Licensing Legends Join Forces- Using Blockchain to Enable Digital Collectibility
If you’ve been around the ECOMI camp for a while, the name Al Kahn is already familiar to you. But a more recent development than his announcement as our head of licensing is in the formation of his new company- Kidtageous Entertainment- with multiple Emmy Award-winning studio chief Toper Taylor. Kidtageous is an entertainment and technology licensing company, utilizing new technologies to create new, digital consumer experiences.
Get to Know the Heavyweights- Al Kahn
First things first, licensing hall of Famer and member of the ECOMI family, Al Kahn. We have put out plenty of information about Al in recent articles, including a look at some of the items he likes to collect! However, to refresh your memories:
- Al is a licensing hall of Famer, having been inducted into the International Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association in 2005, and the Kidscreen hall of fame in the same year.
- His company, 4Kids Entertainment was responsible for some of the world’s biggest and most recognizable brands, including Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Al is actually credited with renaming ‘Pocket Monsters’ to Pokémon and bringing the international megahit out of Japan in the early 90s. - His licenses are responsible for more than $25 billion in retail revenue.
- Has spent the past 4 years as CEO of CraneKahn LLC, collecting world-class licenses and intellectual properties from around the world. These assets have since been folded into Kidtageous Entertainment.
- As CEO of CraneKahn, Al quickly recognized the potential and capabilities of blockchain for digital collectibles and product development.
“The magnitude of blockchain technology will disrupt the collectibles industry by giving licensed brands another platform to sell and protect their digital IP. ECOMI will set the standard in this space.”
— Alfred Kahn, CEO, Kidtageous Entertainment
Get to Know the Heavyweights- Toper Taylor
With more than 25 years in the industry, Toper Taylor is among the most respected executives in children’s and family entertainment. From 1990–2003 he was the President of Nelvana Entertainment, and 2004–2012 the co-founder/CEO of Cookie Jar Group.
More recently, Taylor founded a media and entertainment company called Media Disrupted and became president of digital company RoundUp, before joining forces with Kahn to create Kidtageous Entertainment.
His time at Cookie Jar saw the company transform into a global leader in digital platform sales, with the acquisition of licensing and merchandising agency CPLG, which managed brands like:
- Shrek
- Dora the Explorer
- Sesame Street
- Snoopy
- The Simpsons
- Strawberry Shortcake
As president of Nelvana (1990–2003), he helped create the scaling systems and business that enabled the company to go public, and under Taylor’s guidance, the company acquired a world-class library of content and IP, including Beyblade, Babar, and Franklin the Turtle, to name a few.
For a more complete list of his accolades check out this detailed bio!
Who/What is Kidtageous Entertainment
Let’s face it. Content for kids is an incredible and lively market, encompassing everything from entertainment and games, to learning and technology. And we now have entire generations are growing up with new technologies at their fingertips, as the days of tablets and smartphones have well and truly replaced coloring books and puzzles.
It probably comes as no surprise then, that the development and integration of new technologies have also made their way into branding, licensing and intellectual property. When it comes to this industry, there probably isn’t a more prolific duo than Kahn and Taylor, and their new venture aims to serve this industry for licensors and consumers alike.
Kidtageous Entertainment is in the business of identifying and building brands.
More specifically, Kidtageous is ‘a kid-focused entertainment and licensing company that plans to discover, curate, imagine and deploy kids and family-friendly intellectual properties from around the world.’
“Kidtagious is the next generation lean children’s entertainment company, focused on effectively and seamlessly merging the myriad of new and emerging technologies with proven intellectual properties and established consumer brands”
— Toper Taylor
These new technologies include the use of blockchain/distributed ledger technology to enable digital collectibles and collectibility. These technologies enable a myriad of new, digital-only experiences, as well as digital ownership and verification, as the company aims to serve the needs of licensors and consumers alike, to change the face of children's entertainment:
“We represent significant technologies which seek the power of household entertainment names. Those technologies include the blockchain and digital collectability, authentication and royalty accuracy reporting platforms, and wearables which can either safely awaken you to play tournament video games or to help a young child go to sleep.”
- Toper Taylor, Kidtageous Entertainment. Source.
Although a key goal of Kidtageous is to identify ‘epidemic brands’ and digital trends ahead of time, the launch of the company has also seen properties previously acquired under Al’s tenure CraneKahn folded into the company. This includes world-class IP such as:
- Kung Fu Pork Choppers (the most-watched kids show in China)
- Lee Cross
- Mofy
With an impressive list of accolades and an incredible roster of licenses already acquired, Kidtageous Entertainment is poised to leverage existing IP, as well as bring new brands to the masses.
In doing so they are utilizing technology to have an impactful and meaningful influence over the children's entertainment industry and consumer market. They also have plans to work with leading innovators and manufacturers to create products in a variety of categories, including technology, toys, entertainment studios, gaming, consumer goods, clothing, accessories, and more.
“Each of our properties has a unique appeal that affords children to be delighted and entertained, and also supports a multi-faceted licensing program.”
— Al Kahn
At ECOMI, we couldn’t be happier to have someone like Al on the team, and we’re excited to see what this new venture brings. Moreover, with heavyweights like Al and Toper becoming integral to the industry, it will create new experiences in children's entertainment, whilst driving education and understanding about digital collectibles in general, and creating new and exciting use cases for the technology.
About ECOMI
ECOMI is a technology company based in Singapore and is leading the way in the emerging digital collectibles space. ECOMI offers a one-stop-shop for digital collectibles through the ECOMI Collect app bringing pop culture and entertainment into the 21st century.
The Collect app allows users to experience true ownership of premium digital collectibles. Through the app marketplace, users can obtain common, rare, or one-of-a-kind digital collectibles, share these across the social network service, and exchange them with the Collect community, all from the palm of their hand.
ECOMI sees digital collectibles as a new asset class that offers intellectual property owners the opportunity for new revenue streams in the digital landscape. Digital streaming, gaming, and in-app purchasing have become a multibillion-dollar market and the next to join this digital trend is the pop culture and collectibles industry.
For more information please see the ECOMI Collect Whitepaper or join the community on Telegram, Twitter and Facebook.
Information on this channel is subjective and should not be considered financial advice and is subject to change. See disclaimer
