A big to-do about SmashBits Animations
4 months ago now, SmashBits on Youtube started a series in order to cash in on the Undertale craze. If Undertale was Realistic. For a while, I saw it in my recommended, but paid it no mind.
It wasn’t long after the video was booming that I got a message from my friend @pipann about how the series was using her Undertale Models.
Not only was this done without her permission, but they were monetizing on it through Patreon, and while they gave credit to their animators and voice actors, there wasn’t a single line of credit to be found regarding the modelers and the models SmashBits ripped from the Steam Workshop.
Contact was made, disappointment was expressed, and at the end of the day, all that could be offered to Pip and the other model makers was that they would be publicly credited for their work. The project would continue to be funded through Patreon, so the animators and voice actors were still being paid. The modelers were not. This was ignored for the time being.
Recently, however, SmashBits got a sponsorship, and have injected a minute long product placement ad into their latest “If Undertale was Realistic” in order to earn even more money through their sponsors on top of revenue from clicks and their Patreon. They were continuing to make even more money off the backs of modelers who’d done the time to sculpt, map, and rig these models that were meant to be used on terms of the modelers (whom mostly allowed these models to be used for fun, not for profit).
Through encouragement of myself and others, Pip issued a DMCA and marked all points in the offending videos of the series in which her model(s) were present. She got the attention of one of the partners of SmashBits and they had been in the middle of finding a solution that would make both parties happy. But the moment the head of Smashbits decided to Counter Claim the DMCA, any negotiation went out the window.
Pip has attempted to leave comments about the situation on SmashBits’s page, both when the DMCA was first issued, and after the Counter Claim was made.
As of now, the comments have been deleted by someone at Smash Bits [Right click -> view image in new tab for full view]
This was to keep the now angry mob that is Smashbit’s fanbase informed as to what was going on in order to keep accusations from flying.
But with SmashBits having deleted the comment, their fanbase is left in the dark to continue being angry.
I, myself, have also left a comment. [Right click -> view image in new tab for full view]
But lo and behold it is no longer there when I go into Incognito Mode
The comments still appear for both myself and Pip due to Youtube’s cache being a bit slow to update for us. But it’s confirmed SmashBits is trying hardcore to cover their ass over the fact that they are making money using assets they have no right to, and even after several people have contacted them angrily about it when it all started, they doubled down to get even MORE money through the sponsorship without having consulted any of the artists.
I have even been outright muted to keep from posting any information on their discussion page. They themselves have not made any comment regarding the scenario other than “the videos will be back soon”.
I normally am against callout posts, but this is a case where the offending party (Or at least the head of the party) is very much in the wrong, and it needs to be known. The artists are not the bad guys for wanting to be properly respected and to not be seen as just a tool that gives people free assets to make money off of.
Smash Bits does not deserve to go unscathed from this. Spread the word. Inform the fanbase of the hacks they actually art.
At least until they either fully demonetize the projects in which they do not own all of the assets to, or they hire artists to make assets specifically for them to use.
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