The Score Magazine - Archive January 2015 issue! | Page 31

Could you explain a little bit about the concept of
Qyuki ? How and why it was formed?
The future of broadcasting lies in distrupting the traditional
ways of content creation and distribution and putting the power
back into the hands of the creators. The best examples of this
internationally have been Fullscreen (recently acquired by
Chernin and AT&T) and Maker Studios (recently acquired by
Disney) which have grown to billions of views per month and
thousands of creator channels mainly on Youtube
At Qyuki we are building the future of digital broadcasting
for youth. Qyuki empowers creators with technology and
distribution with the aim of creating sustainable intellectual
property on digital video platforms.
We are a creator brand and not a direct-to-consumer brand.
Therefore we help creators build their fan following by
producing and distributing great content. The fact that
hundreds and in the future thousands of creators are
part of our network gives us the ability to launch and
effectively market new talent by leveraging the power of a
network i.e cross promotions, collaborations, optimized
marketing. Great technology enables us to deliver the
power of optimization and therefore discovery of online
content to thousands of creators rather than a handful.
When great content, powered by technology is then
backed by marketing dollars, the combination is
massively value accretive to the creator and the
entire ecosystem creating a new age broadcast
network.
What are the kinds of partnerships you
have now? What are your plans for
the future in terms of partnerships?
We believe in growth through partnerships.
If you think about it the internet is about
partnerships. Even with creators we are
partners who empower them through tech
and distribution. On the business front
we have forged two solid partnerships.
Universal music and Qyuki have an
exclusive alliance whereby we bring a lot
of the Universal catalog to our creators
to give legitimate, licensed content for
covers, etc. The more recent one is a
joint venture with Fullscreen, one
of the world's largest multi-channel
networks in the US, access to 50,000
creator channels, multiple content
formats and the best of breed technology
for creators and brands .
What are the steps involved
in your partnership with
artists? And if you can tell
us how the whole revenue
model works with your
artists?
Lets start with the revenue model
first. There are 2 main streams of
revenue: ad-supported and paid.
Within ad-supported, there is an
organic ad stream which is the pre-
roll ads that you see on Youtube
and then there is branded content. The branded content is
typically of much higher value than organic ad-supported pieces.
Additionally then you have paid content, when you just do a pay
per download to consume content. This content could also be
syndicated and pumped out platforms like Netflix and where
pay a lump sum fee to license that content.
The branded content opportunity is a multi-billion dollar market
and is in its infancy. Digital is designed for younger audiences
and therefore any brand that wants to communicate with the
13-24 segments are able to get better traction. Advertising was
always meant to be storytelling to communicate a brand's
message. You've probably seen Google's tearjerker film where
the Indian and the Pakistani granddads are connected. It has
all of Google's products beautifully integrated into it. The Holy
Grail is when you use digital influencers to communicate the
brand's message not through an ad but through content. As the
brands move towards content marketing initiatives, MCNs help
connecting talent to the brands to achieve their advertising
objectives.
How creators connect with Qyuki: When a creator
approaches us to be a part of the Qyuki network, they sign
a contract and we invite them into our network. There is an
official invite that goes to their Youtube channel