Famed children’s entertainers The Wiggles have relaunched their main web site, but with a new twist: you now have to pay for access.
The new Wiggletime.com site costs AU$7.95 (US$5.70) for a one off monthly pass, AU$7.15 (US$5.12) paid monthly by automatic debit, or AU$79.80 (US$57.16) for a yearly pass. If you’re feeling really generous, you can also pay AU$103.80 (US$74.35) for additional content, with part of your subscription going to UNICEF.
The site does include a range of new features, including games and videos, but also incorporates features previously available for free, such as The Wiggles Fan Club.
Fans naturally aren’t happy, with the Sydney Morning Herald reporting one fan leaving the message “I don’t think that people are important any more. Money has taken over. I won’t be using the new one if we are going to have to pay for it. Goodbye everyone. I have already unsubscribed to the Wiggles club so that is it.”
My son has passed the age where he’s a Wiggles Fan (six going on seven) but we were very familiar with the group when he was younger; indeed, besides Crowded House, The Wiggles are the only band I’ve seen in concert on multiple occasions. The old Wiggles website wasn’t great, and looked like (as of a couple of years ago) that it had been designed in 1998. The Wiggles however are a money making machine: go to a concert, or the kids section in your local book shop (at least in Australia), and you’ll see why; there’s never been an Australian group as heavily merchandised as The Wiggles before. That they’d charge for the website is a disgrace, when the website primarily serves to push The Wiggles brand, and more sales of videos and related merchandise. There is a huge variety of other sites online providing activities for kids that don’t charge (including content from companies such as Disney), as many parents with Wiggles obsessed kids will very quickly discover. All this does is alienate fans. Shame Wiggles, shame.
