Production Update Questions

[slayn666]

But in this one instance, 2 years of waiting

Let's not pretend this is a one-off deal here. For better or worse, a two-year wait is business as usual for CD. Dan and Brian have both said repeatedly they're trying to fix that, and Rich has said the same in interviews, and that's great and I wish them all the best in that endeavor, but to be perfectly frank, Strange Weather is not even late by CD standards.

Comedy response: Dan and Brian, you guys need to tell that Stephen King slacker to hurry the hell up with the intro to Dark Debts, that thing went on sale three years ago. Lazy bastard needs to honor his contract!

[jeffingoff]

I don't disagree, but these aren't lawyers and engineers you're dealing with. You ruffle their feathers too hard and they'll just not work with you in the future. Which may or may not be the same conclusion CD (or any other publisher) comes to due to delays in completing the terms of a contract, be it turning in art or signing signature sheets.

To put it another way, CD has around a long time. Don't you think if playing hardass about contractual obligations worked to get their books out quicker, they'd have been doing it all along?

As a creative myself (a marketing creative which is a lot different than an artist or author, but a creative professional nonetheless) I totally agree that squeezing creatives and being a hardass is not the way to go. This is a relationship-driven business and creatives totally need their space to their best work. But in this one instance, 2 years of waiting (that's just after it went up for presale--that's not counting all the time that led up to it with contracts being signed and things getting put into place before the public announcement) is a generous amount of time. No one could accuse CD of being a hardass for wanting the signature sheets finished. It's not like we're only 2 months or 6 months or even 1 year late. The artists have some expectations to be a little more professional.

[slayn666]

I don't disagree, but these aren't lawyers and engineers you're dealing with. You ruffle their feathers too hard and they'll just not work with you in the future. Which may or may not be the same conclusion CD (or any other publisher) comes to due to delays in completing the terms of a contract, be it turning in art or signing signature sheets.

To put it another way, CD has around a long time. Don't you think if playing hardass about contractual obligations worked to get their books out quicker, they'd have been doing it all along?

[bsaenz24]

It's generally not a good idea for a company that relies on creatives to piss those creatives off. Aside from almost certainly alienating the two artists in question, word will get around that CD is difficult to do business with, which will make other creatives think twice about signing a contract.

I assume "creative" people have bills to pay too. Paying bills means making money to pay those bill, which means completing your end of the contract. For some "creatives", that means signing signature sheets. It's not something terribly creative, just work. Publishers should not need to wait such an insane length of time for sheets to be signed. The "creative" aspect has nothing to do with signing sheets.

A company may use the services of creatives, but those creatives are doing a job. A creative job, but still a job. If you can't do the job in a reasonable timeframe, don't accept the job.

[slayn666]

It's generally not a good idea for a company that relies on creatives to piss those creatives off. Aside from almost certainly alienating the two artists in question, word will get around that CD is difficult to do business with, which will make other creatives think twice about signing a contract.