I used to work in the social influencer space, and often attended conventions in which top influencers were treated like A-list movie stars by legions of (mostly young) fans. The last few years, the Musical.ly kids were the ones causing all the crowd control nightmares.
One kid’s performance on a stage in the convention hall was canceled by security because the crowd was dangerously large and packed-in (as they all fought to get as close as possible).
Another kid caused a major stampede by walking through the public lobby of the convention center (something they were very much not supposed to do). Literally hundreds of fans ran after them, to the woe of anyone trying to walk through the lobby.
You and I have never heard of these kids, and we don’t understand the appeal, but this is a huge business. The engagement and brand loyalty that Musical.ly stars get is like nothing I’ve ever seen.
But kids this age have always been crazy fans of pop stars. Now they're choosing their content and engaging more directly rather than having (often skeezy) middlemen such as agents, producers, music labels, etc manufacture and force stars onto them (and then keep most of the money for themselves)
I think more and more the trend is for aggregators to buy networks and strengthen themselves. Facebook did so with WhatsApp, Instagram, and TBH. Amazon did so with Whole Foods. Google bought DoubleClick. Software can be easily replicated, but not ecosystems because of the difficult cold start problem.
If Toutiao wants to play in US markets, then this acquisition could make a lot of sense as the first defensible foothold.
While $1B is certainly a lot of money this is the first time (in a long time) I would have rather seen the founder not sell. Musically has a very unique approach to encourage and enable users to create content that I have not seen on any other platform (challenges, smooth video creation process, etc). While I am certainly not in the target demographic I am sure we will see this approach in future (video)content platforms.
You're not in his shoes. He has investors that probably pushed him to sell when they all saw that growth had plateaued. Selling gives the founders and investors all 'wins.' Once they took VC money, their future was either sale, IPO or bankruptcy, so the sale was the logical choice.
Strategically, its a good way for a Chinese consumer internet firm to enter into Western markets. As well as short form, digestible, interactive video optimized for mobile.
I don't get lip-syncing part of it.
Their website says it's "musical.ly is a social media platform for creating and sharing short videos." I think this abstract "short" word explains a lot: Youtube videos lose a lot of views, because Youtube tells how long they are. Impatient kids are like "Nah, it's too long". But by promising the videos are short, you can probably make viewers to spend even more time with an app, watching many shorter videos instead of a long one. No data to prove it, just gut feeling.
I can relate that to my personal experience, I often choose not to watch a movie since I don't want to spend a couple of hours on entertainment but end up watching youtube videos for a longer time
My youngest daughter, 11, uses it. In the school I work in it seems to be a cause of much disagreement within girl friend groups, 11 and under. Is the huge valuation because it attracts this type of user, no doubt extremely valuable to marketeers, which seems a bit cynical to me.
I will have to ask my kids and their cousins tonight :)
I remember when it was everywhere, and I remember being a bit concerned really, and yet thinking about it I don't recall it being mentioned in the past 6 months or so at least... maybe everyone moved on. On to what?
I think it ought to be noted that Musical.ly videos are frequently passed around pedophile communities online.
It worries me that an app designed for preteens to film themselves dancing can swell to such a size. Parents have completely stopped being accountable for what their children do online, and the consequences thereof...
First off, the criticism of this app being used for kids to sexualize themselves was what early doomsayers shouted down about both Vine and Snapchat, among almost all other video-social startups. I don't think it's a valid or reasonably realistic concern.
Secondly, you definitely need to source some evidence for the claim about pedophile communities.
Do you gave some kind of source or story about it? I don't doubt because pedos sure do move where the kids are and if there are a lot young dancers there as you say...
Didn't know the app. I can only see compilation videos on youtube. What does the app do exactly ? It remaps the time of the video to match/sync lips with the lyrics, that's it ? Does the user has any other control on the result ? Thanks.
Basically a user chooses an audio track (this can be a wide variety of things. YouTube video, song, or other pop culture track, or silence), then they click record. The track is played and they can either match their lips or actions or both to the track. This simple style of recording tends to create some pretty impressive videos. Musical.ly took this and made it into a platform similar to Instagram or Vine.
By your same math, Snap currently works out to $90 per DAU. Whether the model is sound is up in the air, but IMO Musical.ly / Live.ly's product is very similar to snapchat.
This was very popular over the summer in Sweden. Barely used anymore.
The big game these days, that has a solid revenue model is Star Stable. A Huge virtual world, monthly subscription required, 12 languages and you can ONLY choose female characters.
For everyone talking about kids under 13 read this:
Eligibility . THE SERVICE IS NOT FOR PERSONS UNDER THE AGE OF 13 OR FOR ANY USERS PREVIOUSLY SUSPENDED OR REMOVED FROM THE SERVICE BY MUSICAL.LY. IF YOU ARE UNDER 13 YEARS OF AGE, YOU MUST NOT USE OR ACCESS THE SERVICE AT ANY TIME OR IN ANY MANNER. Furthermore, by using the Service, you affirm that either you are at least 18 years of age or have been authorized to use the Service by your parent or guardian who is at least 18 years of age. [1]
My question, can you use the app without an account?
I tried to report someone who was clearly under 13 but the process involved giving musical.ly a huge amount of my personal information (above and beyond Name / email address) so I decided not to bother. They know their target audience is young children.
It certainly grew fast, no question. It's not a behemoth however. It has 1/5th the sales of CBS, which is just one of dozens of big US media companies.
It's very unlikely they'll be able to invade the US in a meaningful sense. Toutiao's primary business is media content aggregation. They're going to be incapable of presenting non-censored news, content, media. The CPC will require that anything they allow in their publishing space globally, be controlled and censored strictly to present the views of the CPC. What China allows their domestic companies to do internationally when it comes to media, is not very different from what they allow domestically. That's why companies like Baidu and Tencent, which are drastically larger than Toutiao, have been entirely unable to crack the Western media markets. The restrictions Chinese companies face due to the strict authoritarian regime at home, is extremely different from what companies in eg Japan faced when they 'invaded' the US 30 years ago (such as Sony in music & movies).
It's why there will never be a Chinese Reddit conceptually. Free expression is illegal for all Chinese media companies, it leaves them at an extreme disadvantage when competing globally.
[+] [-] bryananderson|8 years ago|reply
One kid’s performance on a stage in the convention hall was canceled by security because the crowd was dangerously large and packed-in (as they all fought to get as close as possible).
Another kid caused a major stampede by walking through the public lobby of the convention center (something they were very much not supposed to do). Literally hundreds of fans ran after them, to the woe of anyone trying to walk through the lobby.
You and I have never heard of these kids, and we don’t understand the appeal, but this is a huge business. The engagement and brand loyalty that Musical.ly stars get is like nothing I’ve ever seen.
[+] [-] cylinder|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] noir_lord|8 years ago|reply
I guess I'm getting old.
[+] [-] wyc|8 years ago|reply
If Toutiao wants to play in US markets, then this acquisition could make a lot of sense as the first defensible foothold.
[+] [-] etareduce|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] philfrasty|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] gkanai|8 years ago|reply
You're not in his shoes. He has investors that probably pushed him to sell when they all saw that growth had plateaued. Selling gives the founders and investors all 'wins.' Once they took VC money, their future was either sale, IPO or bankruptcy, so the sale was the logical choice.
[+] [-] KaoruAoiShiho|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] indescions_2017|8 years ago|reply
https://blog.ycombinator.com/the-hidden-forces-behind-toutia...
Strategically, its a good way for a Chinese consumer internet firm to enter into Western markets. As well as short form, digestible, interactive video optimized for mobile.
[+] [-] roman_savchuk|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] bhavyapruthi|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] junkscience2017|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] econner|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] kerrsclyde|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] willvarfar|8 years ago|reply
I remember when it was everywhere, and I remember being a bit concerned really, and yet thinking about it I don't recall it being mentioned in the past 6 months or so at least... maybe everyone moved on. On to what?
[+] [-] tootie|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] pc256|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] trophycase|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] RIMR|8 years ago|reply
It worries me that an app designed for preteens to film themselves dancing can swell to such a size. Parents have completely stopped being accountable for what their children do online, and the consequences thereof...
[+] [-] hbosch|8 years ago|reply
Secondly, you definitely need to source some evidence for the claim about pedophile communities.
[+] [-] cisanti|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ttoinou|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] samschooler|8 years ago|reply
Here are some examples: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njtMuGaSIGg
[+] [-] Jedd|8 years ago|reply
Seems high given that, as noted in the article, the sale implies the owners think growth has plateaued.
[+] [-] nemothekid|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] forthefuture|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] orliesaurus|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] willmacdonald|8 years ago|reply
The big game these days, that has a solid revenue model is Star Stable. A Huge virtual world, monthly subscription required, 12 languages and you can ONLY choose female characters.
[+] [-] senatorobama|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] rossboss|8 years ago|reply
Eligibility . THE SERVICE IS NOT FOR PERSONS UNDER THE AGE OF 13 OR FOR ANY USERS PREVIOUSLY SUSPENDED OR REMOVED FROM THE SERVICE BY MUSICAL.LY. IF YOU ARE UNDER 13 YEARS OF AGE, YOU MUST NOT USE OR ACCESS THE SERVICE AT ANY TIME OR IN ANY MANNER. Furthermore, by using the Service, you affirm that either you are at least 18 years of age or have been authorized to use the Service by your parent or guardian who is at least 18 years of age. [1]
My question, can you use the app without an account?
[1] https://musical.ly/en-US/term
[+] [-] robinduckett|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] rki9191|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] samschooler|8 years ago|reply
[1] https://www.quora.com/How-many-downloads-do-I-need-in-the-Ap...
[+] [-] Ravikiran|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] dusing|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] unknown|8 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] uptown|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] giacaglia|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] adventured|8 years ago|reply
It's very unlikely they'll be able to invade the US in a meaningful sense. Toutiao's primary business is media content aggregation. They're going to be incapable of presenting non-censored news, content, media. The CPC will require that anything they allow in their publishing space globally, be controlled and censored strictly to present the views of the CPC. What China allows their domestic companies to do internationally when it comes to media, is not very different from what they allow domestically. That's why companies like Baidu and Tencent, which are drastically larger than Toutiao, have been entirely unable to crack the Western media markets. The restrictions Chinese companies face due to the strict authoritarian regime at home, is extremely different from what companies in eg Japan faced when they 'invaded' the US 30 years ago (such as Sony in music & movies).
It's why there will never be a Chinese Reddit conceptually. Free expression is illegal for all Chinese media companies, it leaves them at an extreme disadvantage when competing globally.