Financial Side of CS

[owlbyr]

Hello! I've been really curious about how the financial side of operating the site has been like, especially since many sites CS's age have had to eventually shut down due to operation costs. I haven't been able to find much information about this type of stuff in the forums -- sorry if I've missed a post with that info!

1. How well do C$ purchases (not ad revenue) bring in funds? It seems like there is a large amount of C$ floating in circulation, so it's hard to tell how much is actually being purchased monthly and supporting the website or how much is just being exchanged from player-to-player.

2. How does artist pay work? Is it on a design-by-design basis? Do they function like contracted employees?
(I did see a post that off-handedly mentioned they were paid in C$ currency, not real-life currency -- is this true?)

3. Does CS get enough funds for the site owners to stay working on it like a full-time job, or do they have to supplement their income in other ways? (Do you get any income from this project? I really hope you do!)

4. This one is the longest shot -- but if someone knows a ballpark estimate of how much the site is actually able to bring in income-wise (monthly? or yearly?), how much artists get paid, and what operating costs are like, those would be some super fun numbers to know.

I totally understand if these questions can't be answered, but thank you for your time in advance!

[Dappled_pony]

bump! I am curious about some of this too! (please message me if bumps are not allowed)

[Lemon Bark]

+1 on the interest, posting to see when there's an answer

[Yeens]

Interested too!

[bark]

Marking to see the staff's reply <3

[Neeko nordestina]

I'm really curious about this as well!

[Monotoad]

also very curious about this! :]

[joewagz5]

I am also interested in the answer

[answrs]

can confirm admins have said artists are paid with c$ and the entire staff (including said artists) are all considered unpaid volunteers. I'll go try and find the posts for you

edit:

https://www.chickensmoothie.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=119&t=4726715#p138310734

by Zeena » Fri Apr 22, 2022 2:43 am
Hey there,
Like all staff positions, the artist positions are also unpaid. All staff are volunteers who dedicate our time to helping out CS, we want applicants who are keen to help out because they are passionate about CS and contributing to the community. All applicants are made aware of the fact that these positions are unpaid and voluntary. If you're looking for more direct benefits out of the position then unfortunately a CS staff position may not be for you.

https://www.chickensmoothie.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=119&t=4931209&p=144791995&hilit=artist#p144791995

Simon wrote:

To clear up any misconceptions, CS artist is a volunteer position to allow artists freedom to create when they are able/want to. There is no regular salary/wage, and therefore the position is considered unpaid. Artists receive compensation in C$ when their free pets and items are released. Store pets and items are subject to additional agreements and compensation.

[Pinky*]

At the risk of seeming curmudgeonly, I don't think any of this is fair to ask to be public. What people are paid for their participation in CS is their business.

Also, C$ purchases are completely just for fun and not required to enjoy the game. I've seen the sentiment that we as purchasers of C$ are owed some kind of explanation of how they spend the money and that's not how it works. We got what we bought, and what they do with that money is up to them.

It's completely normal to keep financials private and we aren't owed knowing about it.