SideStream (Twitch for movies) eyes the creator economy

Your knack for yapping through movies can earn you cash with the live film commentary startup SideStream.

SideStream for creators: SideStream is like Twitch, but for movies. SideStream hosts can browse a library of films, schedule an event, and sell tickets to fans that want to hear their commentary. The company is hoping to grow via the creator economy, which is now worth more than $50 billion and has more than 50 million people generating revenue via their fans.

The advantage: While other streaming services like Netflix and Disney+ allow co-viewing, there is a limit to how many people can actually participate. With SideStream, hosts can launch parties as large as 10,000 people. Epic Meal Time founder Harley Morenstein — whose cooking show is known for creating high-calorie meals — has already publicly endorsed the service and is ready for the site's launch in the Fall.

Commentary-as-a-Service: It's an open secret that people don't care what show or game their favorite influencer is streaming as long as there is some commentary with it. In the end, people are paying for the influencer more than the action on screen.

How it works: SideStream’s movie prices are fixed, but hosts decide their commentary fee for an event. After selling three tickets, a host receives 75 percent of the total net proceeds of each ticket sold. Up to 10,000 viewers can join an event to interact with a host onscreen and independently adjust the host and movie volume to their preference. Horror appears to be the most popular film genre on SideStream.

Film buffs and more: One of my favorite parts of attending the Sundance Film Festival is the ability to hear directly from the creators of a film. It offers an intimate opportunity in which you learn fascinating background, insight, and perspectives that you’d never otherwise hear. It seems SideStream could benefit from that same “behind the scenes” allure, as well as influencers’ own perspectives on the films their fans love.

“For influencers and creators, regardless of size, we see SideStream’s transaction model as additive to what they’re doing on ad-based services. We’re not looking to replace those giant platforms at all, that’s not realistic. We're a ‘change of pace’ platform for them, designed to achieve similar or greater revenue with a fraction of the audience they would need on the other services they regularly use.” —Neal Tiles, CEO and co-founder of SideStream

Hybrid model: SideStream doesn’t want to compete with NetFlix, Hulu, or Disney+. Instead, the company sees an opportunity to become the first platform to harness the power of its revenue share model that doesn't force hosts to compete for ad dollars, thereby attracting influencers and their audiences (like Mary Jo Pehl of Mystery Science Theater 3000). SideStream says it will benefit both large- and small-scale influencers, who can generate earnings “43 times faster” than on ad-based platforms like YouTube or Twitch that require massive scale for equivalent revenue.

Traction: In December, SideStream entered into a partner licensing agreement with Universal Studios, allowing them to offer popular movie titles like Scarface, Happy Gilmore, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, and Ted. Neal Tiles, a co-founder of SideStream, has experience in the entertainment industry at Comcast and ESPN. The company also earned a development grant from Android Television’s Innovation initiative in June 2020, opening it up to millions of customers around the globe.

SideStream investors: SideStream is running a crowdfunding campaign through August 2021 in which 294 people have already invested more than $242,000.

Replicate Twitch? If SideStream can model Twitch’s success, it’ll soon be a household name. Twitch generated about $300 million in ad revenue for 2020. And in just the first quarter of 2021, Twitch generated about $103 million through in-app purchases worldwide.

Historical models: Mystery Science Theater 3000, an American television comedy series, developed a cult following in the 1980s that persists to this day. Created by comedian Joel Hodgson, MST3K fans tuned in to hear commentary from human and robots hosts on Comedy Central and The Sci-Fi Channel. A recent crowdfunding effort will revive the show once again on Gizmoplex.

Why it matters: A key creator economy trend the VC firm SignalFire is watching is how creators are gaining power in the media ecosystem “as fans seek to connect with individual personalities rather than faceless publishers.” SideStream is yet another opportunity for creators to gain influence and generate revenue.

Would you host or use SideStream? Why or why not? Share your thoughts below.