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Tahir's Tips for Vloggers

Tahir Basheer
26 June 2015

The evolving digital landscape is changing the way we share our opinions and interests while creating new opportunities for people to reach mass audiences at little or no cost. The vlogger phenomenon is a great example of this, enabling a wide range of people to find fame and fandom with an audience traditionally used to rooting through magazines and blogs in order to get their next fix of fashion, beauty or lifestyle advice. This has empowered vloggers such as Zoella, Essie Button and Carli Bybel  (to name but a few) to become celebrities in their own right and wield significant influence over their many subscribers.

Vloggers with a significant number of subscribers can establish themselves as brand ambassadors and command decent fees to boot. Unsurprisingly then, vlogging can be big business and there are numerous organisations looking to get a slice of the action. In much the same way as a budding musician might get approached by a talent agent, up-and-coming vloggers are now being approached by organisations claiming (sometimes correctly) to help them to make the most of their new found fame. After all, you wouldn’t expect a musician to direct and produce their own video, distribute and market it, manage the rights and drive revenue.     

The organisations I refer to are what are known as “Multichannel Networks” or “MCNs” (things sound cooler if they are given an acronym). A MCN might assist in production, programming, funding, promotion, partnerships, rights management, audience development and monetisation. For brands, MCNs represent ready-made pooled talent hubs, providing access to some of the most influential people on the web.

However, if you are a vlogger (or if like me you represent them), it isn’t always the best option to rush into these kinds of tie-ups. A number of successful vloggers have entered into imbalanced contracts with MCNs, which have then proved difficult to get out of. MCNs will often want exclusive rights to vlogger content and so you need to make sure that whatever deal you strike is right for you.  Most MCNs take a percentage of advertising revenue, others pay a fee per viewer, while some may attempt to leverage the vlogger's influence for sponsorship.

If you do enter into an agreement with an MCN, you should consider the following:

1) Avoid indefinite contracts - you should try and negotiate shorter periods.

2) Try to get a minimum guarantee from the MCN ensuring that they will dedicate a certain amount of production funding or otherwise cash to you in return for your endeavours and content. If the MCN doesn’t do anything, ultimately you will just be sharing your revenue with them and getting nothing in return.

3) There are a number of MCNs so you should shop around for the service and deal which suits you best. How will they drive your revenue? Do they have a network of channels? Do they have applications that allow you to monitor how well your videos perform? How often do they report on revenue? Do they offer support services such as product, programming, funding, cross-promotion, partner management, digital rights management, monetization/sales, and/or audience development? 

There are other services available which can provide assistance (and where you don’t have to join an MCN) such as the YouTube partner program and companies which assist with production facilities.  These can be used as an alternative to working with a MCN if you are uncomfortable entering into an agreement.

If you have been invited to join an MCN you should make sure you understand all the pros and cons and before agreeing to any shape or form of agreement with an MCN, you should consult a lawyer.

For more information on Industry member, Tahir, visit his personal partner page on the Sheridans website. To contact him directly, visit The Industry Directory, email [email protected] or telephone 020 7079 0103.

  

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