FEATURE
SCORE REVOLUTION
http://scorerevolution.com
Business customers around the world license music every day — but great film music can be difficult to find and difficult to license. This is the rationale behind Score Revolution. “By launching the first film music market-
place, we are providing customers with straightforward access to the film music they value and want to license for use in other films, television, advertising, film trailers, interactive games and other media. Our revenue model is based on a split of licence fees with music rights holders,” explains co-founder Ian Hierons, him- self a soundtrack producer. “Any new media platform that uses music —
for advertising, promotion or as part of its crea- tive content — will be a market we can penetrate. For example, I can see that the emer- gence of legitimate media channels on YouTube will provide us with additional revenue.” Score’s pre-launch/private beta outreach has
been well received by both independent film- makers and film-music owners, as well as some major US and European film companies. But the industry still faces a learning curve. “Our innovations can only serve independent
film-makers when they are fully aware of the opportunities that are open to them. We’ve been surprised that some sectors of the film business have a limited understanding of what a great asset film music can be after it has already served the film.”
Launch date Set for the first quarter of 2012. Presently in private beta. Key executives Ian Hierons, Christine Russell, Seth Kaplan, co-founders. Cost to users For film-music owners, there is no registration or submission cost; licensing fees are split. Licensing customers pay a negotiated fee for each piece of film music used, the size of which is dependent on media use, territories and the music they have requested. Ownership structure The company is owned by its three founders and a group of US-based private investors. Business model Based on a split of licence fees with music rights holders.
SHOOTING PEOPLE
http://shootingpeople.org
Founded 12 years ago as a way to connect just 60 film-maker friends, Shooting People now boasts 38,000 members and an indie commu- nity that grows by 200 new crew and cast every week. During that time, a phenomenon known as Facebook erupted and threatened to engulf all online communities — or potentially enliven them. “At one point we were nervous about having
a presence on Facebook because we worried people would just use that instead,” recalls Shooting People’s New York-based editor-in- chief Ingrid Kopp. “One of the lessons we’ve learned is to really
understand how different platforms work, and how communities evolve based on user experi- ence and effective community management. Facebook is a completely different ecosystem from Shooting People and has been a fantastic way to introduce new people to what we do and to tell different kinds of stories. But it has cer-
n 44 Screen International at the Berlinale February 10, 2012
tainly not replaced what we offer — a niche and passionate community dedicated to making films together. “It’s not really about having the most
resources or the flashiest technology, but about being an organisation that connects an active community of film-makers in a really authentic way.” Adds UK-based co-founder Cath Le Cou-
teur: “One measure of success for us, is that film-makers continue to support our subscrip- tion model, which suggests they are still getting key value and benefit from belonging to the organisation. Our view, is that the small sub- scription fee alleviates much of the noise you tend to see in free networks. The atmosphere is very collegiate.” In the last two years, Shooting People has
been approached by entertainment companies looking to commission content from its net- work of film-makers. “This is an interesting area of new growth for
us,” says Le Couteur. “Advertising agencies are being cut out and we are seeing clients coming to us for content directly.
Ian Hierons
“We predict ongoing growth for this rela- tively new revenue stream.”
Launch date November 1998. Key executives Cath Le Couteur, founder; Jess Search, founder; Stuart Tily, technical director. Cost to users £35/$40 per year. Ownership structure Owned equally by the three top executives. Business model Membership subscription and content commissioning.
SLATED
http://slated.com
Now being tested out on 100 users, Slated is a socially vetted online film investment market- place — the movie equivalent of Silicon Valley’s matchmaking platforms that hitch budding start-ups with angel investors. Slated’s users will be able to track profession-
als across their peer-group, and reach out to film-makers who are raising funds for projects. Slated uses a web platform to aggregate user- generated content about the community and the films seeking funding, and an e-mail system to keep users updated without having to go online too frequently. “Unlike many crowdfunding platforms that
Stephan Paternot
cater to all project types, and at much lower budgets, we decided to exclusively focus on film finance, and cater to established film-makers and financiers looking to raise tens of millions,” explains chairman Stephan Paternot. “We decided this would be an investment platform only, not a donation platform. As such, all our investors are accredited investors with about 50% of our investor community representing institutions, distributors, sales companies and so on.” Adds CEO Duncan Cork: “We supplement
existing fundraising efforts by aggregating and educating a ‘new’ investor, and increase fund- raising efficiencies through standardisation and transparency. This will expand reach beyond what any individual is capable of doing by being on the phone, attending festivals and knocking on the same doors.”
Launch date Founded in 2009. Key executives Stephan Paternot, chairman and co-founder; Duncan Cork, CEO and co-founder. Cost to users Free. Ownership structure Sub Chapter C Corporation. Investors include Stephan Paternot, general partner of the Actarus Funds; Barry Silbert, CEO of SecondMarket; and Autumn Partners. Business mode Eventually, Slated might become a registered broker and take a handling fee. n
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