Are You a Micro Media Mogul Or a Media Maker?

The CBS/Wallstrip deal that I wrote about on Monday got me thinking about how I and other people define themselves in this space. I’ve been making a good living in the media business for many years now and despite seismic shifts within the industry, I’m pursuing opportunities presented by emerging media models.

To create opportunity, I believe you have to think beyond the limits of the traditionally defined media roles of cameraman, producer, or talent. I think the emergence of the micro media mogulis emblematic of this shift, a shift that is blurring, if not erasing the line where media jobs fall above (executive and management) or below (crew and production staff). So as media workers begin to chart a new course in these re-defined roles, they are faced with a number of questions. Not the least of which is how much entrepreneurial fire do they have in their belly. Are you as passionate about the art of the deal as you are about the art of your media? Or do you prefer the comfort of steady paycheck?

What if you’re somewhere in the middle of those two options? An innovative media company called Next New Netwoks offers unique opportunities to those whose passions are weighted more on the side of media maker, rather than media mogul. I inadvertantly gave them kind of short shrift the other day when I asked this:

I have to wonder though, what is the value (read deal) for the content creator/micro-media-mogul, of aligning with a Next New Network.

Looking back, my wording seems a bit dismissive. Purely unintentional, as I truly wondered precisely what the deal was. Next New Network’s Tim Shey contacted me with more details about what an agreement with NNN looks like. Independent media makers can leverage their creativity for a regular show based fee by entering into licensing agreements with Next New Networks.

We create and build networks which are fully owned Next New Networks properties,
and then license or commission shows to run on those networks. Show
producers who work with us get a guaranteed, regular fee for the
right to run their shows, upon delivery, whether we sell advertising
or not (in other words, it is not rev-share dependent).

This model isn’t necessarily a perfect fit for every producer, but
we’re here to work with the people for whom that is; there are lots
of other options in the marketplace (YouTube, Revver, Blip,
Brightcove, Videoegg, etc) for people who want to bootstrap their own
independent network and have someone work with them for a rev share,
as well as companies like PodShow which will work in a joint
ownership / partnership model.

-Tim Shey via email, published with his permission

Next New Networks’ impressive leadership roster brings together a strong list of executives drawn from old and new media. In a media landscape of ever expanding opportunity for savvy, independent media makers, Next New Networks provides unique and creative arrangements for those who want to make a living doing what they love.

So where do you fit in to all of this? Are you a micro media mogul, or a media worker? Or maybe somewhere in between?