in my agreement with them, though. Yet they changed it, giving a middle finger to all of the older partners, just because it made them more money. They spent their $40 million in venture capital recklessly, and they decided that their partners were the ones to foot the bill.
Yeah, it just kinda seems he didn't fully read the contract and is upset the network isn't working the way he thought it would. I'm with RPM, and no problems here.
Thanks for the disclosure.
Geekdomo's came to me through other means.
Geekdomo, does your contract have the hold in it? I had a similar dialogue with the other partners over at the RPM forums when I still had an account there.
