Steve Machin

Are FAST Channels Leaving Money on the Table? Yes. At MIPCOM, one thing was clear: the biggest opportunity for FAST isn’t launching new channels—it’s making sure viewers can find the ones that already exist. With 90% of viewing locked into the top 10 services, most channels are lost in the guide. But when audiences discover content they love, they stick around—ad completion rates can hit 97%. The message is actually very simple: help audiences find your channels, not just your shows. It’s time to solve the discovery problem. Now if there was only a way to use AI to to just that... Oh, hello Social Dept!

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In New York for fantastic investor pitches organised by London & Partners. It has been really exciting to bring our AI technology and skills to NY. HOWEVER, this post is to share a summary from a brilliant keynote by Amy Kalokerinos AKalaid which has ten key insights that all non-US companies should address before moving to the US: 1. Product market fit outside of the US does not mean it will work in the US. Tip: Partnering with a local company that has a strong base in the US is a good short cut. 2. Sales people are coin-operated, meaning they need to have all the sales material in place before they start. This includes a CRM, Analytics, Ability to A/B test, and most importantly one single brilliant deck. 3. Separated by a common language. Having a UK spelling in comms or a deck is a mistake. Localize the spell check! Brits are humble, but that doesn't work in US start ups or sales for a more agressive and competitive environment. 4. Meetings Non-US meetings might chat for an hour about personal lives, family but not get to business. This is weird in the US. Stick to 10 mins pleasantries [I'd say 5 !] and then focus on why the meeting is happening, and what the outcomes should be. 5. Hire local It's tempting to send a rep, but hiring local with proven connections is the way to go, even though it will be more expensive. 6. Sales Channels The UK uses email for 30-40% of sales comms, but the US is an omnichannel market using phone, social media, LinkedIn, conferences and warm intros, and increasingly live chat on your websites, *but* control the volume across each channel to optimise. 7. Add value to all customer interactions Default to Speeds and Feeds. Listen to customer problems, and add value such as giving a white paper, insights, invites to an event. Become a great value-add partner over and above what you're selling. 8. Time to respond. The average time to respond to a sales lead in the UK is 47 hours. In New York, this is one hour. At most! 9. If a sales person is not performing, let them go. Make the overseer of the sales person is American, as the UK managers are likely to take much longer to fire an underperformer. Tip: NYC is the sales capital of the US, and with many redundancies there are more people on the market than usual. 10. Marketing owns the message, and Sales owns the relationship. A start-up often doesn't focus on getting the marketing right for two years after starting. Needs to be much sooner! Michal Marcinik, Oana Andreea Jinga, Kaushal Shah, Timo P Kunz 🎧, Serge Milbank, Tunde Ogundipe, Phil Westcott, Joshua Wöhle, Simon Hicks, Jeremy Brassington, Dami Hastrup, Jorge Muñoz, Juan Crosby, Gauthier Van Malderen, Gori Yahaya Laura Citron OBE Amrit Kang Richa Ghai Chauhan #Startupsuccess #Salesforstartups #Entrepreneurswhoscale

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Elon Musk's evolution over the past twenty years is a reminder that human beings are tested by one cardinal sin or another at any given time in our journey. Following the merger of his original X with Max Levchin's Confinity, eBay acquired the pioneering payment company for $1.5B. The so-called "Paypal mafia" spawned a myriad of entrepreneurs & startups - including Linkedin & YouTube to name a few, as well as launching the careers of investors like Peter Thiel, Roelof Botha, David Sacks, Keith Rabois, Reid Hoffman. In those early interviews following the sale, Elon could be seen as ENVIOUS of the success & fame that other Paypal alumni experienced. But Elon was never driven early on by money, but rather, PRIDE, pouring all of his earnings into Tesla, SpaceX, and a slew of other startups. But in doing so, he over-extended himself, pushing him to the brink of bankruptcy. Having faced financial ruin over and over again, eventually Musk's psyche & subsconscious paved the way for his GREED to take over his psyche, tweeting Tesla's stock would hit $420, which triggered an SEC investigation. It was as if, despite playing the long game to help humanity, SLOTH took over his senses, seeking a shortcut to financial gain. As all humans are tempted by deviant behavior, Musk's LUST tempted him repeatedly. Today he has fathered twelve children from multiple women. To take the edge off, we saw how GLUTTONY consumed him, ie. smoking a joint on the Joe Rogan show, self-medicating with prescriptions of Ketamine. After expressing an interest to acquire Twitter, he sought to walk away from the deal, but Twitter's board forced his hand, suing him to close the transaction. This - and growing resentment and jealousy from others - unleashed his WRATH, which we now see manifested through his tirades and attacks at world leaders, business rivals and critics. Musk is the embodiment not just of entrepreneurs, but humans... The latest "storyteller/entrepreneur" in a long line of industrialists who used their intellect, drive, ambition & abilities to build not one, but multiple enterprises contemporaneously. We are truly blessed to be a witness to his journey, which has now topped the exploits of all those who preceded him in empire building.

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Keep an eye on Rembrand, a digital platform using AI to add virtual product placement into videos. They just raised $23 million from savvy investors like Tom Chavez and others. The concept is relatively simple and has been around for a while, but the company is definitely getting some traction. Rembrand began with YouTube and expanded to LinkedIn, TikTok and Instagram. They’ve also worked with about 20 brands including those under PepsiCo, L'Oréal, and Amazon. The company is led by CEO Omar Tawakol, who has great startup experience. He sold data management platform BlueKai to Oracle in 2014 and voice collaboration platform Voicea to Cisco in 2019. It’s another intriguing use of AI and video, and it gives advertisers another weapon in their arsenal as they monetize content. What other uses of AI advertising have you seen that impresses you?

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Is Paramount's Tech Transformation Just a Pipe Dream? In the ever-evolving landscape of media, David Ellison’s announcement about transforming Paramount into a tech powerhouse stirred quite the conversation. Including by me: https://lnkd.in/eBsi2xbi But as we dive deeper, several challenges emerge, casting shadows of doubt over this ambitious pivot. #1. Financial Feasibility With Paramount grappling with substantial debt and pressing financial obligations, notably hefty NFL payments, the costs of attracting top tech talent become a significant concern. Can Paramount realistically afford this tech overhaul amidst economic uncertainties and a struggling stock? The talent war isn't won on ambitions alone, especially when competitors like Google offer more stable havens. #2. Creator vs. Coder Paramount’s tech ambition, while necessary, seems at odds with maintaining the creator-friendly environment Ellison dually promised. In an era when interest rates have climbed, balancing tech innovation with creative freedom is a tightrope walk. Remember, even Netflix, once a haven for creators with its blank checks during #ZIRP, is tightening its purse strings. How can Paramount navigate these waters without the cushion of a tech giant's capital or rising stock prices? 3. Building vs. Buying Tech Infrastructure David Ellison’s plan for Paramount involves a substantial commitment to developing in-house tech capabilities, focusing on cloud services, AI, user interfaces, recommendation algorithms, and ad-serving technologies. This approach aims to differentiate Paramount from competitors and enhance user experience. However, the tech sector’s history suggests leveraging established third-party platforms could be more cost-effective and reliable. Giants like Disney have successfully integrated platforms like BamTech, while HBO initially utilized external technology before transitioning. AMC Networks similarly relies on Brightcove for streaming technologies. The pivotal question for Ellison is whether the potential benefits of custom-built solutions justify the investment and risk, especially when patching together proven third-party solutions might yield quicker and more economical results. #InEssence... These challenges are monumental, yet not insurmountable. As we watch Paramount’s narrative unfold, one thing is clear: transitioning into a tech entity is more than just a strategic pivot—it’s a gamble on the future of entertainment itself. Thoughts? #Paramount #StreamingWars #MediaTech

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Time to say it: Transitioning to agentic AI will be the called Industry 5.0 (It's a bit sarcastic, as I find buzzwords to be a bit corny, but at the same time, I do think agentic AI is about to bring big changes for many industries). #agenticai #ai #agentic #changes

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📈Like any market, the value of event/concert tickets is driven by supply and demand. 💵A key to addressing many of the issues with predatory reselling is by controlling resale price markups and giving primary sellers (artists and organizers) a share of secondary revenues. ⛓️On-chain settlements is the key innovation that will allow artists and organizers to control and participate in secondary market sales.

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Dude Perfect raised $100M for global biz expansion. The deal is getting lots of buzz, but our team’s math signals challenges ahead. Let’s break it down… DEAL DETAILS • $100 - 300M growth capital investment • Led by Highmount Capital • Unclear if 100% invested upfront OR draw down of commitment over time • No previous capital raised USE OF FUNDS • Hire mgmt team to expand biz • More live experiences incl int’l tour, consumer products • Grow content formats, frequency, channels, global localization e.g. animation, TV, movies, streaming • Extend brand beyond 5 founders by building talent network • New HQ in Frisco, TX as prod facility and “family-friendly entertainment destination”: – Retail store, podcasts / gaming / fan UGC spaces, trick shot tower, DP museum, mini golf, restaurants – Original plans for 3-story, 30 acre facility est to cost $100M+, 2 yrs to build COMPANY OVERVIEW: Dude Perfect • Digital-native comedy and sports media brand • Faith-based mission: “We’re about giving back, spreading joy and glorifying Jesus Christ”  • Other YouTube franchises: “Stereotypes,” “Overtime”, “Bucket List”  • Media brand also incl books, mobile games, board games and toys, and merch / retail / food and beverage partnerships • 25 current team members PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS • 60M YouTube Followers, 17B views • Est 2024 revenue: $50M per DP • Est 2023 and 2022 revenue: $25M and $20M per WSJ  • Consumer product partnerships incl Nerf toy line, Columbia Sportswear • Partnered with A Parent Media co to launch a streaming service • ESPN “30 for 30” doc premiering at Dallas Int’l film festival • TV series on CMT in 2016, later aired on Nickelodeon • Alternate broadcasts for Amazon’s Thursday Night Football • 4 live nationwide tours as of 2023 ORIGIN STORY • Founded 2009 by 5 friends at Texas A&M • Cofounders = twins Coby Cotton and Cory Cotton, Tyler Toney, Cody Jones, Garrett Hilbert • Started as YT channel featuring trick shot videos INVESTOR OVERVIEW: Highmount Capital • Growth stage and middle mkt PE fund for tech, media, healthcare • Founded in 2023 by jason illian and David Hawkins • 4 team members on website + advisor • 3 team members have faith-based ties per bios • No other investments listed on website other than DP My takeaway... I really like and support the trend of increased investment into YouTubers and digital-native media brands. But as I wrote about in my 2024 State of Creator x Media capital markets reports (will link them below), investment must match market and opportunity size. To ensure good ROI, and to set good precedent for future investment into our space. The DP bet is exciting, but could be overly optimistic based on our prelim math. My colleague Michael Booth's post breaks the math down (link below). More analysis to come in my Friday newsletter. —- I’m the founder of RockWater Industries. We do m&a and strategy advisory for media, agencies, and creator economy. My dm’s are open. #media #agency #creatoreconomy

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Great minds think alike! Not even a week after I spoke to PocketGamer.biz about one of AdInMo's and my own fave topics - diversification of monetization for developers and publishers - Oxana Fomina of Gradient Universe has much to say about diversified revenue streams, especially on the key topics of Engagement, Incrementality, and including Brand Advertising in the revenue mix. Well worth a read! https://lnkd.in/eQYUkKxr

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Most artists are underpaid. That is because they never took metadata seriously. I recently attended a panel discussion in London where we discussed collaboration, music and the role of metadata in the music industry. They also talked about the importance of metadata in ensuring rightful ownership, proper registration with Performance Rights Organizations (PROs), and the collection of royalties for artists in the music industry. Metadata is the lifeblood of the music industry and from ISRC (International Standard Recording Code) to UPC (Universal Product Code), it has all the essential data that links a song to its creators and rights holders. Here’s why it’s indispensable today: → Without accurate metadata, tracking the usage of a song across various platforms becomes impossible. Proper metadata ensures that every play, stream, and use is accounted for, helping artists receive their due royalties. → A track can generate royalties from multiple sources – streaming platforms, radio, TV, ads, live performances, DJ sets and even movies. Metadata unifies these streams, ensuring that royalties are collected from every possible avenue. 80% of music royalties are lost or remain unclaimed due to inaccurate or missing metadata. This shows that properly aligned and tracked metadata is important to ensure that artists are compensated for their work. It’s crucial to maintain uniformity to avoid discrepancies that can lead to missed royalties and legal complications. It is always exciting to be a part of such conversations and see where this industry is going. Don’t you think artists deserve their fair share too? #royalties #musicindustry #metadata

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How #ugc impacts a game's livelihood is pretty much a given at this point. What #roadblocks are you still holding onto that keeps you from an integrated and complimentary #creatoreconomy that lifts users and #revenue by 20%+? Check out what Larian Studios and the GOTY have to say about it.

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