Find Unpaid Residuals and Participations

New WIOpro Software Tracks Program Usage for Reconciliation with Payments Received

I’m a partner in an entertainment tech startup, WIO, which just launched its flagship product: WIOpro software that empowers entertainment stakeholders to track the airing of movies and television episodes, vital information that drives the payment of guild residuals, composer royalties and talent profit participations.

Those payments — over $6 billion a year — are incomplete. For entertainment residuals alone, it’s estimated that 15 percent, or about a half-billion dollars annually, go unpaid, in part because there’s little proactive monitoring of airing data. The same inadequate monitoring afflicts film and television composer royalties. And although profit participations are often audited after the fact, those audits can be costly and subject to lengthy delays. To date, there’s been no way for payees to readily monitor airings and discover uncompensated usage.

WIOpro changes all that. Available by subscription at wiopro.com, the web-based software enables actors, writers, directors, composers, musicians and organizations such as guilds, performing rights organizations, music publishers, union benefit plans, business managers, accountants and auditors to track airings in 55 countries using a simple interface. Those broadcasts can then be reconciled against monies received.

“I simply wanted to know when and where my shows were airing so I could doublecheck my performance royalties,” said TV composer Shawn Pierce, WIO cofounder and president. “That was the genesis of WIOpro, which stands for ‘When’s It On? Professional.’ And I found about $50,000 in missing royalties I would never have received.”

Said entertainment/technology attorney Jonathan Handel (that’s me), a residuals expert who is WIO chief strategy and legal officer, “WIO is driven by transparency and equity, and WIOpro helps put food on the table for filmmakers, because it empowers creatives and their representatives like never before. The first time I used it, I found missing residuals for a client — an entire series of 180 episodes that wasn’t paying.”

Added software engineer and music industry veteran Adam Shafron, WIO cofounder and chief technology officer, “WIOpro databases encompass about 500,000 programs airing in 55 countries on over 45,000 networks. At about 10 million airings per week, that’s ‘Big Data,’ but we tame it with algorithms and an easy to use interface that includes flexible report capabilities.”

Subscription pricing for WIOpro depends on the number of individual episodes or movies tracked, with Track 100 and Track 250 likely to be the most popular plans at $189 and $249 per year, respectively. A user with 25 or fewer credits can opt for Track 25 ($99/yr.), while tiers above Track 250 are available for those with even more programs to monitor. All plans offer a 10 day free trial, and a special Track 1 plan at just $9 per year allows for an extended test drive at nominal cost. When upgrading tiers, a user need only pay the pro-rata difference in price.

Enterprise pricing is also available, because when talent isn’t paid residuals, royalties or participations, organizations such as guilds, performing rights organizations, music publishers, union benefit plans, agents, managers and percentage-based talent lawyers lose dues monies, commissions and other revenue that’s based on talent compensation. And watchdogs such as business managers, accountants and auditors will find WIOpro an essential tool for enforcing full payment of sums owed their clients.

In addition to those users, studios, production companies and film investors can use WIOpro to monitor the usage of their product and check for off-license airings, while media scholars and other researchers will likely find the product useful as well.

Try it at https://wiopro.com today!