Digital Entertainment World (DEW) starts today in LA -- and tomorrow I moderate a panel from 12:40-1:20 pm titled "
MCNs: Monetizing the YouTube Economy" that features a "who's who" list of MCN CEOs as panelists. Joining me are:
Roy Burstin -- Co-Founder & CEO of
MiTu -- the leading Latino creator-focused MCN that just recently announced a $15 million round of financing;
Amanda Taylor -- Founder & CEO of
DanceOn -- the leading multi-platform dance-focused company that counts Nigel Lythgoe (founder of American Idol & Dancing with the Stars) and Madonna, as well as major media company AMC Entertainment;
Allen DeBevoise -- Co-Founder & Chairman of
Machinima -- the leading young male focused MCN; Allen serves on the boards of several A-list MCNs, including StyleHaul, DanceOn, MiTu, and IndMusic;
Sanjay Sharma -- President & COO of
All Def Digital -- which is urban-focused, backed by Russell Simmons and closed a $5 million Series A round last year;
Reza Izad -- Co-Founder & CEO of
Collective Digital Studio -- a major MCN that received a major strategic investment from European mega-media company ProSieben last year and counts billions of views per month.
Marvin Scott Jarrett -- Co-Founder & CEO of
Popular -- a new young female-focused MCN that launches March 15; he previously created iconic mega-creative and visual media brands Nylon and Raygun;
Of course, I will ask the panel how both they and video creators make money. But, I will also ask each of them started, why they chose their particular focus, how they amassed their initial critical mass of content, and what was their particular tipping point. I will also ask them to justify the mega-price-tags fetched by other leading MCNs last year (e.g., Disney buying Maker Studios for a deal that could value the company up to nearly $1 billion) and how they see MCNs evolving in 2015 and beyond.
Should be a good one. Tomorrow, Wednesday, 12:40 - 1:20 pm. See you there.
Earlier today I moderated an MCN-focused panel at the 2nd Digital Entertainment World conference in LA. Pretty remarkable "Who's Who" of panelists in the MCN world. From left to right (counter-clockwise -- yours truly (moderator), Amanda Taylor (CEO DanceOn), Reza Izad (CEO Collective Digital Studio), Marvin Scott Jarrett (CEO Popular), Sanjay Sharma (President of All Def Digital), Scott Maddux (VP Gracenote), Roy Burstin (CEO Mitu), and Allen DeBevoise (Chairman Machinima). Full house. Impressive group. Great insights. Here's Deadline's recap, including the unanimous consensus that a few years from now Disney's near $1 billion acquisition of Maker Studos will be viewed as a bargain (just like Google's $1.6 billion buy of YouTube several years back). 
