Welcome! I'm Simon Owens and this is my media industry newsletter. If you've received it, then you either subscribed or someone forwarded it to you.
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Let’s jump into it…
The Big Money Behind All Those Bite-Size Social-Media Videos
From the Wall Street Journal:
Clipping took off during the early days of TikTok, when chopped-up snippets featuring internet personalities like Andrew Tate or MrBeast would rack up millions of views …
“You’re stupid if you’re making an hourlong podcast and only posting it on one channel,” said Roy Lee, the 21-year-old founder of Cluely, an AI note-taking startup, which hires clippers to plaster its promotional content across the internet. “The only way you can ensure a viral moment is to post it across thousands of different accounts.”
It's hard to determine the value-add of a viral shortform video clip. I've talked to podcasters who said these clips really do very little to raise awareness about the longform content they're making. This makes sense, since users of TikTok and Instagram Reels are trained to keep scrolling the very moment a clip is over, if not before.
That's not to say that these clips add zero value — just that I don't think they're a requirement for a podcaster who's strapped for time and resources. I don't currently create these for my own podcast, but I'd one day like to hire a podcast producer who can incorporate them into their workflow.
(BTW, I used a gift link so you can read that article for free.)
A Hollywood Start-Up Targets the Micro Drama Craze
From the New York Times:
Lloyd Braun, whose résumé includes stints running ABC Entertainment, the Yahoo Media Group and the WME talent agency, lifted the curtain Wednesday on what he and his partners are calling MicroCo. It’s the first Hollywood effort to capitalize on micro dramas, an addictive, bite-size entertainment genre that started in China a few years ago and has ballooned into a more than $7 billion business there, according to analysts.
It turns out Quibi wasn't an entirely bad idea; consumers do want polished, highly-produced shortform videos after all, it's just that Jeffrey Katzenberg set an unsustainable burn rate by paying for A-list talent. Just imagine how much runway he would have had if he'd established an annual content budget of like $100 million to start with? That $1.7 billion in venture capital he raised would have stretched out a lot longer.
(BTW, I used a gift link so you can read that article for free.)
Want to pick my brain on your content strategy?
At this point I’ve probably interviewed over 1,000 media entrepreneurs about how they built their businesses.
I also spent over a decade consulting with organizations ranging from small nonprofits to Fortune 100 companies on their content strategies.
For this reason I get a fair number of people who reach out to me to see if I offer consulting calls so they can ask me questions related to their own content strategies.
Currently, there are three options for booking consulting calls with me:
Become a paid subscriber to my newsletter: When you subscribe, you automatically receive an email with a Calendly link that allows you to book a half-hour introductory call with me. Many of my subscribers use these calls to ask me questions related to their own businesses. Use this link and get 20% off for your first year:
Book an hour-long consulting call: This is a good option if you want to have a more in-depth discussion about your strategy. [Book a call on my Calendly]
Book a series of calls: Sometimes people want to book multiple calls with me. I can offer a significant discount for three or more calls. Reach out to me for details.
This Creator Is Bringing Back Landlines
This is pretty cool: a creator who makes tech-focused videos designed what looks like an old-school landline phone that hooks up via Bluetooth to a smartphone, and now she's selling it to her audience. I love it when creators come out with their own off-the-wall products. [Publish Press]
How a Dungeons & Dragons Joke Led to a Best-Selling Romance Novel
A popular YouTube channel that broadcasts live Dungeons & Dragons games told an off-hand joke about a non-existent novel, and it generated such an outsized fan reaction that the YouTubers turned it into a real book that then became a New York Times bestseller. Talk about interesting business models! [NYT]
(BTW, I used a gift link so you can read that article for free.)
ICYMI: How two graduate students launched the leading biotech publisher in Europe
Co-founder Joachim Eeckhout explains how Labiotech.eu filled an information gap for Europe's fast-growing biotech scene.
Peacock’s Ruffled Feathers
Peacock is not only the smallest of the large streamers, but it's also overly reliant on a few hit shows/live games for driving most of its subscriber growth. It probably doesn't help that its parent company, Comcast, has a vested interest in keeping the cable bundle a going concern. [Puck]
(BTW, I used a gift link so you can read that article for free.)
How Alex Cooper Built a Media Empire
Alex Cooper is arguably one of the most powerful women in media, not only because she hosts an incredibly popular podcast, but also because she's managing a growing network of up-and-coming creators. The end goal is to run a business empire that spans across media, events, and physical products. [Vogue]
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