Look, pretty much everyone knows that Hollywood generates massive profits from projects they claim failed to break even. The control of marketing, distribution and data enables studios, networks and streamers to create a virtual “black hole” where profits can “disappear.”
The truth is, a better, healthier, more equitable Entertainment Industry is achievable today. The technology is there. The key is making a real commitment to a true partnership with the most important players in the ecosystem:
The Financiers, The Talent and The Fans.
How To Fix Hollywood By Partnering with Financiers
I came to the realization a long time ago, that the only way to fix the economic model for Talent, is to first fix the economic model for Financiers.
So, how do we that?
First, we need to REMOVE THE MIDDLEMEN who take the vast majority of revenues and make Independent Financiers much more likely to lose money on the projects they finance.
We can drastically reduce Financier risk and enable faster recoupment by empowering Talent and Fans to market and sell projects directly to consumers. Simply put, by removing the middlemen Financiers can recoup their investments from up to 14 times the amount of gross revenue compared to a traditional release. That mean projects break even faster and from fewer sales.
Second, we need to OFFER TRUST. For decades, Hollywood’s complex and opaque accounting systems have allowed the industry to hide profits from virtually all stakeholders. But, by replacing the existing systems of marketing and distribution with a model that enables creators and talent to sell directly to consumers, we can utilize new technologies that offer Independent Financiers (as well as Talent) completely transparent accounting and real-time access to all data related to their projects. Additionally, these systems would enable Financiers to automatically audit every payment. In an industry notorious for their devious accounting practices, that is a game changer.
How To Fix Hollywood By Partnering With Talent
For over a century, Hollywood has dictated the economic terms of storytelling. The way the old system is designed, Talent is essentially treated like vendors or employees. But by treating Talent more like partners, we can redefine the economics for all forms of filmed entertainment. But how do we do that?
First, we need to allow talent to share in dollar one gross revenue - and then double that share after costs have been recouped. This will encourage lower production costs and active promotion. Eliminating the idea of “back-end” revenue sharing and replacing it with “front-end” revenue sharing, aligns everyone’s interests. As a result, projects could cost less to make and market. And spending less means faster recoupment for Financiers, and that means talent’s share of revenue doubles sooner. Everybody wins.
Second, we should allow the creators of a project to maintain ownership in the IP. This will motivate continued support and promotion throughout the lifecycle of the project and enable Talent to enjoy recurring revenue streams in perpetuity… just like the studios do.
How To Fix Hollywood By Partnering With Fans
Fans are the lifeblood of the Entertainment Industry. By empowering Talent to harness the direct relationship they have with their Fans through social media, we can eliminate the middlemen and drastically reduce marketing costs. What’s more is that there are incredible opportunities to engage audiences beyond simply creating a film or series and hoping they pay to watch it.
First, we should team up with Fans. By empowering and financially motivating Fans to actively participate in everything from production to promotion and sales, we can increase and sustain engagement, while expanding the potential audience - all for a fraction of the cost of a traditional release strategy.
Second, we need to reduce friction. For today’s consumer friction is a killer. We need to deliver instant gratification by letting fans rent, watch and share a project through their social media profiles - without jumping through hoops and with no commitments.
By bringing fans into the process of creating, marketing and selling a project, and by making it as easy as possible to find and watch… we make the audience our partners in fixing Hollywood.
Bingeable Enables Partnerships That Fix Hollywood
Everything I have just described, while a prescription for fixing Hollywood in general, is specifically what we have built Bingeable to do. Bingeable offers a suite of tools and frameworks that align and activate talent, financiers, and fans as true partners in creating and selling premium entertainment. The Bingeable approach shares more value with these key stakeholders and as a result, creates more value for everyone.
Bingeable’s platform provides:
• DECENTRALIZED MARKETING, DISTRIBUTION and SALES
We give creators, stars, soundtrack artists, influencers and fans, their own Individual Video On Demand (iVOD) channel, which enables them to promote and sell MOVIE TICKETS from AMC and/or PREMIUM VOD RENTALS (powered by AWS) directly to their social media followers and share in that revenue.
• PROPRIETARY SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING TOOLS
Bingeable helps iVOD owners convert social media followers into paying customers with proprietary social media marketing tools and resources that make it easier to create focused and actionable promotional content. This approach has been proven to be effective at creating significant scale, while costing a fraction of traditional marketing. And spending less on marketing, means FINANCIERS risk less capital.
• TRANSPARENT ACCOUNTING AND DOLLAR-ONE REVENUE SHARING
Every transaction, whether a ticket sale, VOD rental, minimum guarantee or licensing fee is written to a Blockchain-powered accounting system. All funds are deposited into a third-party escrow account and funds are distributed to everyone, including Bingeable, at the same time. Bingeable’s revenue sharing model encourages lower production costs, active promotion through social platforms and enables all stakeholders to benefit from the success of a project.
• OPTIMIZED DISTRIBUTION FRAMEWORK
Projects don’t simply stay on Bingeable forever like other streaming platforms. Our Re-Windowing model allows licensing projects to other platforms after the initial Bingeable release, thus maximizing the revenue potential throughout the lifespan of a project.
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The Entertainment Industry is in shambles. But it would be wrong to assume it is because the system is broken. In truth, the system is working exactly the way it was designed to work. The problem is that both the Audience the Financiers and the Creators are showing us that there needs to be a new approach. A more equitable Entertainment Industry is possible. And Bingeable is here to bring it to life.
How To (Actually) Fix Hollywood