Payment Issues - Cricket Media

[ShannonB]

Hi Everyone,

I haven't posted in a while but am really struggling at the moment with an issue and wondering if anyone has any advice, I'd so appreciate it!
I've worked last year on a couple of assignments for Cricket Media, and am owed $1950. They agreed to pay within 6-8 months which is up for two of the assignments and they are not paying, saying they have "cash-flow issues."
I wasn't super concerned but then looked into it and it seems a lot of folks haven't been paid by Cricket at all after years so I'm pretty worried now and unsure of how to approach it further.

Anyone else deal with them and have any advice? I'd appreciate any and all input!

[Mimi Simon]

@ShannonB wow theres been a bunch of these threads haven't there! Seems this is just what they do is get people to work for free. Yikes! Maybe try blasting them on twitter?

[NessIllustration]

@ShannonB This has been going on for years... They have critical "cash flow issues" but keep hiring artists knowing this, and knowing they won't be able to pay. Truthfully, it's really scummy!

It seems like they do have some money somewhere though but prioritize other expenses. Paying their artists is on the very bottom of their priority list. One way that artists have successfully gotten paid before is by threatening to go public on social media with it. Then, miraculously, the artist is bumped up the priority list...

[Coreyartus]

SCBWI actually issued a warning about Cricket Media. It's that bad.

https://www.scbwi.org/creator-beware-payment-problems-about-at-cricket-media/

It doesn't help you get your fee, but knowing they're shady and spreading the word is one of the only tools we have to prevent others falling into the situation you're in.

If others haven't been paid in years, you probably need to settle with the idea that you may not get paid at all and figure out how to come to peace of mind with that. It's not fair, and you're entitled to feel cheated because you have been, but short of paying for litigation there may not be an option.

[Timbdsf]

I've illustrated quite a number of stories/articles for Cricket and have always been paid - almost always late, but always paid. Once their contracted deadline came, I always emailed them weekly to remind them of their overdue bill. Hopefully that helps!

[Asyas_illos]

If it were me I’d threaten them with legal action.

[Nyrryl Cadiz]

@ShannonB yes!!! Exact same boat as you are. Currently battling with Cricket to get paid. I've sent a strongly worded email. They sent me a fw8ben form to fill out but not much progress. Honestly, it's just ridiculous.

[Nyrryl Cadiz]

@Coreyartus i'm very tempted to make a video blasting them online. The only thing stopping me is my lack of an audience

[NessIllustration]

@Asyas_illos Weirdly enough, it doesn't seem like they care at all about legal threats. When my friend Jamie was chasing her payment, she threatened legal action multiple times to no avail. She only received her payment after she threatened to make this public on social media. They apparently care about that more!

[Asyas_illos]

@NessIllustration oh wow!

[Nyrryl Cadiz]

@NessIllustration Hi Ness. Maybe you can make a video about them? You know, just telling people to be cautious with them.

[NessIllustration]

@Nyrryl-Cadiz I was actually planning an art scams video soon and Cricket media could fit nicely in there

[baileyvidler]

@ShannonB Ugh, I'm sorry that you're dealing with that right now!

Like @Coreyartus said, it's pretty bad if SCBWI went out of their way to release an article about it. Yes, they seem to make payments when people threaten to go public with the information, like @NessIllustration said. However, it seems that the cat is out of the bag now, so I'm not sure what their new strategy is.

I had a fun interaction with Cricket a couple months ago. They emailed me with the details on a project they wanted me to work on.

Their initial email:

"Our budget is $1,800. The deadline is April 4, 2023, for final art. Payments can be up to 6 to 9 months after the publication date (July/August '23) of the magazine."

My response:

"Thank you so much for reaching out. This does sound like a fun project and I would love to work with Cricket Media.

Before proceeding though, I’d like to ask about a couple articles recently published regarding payment delays at Cricket Media.

https://www.scbwi.org/creator-beware-payment-problems-about-at-cricket-media/
https://writerbeware.blog/2022/11/18/long-standing-payment-problems-at-cricket-media/

Has Cricket made any changes to address these delays?"

And this was their response a couple days later:

"I was told that the company will be releasing a statement concerning the payment delays soon."

(Note that is has been two months and no statement.)

Anyway, so I told them I'd be happy to work with them, but only if payment was received before the transfer of high-res files, and that was the end of the conversation.

Lee's done some covers for them. I'm curious what his experience has been with them.

[Nyrryl Cadiz]

@NessIllustration i'd watch that

[Nyrryl Cadiz]

@baileyvidler i love that you called them out!

[ShannonB]

@Mimi-Simon I hate that it seems like it might be the only option, unfortunately, I only have a small Twitter following so I'm not sure it'd have much of an impact!

[ShannonB]

@NessIllustration It's so awful, I don't have a huge online following but maybe threatening it might work. I know I don't plan to work with them again after seeing this is an ongoing thing, I can't believe they've been getting away with it!

[ShannonB]

@Coreyartus Wish I had a quick google before taking the jobs, they just seemed like such a reputable company, they were even a dream client of mine so it seemed like there wouldn't be any problems!

[ShannonB]

@Timbdsf I'm glad to hear you did get paid, it gives me some hope that I might eventually too.

[ShannonB]

@NessIllustration @Asyas_illos I was so afraid of threatening with legal because
a) I've never done it, and sounds so scary
and
b) I'm based in Ireland and honestly haven't a clue how that would even work!
It's so frustrating but I might give them a bit longer and threaten to talk publicly on social media if they don't pay up when my final payment is due.