DanceOn - EXCLUSIVE Insights from CEO Amanda Taylor of Dance’s #1 MCN

As you know, I follow the multi-platform media/MCN space very closely.  Last week, I featured an interview and studio tour of leading foodie-focused MCN Tastemade.  Today’s featured CEO is Amanda Taylor, founder & CEO of leading dance-focused MCN DanceOn (with 11 million subs, 70 million monthly video views, over 2 billion total views, and 8.3 million fans across Facebook and Twitter).  DanceOn’s all-star list of founders and investors include Madonna, Nygel Lythgoe (creator of “So You Think You Can Dance” and “American Idol”), and Allen DeBevoise (founding father/godfather of the MCN world).  Manatt Digital Media is also an investor, as am I individually.  We are believers.

Last week, Amanda and head of sales Mike Praw joined me and others from the Manatt Digital Media team for an informal brown bag lunch to hear more insights -- more about who they are, where they are, where they plan to go.  These are some of those insights from our special session:

(1) DanceOn’s Focus -

-- Amanda underscored that DanceOn focuses on “dance videos," not “music” videos; music videos feature music artists

(2) DanceOn’s Core Demo & Overall Market Opportunity -

-- 63% of viewers are female, 50% are “multicultural,” and 61% are in the coveted 13-34 age bracket

-- the market opportunity is “massive” in Amanda's words -- why?

-- 3.5 million children (K-12) in the U.S. take formal dance education from dance specialists (out of a total K-12 population of 50 million)

-- additionally, 43% of U.S. kids K-12 have taken dance class taught in their schools 

-- dance “travels” well internationally, since there is no language barrier
-- no other single multi-platform dance-focused media company exists, and “bite-sized” dance video works well for the smart phone/tablet world

(3) DanceOn’s Business Model -

-- advertising-focused video on demand (AVOD) -- a primary component

-- sponsorships, including branded integration/content -- a primary component -- and the company has had major traction already with several of the biggest brands (examples include Coke, Unilever)

-- syndication opportunities to other platforms (including television) -- but Amanda stressed that these are only interesting where the DanceOn brand is featured and preserved

-- interestingly, unlike some other leading vertically-focused MCNs like StyleHaul and Tastemade, commerce is not a key element of DanceOn’s business model; the company is NOT a commerce play; DanceOn’s core/essence is pure entertainment

-- the company is now dipping its toes into the live event space and has its first major event at the LA Convention Center this Friday, August 29

(4) DanceOn's Pitch to Professional Dancers/Creators

-- Amanda tells me that, at most, professional dancers can earn $120K/year in the “traditional” model and with traditional platforms; but digital platforms open a new world of monetization opportunities; and, even more, now professional dancers can build their individual brands and monetize in myriad ways that go well beyond dance (which already is happening with some dancers on the DanceOn roster)

-- a key part of DanceOn’s pitch to professional dancers is to directly address their relatively short professional “shelf life” -- i.e., DanceOn helps dancers maximize opportunities now in a Carpe Diem kind-of-way

-- and, because professional dancers can build their individual brands, they can also extend those brands into different areas beyond dance as they mature 

(5) DanceOn’s Biz Terms with Talent

-- DanceOn has exclusive digital relationships with its talent roster, but Amanda tells me the company is not an agency

-- the company's talent can utilize the DanceOn platform as a springboard to showcase their talent, build their brand, and move well beyond digital (and into all other platforms, including traditional media) on their own

(6) Future Plans -- Where They Are Going

-- DanceOn's video content is almost exclusively non-scripted now; but the company already develops significant original programming, a natural extension of which ultimately is to move beyond its current focus

Definitely an MCN to watch.  And, an MCN that was founded with the same fundamental principles shared by Larry Fitzgibbon of Tastemade (as well as essentially all other major MCN CEO/Founders whom I have come to know) -- authenticity and passion.

Refreshing!