BalconyTV Hopes Acquisition By The Orchard Will Solve Business Model Quandaries
BalconyTV launched in 2006 as a video art experiment that morphed into shooting some musicians on the balcony which set the stage for BalconyTV's worldwide presence. The Orchard yesterday announced the acquisition of BalconyTV and say they'll continue to help it grow and expand its reach while connecting it to their own "discovery, audience development and marketing" efforts.
BalconyTV is an interesting project that began in Dublin with one balcony and has expanded through a network of volunteers to balconies around the world.
They have a YouTube channel (among other distribution outlets) where, according to cofounder Stephen O'Regan, they post from 50 locations.
BalconyTV has posted over 10,000 performances and received over 50 million views. Yet, though they've been through an accelerator and previously raised over $870k, O'Regan says he hates the question, "how do you make any money out of this?"
Beyond such basics as running ads on YouTube, O'Regan implied they've had difficulty with the answer:
"But finding a viable business model for BalconyTV was inevitable, and with online video evolving constantly, it was hard to understand what BalconyTV meant in this changing landscape."
"That's where The Orchard comes in. Teaming up means the future is bright for BalconyTV."
The Orchard's announcement briefly touches on what they'll do with BalconyTV:
"The Orchard will amplify BalconyTV’s reach through its global operations, audience development expertise and worldwide client base while retaining the DIY spirit and ethos that BalconyTV has fostered since its founding 8 years ago."
"The Orchard and BalconyTV will continue to develop the vast video catalogue, open new balconies and increase engagement across the channel."
"Viewers are also to participate in a weekly Global Music Rumble where they vote on artists they like. Using these crowd-sourced results, The Orchard will call into service their local marketing teams…to further develop the talented acts that rise out of this global music community."
As The Orchard CEO Brad Navin states:
"“BalconyTV is a perfect complement to everything we do: discovery, audience development and marketing across a global network…Together we’ll capitalize on the opportunities available through streaming, help artists promote their creative works and continue to use music as a way to break down borders.”
This looks like a potentially great match giving BalconyTV the support it needs to continue growing while expanding its business model in the process.
More:
- BalconyTV Expands Live Music Network To New Orleans and Athens, More U.S. Cities To Come
- Banana Stand Media Documents Live Shows From Their Secret Venue In Portland
- Look Sessions Austin: 27 Bands Performing In A Hotel Room During SXSW
Hypebot Senior Contributor Clyde Smith (Twitter/Facebook) is currently relaunching All World Dance. To suggest topics about music tech, DIY music biz or music marketing for Hypebot, contact: clyde(at)fluxresearch(dot)com.
