SXSW in Pictures ...

Just returned from SXSW (here is my earlier post).  Images from a weekend of great meetings, meet-ups, events, and characters ....

(Below -- with the king of social media, Erik Qualman, and a rising STEM-focused YouTube personality at the Fullscreen party; below right -- Manatt Digital Media's Tara Church joins me at the Hulu event).

(Above -- at Facebook's Open House; below -- the Manatt Digital Media crew hosts hundreds at our annual event with Siemer at Pesce, and the scene at Pesce).

(Above -- discussing November's SLUSH startup/tech conference in Helsinki, Finland with Event Leader, Petri Villen (FYI - major digital media track this year); below -- the scene at Fullscreen's afternoon session with CEO George Strompolos).

 (Left -- meeting with SLUSH media organizer and digital media futurist Pauli Kopu, Manatt Digital Media's Tara Church, and Life Is Good's Tyler Wakstein; right -- a new friend of MDM; below -- with Alex Byrd of BofA and Marc Sternberg of Brand Innovators at CAA's party).

LA Mayor Garcetti at SXSW - VIDEO - "If You Really Want to Know What Tech Looks Like, Come to LA!"

Proud to feature LA Mayor Eric Garcetti as our special guest at SXSW yesterday -- where Manatt Digital Media hosted a special private digital media/tech event with boutique investment bank/VC firm Siemer/Wavemaker.  He is one smart and charismatic guy -- and a true champion of LA's fast-growing and impactful tech scene.  Watch the video -- and here is a choice "cut" from his impromptu speech:

"This morning I was asked by a reporter on the way here, 'so what do you do to become the next Silicon Valley?'  And, I said, we don't want to be the next Silicon Valley.  We love Silicon Valley, but we're LA .... We disrupt space.  We disrupt fashion.  We disrupt content.  We disrupt so many things, that I tell people, 'if you really want to know what tech looks like, come to LA.'  And, that's before I start talking about our superior weather, our superior diverse people, our amazing geography ...."

Well said, Mr. Mayor, well said.  A great meetup it was ....

Disney/Maker, 1 Year Later -- Your "Must Read" for SXSW (or, "Studios, Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night ...")

It's SXSW time.  Are you ready?

Well, I'm here to help.  Here's some easy prep for the endless conversations you will face while clutching your drink.  Here's my SXSW digital media ice-breaker.

TOPIC?  Disney/Maker Studios.

CONTEXT?  It's been almost exactly one year since Disney snapped up mega-MCN Maker Studios for a mega-price-tag ranging from $500 Million to $950 Million.

THOUGHT-PROVOKING 2-PART QUESTION?  Too high, too low?  Smart deal, dumb deal?

I know, I know, the vast majority of you will immediately dismiss the question itself -- undermining its essence by refusing to give it any semblance of merit.  In other words, most of you will now excuse yourselves, find the nearest bartender, and ask for your next drink.

But, hold on there Cowboy.  Not so fast.  Lots of reasons for Disney to do that Maker deal.  Lots of good reasons.  In fact, lots of excellent reasons (I wrote these down in my year-ending Variety piece titled "3 Digital Media Mega-Deals That Defined the Year").

So, here we are, one year later.  SXSW-ing.  How are things different now in the video world from where we were one year ago when we last partied in Austin?

Alas, how do I count the ways?

Just think about the last 12 months.  Just think about the pure exhaustion you felt (and continue to feel) every time you checked your favorite digital media publication -- only to find yet another mega-deal or mega-investment in the MCN/YouTube economy.  Since Disney/Maker, we have heard a steady -- and accelerating -- drumbeat of hundreds of millions of dollars of investment and hundreds of millions of dollars of M&A in connection with new digital-first video companies (my company, Manatt Digital Media, laid these out in this year-ending Infographic -- and also in this MCN "Score Card").  I recently discussed related themes in this recent post where I laid out some of the most recent deals in this space.  Consider these you relevant "cheat sheets" for plane reading as you fly to Austin.

But, here's the main point of all of this -- IT IS HAPPENING!  MCNs are "happening."  MCNs are real.  Very real and very now.  They are not a fad.  Why?  Because an MCN represents so much more than its frequently dismissed and limiting acronym suggests.  An MCN symbolizes the fundamental transformation of the media and entertainment business in which we find ourselves today -- a transformation fueled by mobile-first, millennial-focused video content that is significantly more advanced today than it was when we found ourselves in Austin one year ago.  The pace of this transformation, in fact, is incredible.  And this breakneck pace demands bold actions that may make or break companies.  Companies big and small.  Including major media and entertainment companies.  It is "go" time.  Time to take action.  There is little time to study.  Get smart, fast!  It's time for all-nighters -- and grab your favorite study-buddy.

We are seeing (nay, feeling!) this sense of urgency at real scale for the very first time in the "traditional" media and entertainment business.  I hear it in virtually all of my conversations with industry insiders.  Only one year ago, the vast majority of senior level studio execs (I'd peg the number at 90% or more) had one of 4 reactions to news of the Disney/Maker deal: (1) "who is Maker and what is an MCN?"; (2) "why do I care about Maker and MCNs when I have a real media business to run?"; (3) "why would anyone pay anything for an MCN (let alone what Disney paid)? - they aren't profitable, after all, are they?", or -- at best -- (4) "interesting, let's see how things play out and learn from the other guys' mistakes."

Well, my friends, that ain't the case today.  Now, FOMO is in the air.  It is pervasive.  Disney/Maker and its endless MCN progeny of mega-M&A and mega-strategic investment have flipped the media and entertainment reality (or at least perception of it) on its head.  Now, the MCN alphabet is required learning in the studio classroom.  And now, it's not so much a question of "if" we should get into the mobile-focused, digital-first, millennial-fueled MCN/video game (after all, the majority of thoughtful studio execs now truly believe they are living in transformative times).  Rather, the questions are "how" and "when."  And, many of them now correctly fear that others will take the remaining MCN crown jewels sooner rather than later.  A smell of scarcity is very much in the air (as it should be).

So, my fundamental advice to all who listen -- advice which I pontificate passionately in virtually every conversation -- is this.  TAKE ACTION!  And take it now!  Make your moves -- or at least, a move (perhaps a significant strategic investment at a minimum).  Don't have the business model figured out?  Understand this -- NO ONE DOES!  Business models are evolving as fast as the media landscape is.  But, that doesn't change the fact that you just gotta be there (in the digital-first, mobile-driven millennial world -- where the kids are).  This is no time to waltz delicately and methodically into this feverish dance.  It's time to partner up.  If you hesitate -- if you turn around to grab some punch -- you just may find that your erstwhile dance partner has found another suitor. There are many to be found.  And many who are anxious.

This is a time to be aggressive.  This is a time to be bold.  This is a time to experiment and damn the torpedoes.  It's innovation time.  It's transformation time.

And, it's opportunity time ... for those who have the courage to seize it!

Media executives, "Do not go gentle into that good night ...."

Things Heating WAY Up for Content-Based Digital Media Companies

Wow!  What a week for content-based digital media companies -- and I’m not just talking SXSW.

Let’s take a quick look -- on the heavily-watched MCN/online video side of things:

(1) Warner Bros. makes an $18 Million investment and takes a major stake in gamer/young male-focused MCN Machinima;

(2) Disney counters by looking to buy rival MCN Maker Studios for $500+.

Disney hasn’t yet closed the deal with Maker apparently.  But, you know what’s coming next.  Full Screen.  Big Frame.  Anticipate acquisitions later this year by competing studios.  Micro-video networks most certainly are “in” -- expanding the palette of the majors to include broader content offerings (and, importantly, also harvesting new talent to be featured “upstream” in bigger and more traditional content offerings).

How about on the online music side of the house?

(1) Spotify acquires Echo Nest and, subsequently, takes a $200 Million line of credit -- likely to fund even more acquisitions -- and, in the words of Venturebeat, as another sign that it is preparing for an IPO;

(2) Beats Music counters by closing a round of financing of at least $60 Million -- likely for the same reasons.  Meanwhile, the steady drumbeat of new startup online music services continues.

Content-focused digital media/tech-focused companies are white-hot right now.  And, that action is taking place primarily in LA.

Exciting times.

And, I haven’t even discussed the madness this past week at SXSW Interactive!

A Week in the Life of a Digital Media Exec - The Whirlwind Starts Today

Digital media/tech conferences permeate the landscape and can overwhelm digital media execs (like me).  I could, essentially, attend events 100% -- so, you must pick your events judiciously.

Well, this coming week -- starting today -- is chock full of worthy events.  And, my dance card is filled -- my cup overfloweth’.

Today, the excellent inaugural OASIS: The Montgomery Summit kicks off in the heart of Silicon Beach -- Santa Monica, California.  It is a VC’s paradise, with well over 100 companies pitching and vying for our attention.  And, today’s highlighted speaker is Google’s Eric Schmidt.  But, there’s more.  For the first time, a significant social impact vibe permeates the event.  That’s why Deepak Chopra is a featured speaker tomorrow.  Didn’t have enough?  Then, get this.  One of my favorite bands -- Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros -- plays tonight’s VIP party.  I am proud to say that event organizers green-lighted me to break that news several days ago.

So, that’s today and tomorrow.  How about Friday?  Glad you asked.  Friday is the kick-off for the excellent UCLA Entertainment Symposium, at which I will moderate a panel titled “Multi-Channel Networks & Other New Premium Video Players -- Their Impact On (& Opportunity For) Hollywood.”  This should be a good one -- my panel will feature Allen DeBevoise (CEO of Machinima), Keyvan Peymani (Head of Digital & Strategy at ICM), Paul Snow (YouTube), and Anna Tran Reyna of Fox Networks).

You would think that that’s enough to end the week, right?  Wrong.

Saturday I fly to SXSW -- where I will be until Wednesday morning, March 12 (when they will need to fly me back in a body bag after the continuing barrage of meetings, events and parties).  My company -- Manatt Digital Media -- will attend SXSW in full force.  Want to schedule a meeting at SXSW?  Then reach out to me via LinkedIn.

Just another week ....

SXSW -- Let’s Meet -- Scheduling Meetings Now

SXSW is nearly here.  I will be there from March 8-12 -- and am scheduling meetings now.  Send me a note via LinkedIn if you are interested in meeting and learning more about Manatt Digital Media and discussing exciting new companies, entrepreneurs and technology -- including yours.  Am interested in establishing new relationships with start-ups, growth stage, media and branding companies, as well as VCs and financiers who share a passion in digital media.

Vote Now for My Proposed SXSW Presentation -- "Media Financing & Distribution in the Share Economy"

Voting is now open for agenda-worthy presentations and panels for the March 2014 edition of "must attend" music/film/digital media festival SXSW.

I hope mine is one of them.  My first SXSW presentation is titled "Media Financing & Distribution in the Share Economy" -- please click on this link and vote for it to be included on the agenda.  NOTE -- when you click on the "thumbs up" to vote, you will be asked to either "sign in" or register -- please register by clicking on the orange "Sign in" link on the upper right-hand corner of the voting page -- and once you click that link you will be given an opportunity to "Sign up" right under the "Sign in" field; once you have signed up and signed in, then you must go back to this link in order to vote -- lots of steps (I KNOW!) but I appreciate you taking the time to do it.

This topic is of particular interest to me (and is still mostly invisible to many in the media world -- content creators and distributors alike).  I have spent considerable time with just such companies that are innovating in this brave new "Share Economy" world of media -- they will be the subject of my talk.  Amidst the reality that disruption in media financing, distribution and business/monetization models is here and now -- and real, very real -- these new services (including crowd-funding and direct distribution) offer real hope and opportunity.

Every vote matters, and voting ends soon.  Do it now ....