Excellent News… Writers are finally taking their fight (and ideas) to the internet!!!
In Striking Writers Plan Online Channel, Deputy Editor of MediaPost, Tanya Irwin discusses the new Strike TV service which will provide original internet programming with a Strike-themed nature, meant to act as a fundraiser for the on-going lock-out.
Liz Gannes of NewTeeVee reports that: “Aaron Mendelsohn, writer of the Disney film Air Bud and an active WGA member, is captaining the efforts, and says he has gotten a group of “A-list” film and TV writers on the team. He’s also partnering with online community experts from Silicon Valley and raising “north of $30 million” in venture capital, with the idea of launching a company called Virtual Artists later this year.” While $30 Million is a hefty asking price for a net start-up of this nature, we assume that it is necessary in order to secure the A-List Actors which Medelsohn claims are “on-board”. The on-board must clearly be conditional on the pay, and it is not like they will be donating their services. Still, this represents a significant, positive move in the right direction for online video and new media in general. With 60Frames (our coverage), Blowtorch Entertainment (our coverage), and more in tow, Gannes mentions the recent Los Angeles Times piece which talks about another venture from striking writers called Hollywood Disrupted. Either way, the digital content distribution landscape is poised to change forever, and we at BC$ are working tirelessly to ensure that the landscape will be fair and equitable for all parties involved… get ready, because the tide is truly turning in the entertainment business!BC$ = Behavior, Content, Money
The goal of the BC$ project is to raise awareness and make changes with respect to the three pillars of information freedom - Behavior (pursuit of interests and passions), Content (sharing/exchanging ideas in various formats), Money (fairness and accessibility) - bringing to light the fact that:
1. We regularly hand over our browser histories, search histories and daily online activities to companies that want our money, or, to benefit from our use of their services with lucrative ad deals or sales of personal information.
2. We create and/or consume interesting content on their services, but we aren't adequately rewarded for our creative efforts or loyalty.
3. We pay money to be connected online (and possibly also over mobile), yet we lose both time and money by allowing companies to market to us with unsolicited advertisements, irrelevant product offers and unfairly structured service pricing plans.