Opportunities for Creators with Video Streaming
Cutting the cord on cable TV is meant to be liberating for those who choose to do so, a chance to break free of the big monthly bills and the package of channels you’re forced to pay for in order to get the few that you want. By dumping cable packages in favor of streaming services, consumers are supposedly not only saving money but opting for the freedom of choosing what they want to watch and how they want to spend their money.
What now exists in place of the traditional world of broadcast and cable television is fast becoming similar to what it was meant to replace. The global streaming market is largely controlled by a handful of services, with smaller platforms filling in gaps for nice audiences. That isn’t necessarily bad by definition; Netflix and others have enough content to keep our attention and our dollars. And we can always cancel and switch. But there is a gap in the market that these giant platforms are unable to fill.
There is an appetite and an audience for content from independent creators. As much as we enjoy the big-budget shows and movies that streaming platforms are offering up weekly, if not daily, most of us also enjoy the curated content offered up by our favorite small artists, who are often doing their work unseen and unrewarded. For creators, that market should present an opportunity to get their content in front of a much larger audience than they’ve previously had.
Unfortunately, what we see is that streaming platforms are the dominion of the same artists that once dominated traditional television and movies (and often still do). Opportunities for creators have been limited to channels with less reach and less opportunity for revenue for individuals without massive backing and resources. Social media is an imperfect medium for creators to distribute their work with any hope of making significant money. However, social media has proven that there is untapped creative potential among the populace that just needs the opportunity and the platform to build an audience that is looking to support creators and not studios.
We’re building Milio and MisStage to be those platforms for creators. To read more about our ongoing projects, join our Telegram channel.
