Social Media Startup theAudience Builds Online Fan Bases for Celebrities

  • Oliver Luckett used to work for Walt Disney managing the social media presence of Disney characters. Now he runs theAudience, his own social media company for celebrities, which recently collected $20 million in funding.
  • “For each client, theAudience works to build a network of fans across the likes of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Google Plus and to keep those followers engaged by posting a steady stream of catchy pictures, comments and videos,” The New York Times explains, noting that Luckett refuses to identify his clients.
  • “There is intense downward pressure on artist salaries in all corners of entertainment,” notes the article. “Movie attendance over the summer hit a 20-year low. The Web has decimated the music industry. DVRs are roiling television. William Morris Endeavor, a founding investor in theAudience, sees the assertive cultivation of social media networks as one way to shift power back to stars.”
  • theAudience helps agents to negotiate better contracts by providing social data; actors can be paid more if they bring more followers into theaters.
  • Some contracts are already being written to require actors to promote the movie with their social media accounts, the Times reports. Luckett’s company helps stars who are overwhelmed by social media.
  • The company faces competition from numerous other social media startups. Also problematic, consumers like to think celebrities create their own content. Luckett says all content his company produces for celebrities is approved before posted.
  • “The real value of these networks is in programming,” says Napster founder Sean Parker, who also helped in making Facebook the social giant it is today. “If you can aggregate effectively, you can start to imagine social media a little bit more like traditional media.”

2 Comments

  1. Some of Luckett’s clients allegedly include Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron, Jack Black, Eddie Murphy, Hugh Jackman, Usher, Pitbull and LMFAO. theAudience did promotions for the hit movie “Ted” as well as the Coachella music festival.

  2. Some of Luckett’s clients allegedly include Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron, Jack Black, Eddie Murphy, Hugh Jackman, Usher, Pitbull and LMFAO. theAudience did promotions for the hit movie “Ted” as well as the Coachella music festival.

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