Why Content Is King

“Content is king” became a cliche because it was the hallmark of the media business. Without great content, not much else matters. But the platform and scale era scrambled that. Distribution became the gamechanger. Publications had BuzzFeed envy. By the same token, media’s indirect business models -- content in some publishing organizations can be ... See more

In an age when more and more “content” was being created and distributed, we needed to bet on the fact that quality will matter more and more.

"Nonsense," you might say. "At the end of the day, you need to sell something; narratives are not enough." But aren't they? Another difference between the old world and ours is that we no longer sell things. In the past, the content was used to sell stuff: Executives from manufacturing companies got their TV channel buddies to produce Soap Operas i... See more

This makes sense in television and film, where budgets can reach the tens or hundreds of millions of dollars; where expensive productions often look better and star a small handful of the best talent that are not “on staff” anywhere; and, crucially, where distribution has historically been controlled by paid gateways, like cable TV or streaming ser... See more

• The long tail of the internet has provided a way for sovereign creators
  
  and businesses to ‘
  
  niche at scale
  
  ‘ in ways not possible at any other time in history, fostering unparalleled creativity and innovation;


• The quality of an audience matters;


• Being tiny is mighty;


• Delighting the weird is a superpower;


• When you build a business, you’re building a new

... See more

• The long tail of the internet has provided a way for sovereign creators
  
  and businesses to ‘
  
  niche at scale
  
  ‘ in ways not possible at any other time in history, fostering unparalleled creativity and innovation;


• The quality of an audience matters;


• Being tiny is mighty;


• Delighting the weird is a superpower;


• When you build a business, you’re building a new

... See more