Domestic video and film industry is still difficult to follow crowdfunding

Reporter Huang Huang Shanghai reported

Recently, Youtube disclosed a new feature of the product, that the author of the video can rely on fans to generate revenue. With this fan "crowdfunding" service, video creators can fund their own projects and generate revenue.

It is reported that Youtube fans crowdfunding feature will soon start testing, the first batch will be launched in the United States, Mexico, Japan and Australia.

Through this feature, viewers have a greater voice and the right to participate in the video production itself. To a certain extent, this is a virtuous circle: creators continue to attract fans through high-quality content, and new funding will bring new fans to the new work as fans subsidize video creation.

This new crowdfunding model has put Youtube's business in the area where Patreon is. The latter is a U.S. start-up whose main model is to help artists to raise money from their fans. Recently, Patreon just got $ 15 million.

Youtube move also Kickstarter and Indiegogo become their competitors. Previously, the author of Youtube had to go to a popular crowdfunding site such as Kickstarter to fund the new project in order to make a new movie. Right now, they can "cry" for themselves on YouTube.

Correspondingly, Youtube also introduced an application called "Youtube Creator Studio". With this app, video authors can watch and count channel data on their tablet or phone anytime, and respond to fan comments. Soon after, this application will also be released iOS version.

In fact, in recent times, similar financing is forming a trend in Hollywood. In the second half of last year, Rob Thomas, the hit film actress, "Rob Mendy", launched a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter for the movie's blockbuster, just within 5 hours Rob Thomas raised To 100 million. In addition, "The Star Wolf" by David Gerrold, the original author of Star Trek, has also been successfully funded by Kickstarter.

This method is still quietly sprouting in China. In October last year, in order to prepare for the 2013 Happy Boys Theme Film, Sky Entertainment Media launched a crowdfunding campaign of raising $ 5 million of film pre-sale box office within 20 days. Supporters will receive different numbers of tickets for movie tickets and movie premiere tickets after paying the appropriate amount.

In addition to the field of film and video, crowdfunding thinking has now penetrated all walks of life. Wattpad, the Canadian social writing platform for Youtube, known as the digital publishing industry, tries to stick better with users in this way.

At Wattpad, writers and writers can publish their own free novel, but only publish one chapter at a time. While reading, readers can interact with the author, and the author shapes the following story through feedback from readers. This approach greatly enhances the connection between author and reader. In August last year, Wattpad also launched FanFunding, a crowdfunding platform on which original web authors could fund their own writing ideas or raise the cost of specialized typography and printing for already-written ebooks. However, every crowdfunding program must raise a pre-defined amount within 30 days, and if it does not meet its goal, the money the user has paid will be fully refunded.

There is a similar pattern of UK crowdfunding platform Unbound. On this platform, authors sometimes receive far more revenue than traditional publishing. Often, authors get royalties of only 5% to 10% from traditional publishing channels, but on Unbound they earn up to 50% of their profits. Although the authors will earn less in the first place, their earnings will soar as the number of fans increases.

However, this kind of crowdfunding that is popular abroad has not yet formed a complete mechanism in China. Right now, Youku, music, love Fantastic Art and other video sites take the basic advertising + member value-added profit model, the incentives for the author are mostly divided into ads, the form of a single.

According to one industry source, crowdfunding mode is not currently feasible in China. In the case of film and television, some hit shows do not have sustainability on their own. While those films that have changed from classic comic books to games or dramas have a strong audience base, they still have to meet two conditions: first, Production cycle controllable, and second, producers or agencies have sufficient visibility and credibility. You know, in today's fierce competition for the release of several new movies, it is not easy to keep the audience's constant attention to the film.

On this basis, although the combination of crowdfunding and fan economy is an innovation, the crowdfunding itself still faces great risks. Previously, Sky Entertainment's crowdfunding was referred to by some members of the public as "disguised lap money campaigns." The other hand, fans basically can not participate in project management, so there is no real monitoring role.

From this perspective, "crowdfunding" is still in its infancy in China. It is still a long way to go if it is to be created in this way. Insiders said that if you want to promote this model open, first, the project to be done screening, and second, creators must continue to activate, update the information, continue to give fans return. Once the author truly "understands" the fan and brings the fan together with one's own rules of attention and attention, then the profit is no longer out of reach. (Editor Lu Aifang Xin Court Wei)