A new company called Revver is trying to change the fact that most online videos (those submitted by the lightsabre wielding fans of this world, amongst others) don’t make money by attaching advertising to the videos and giving the creators a cut of the profits.
The technology, which also tracks the content as it is shared across the Web, is not limited to amateurs. Major media companies, which are just beginning to experiment with offering TV shows and movies online, are also looking for ways to distribute across peer-to-peer networks while avoiding piracy.
Revver is the brainchild of Ian Clarke, the man behind the Freenet file-sharing network; Steven Starr, a former Hollywood agent and co-creator of MTV’s “The State;” and Oliver Luckett, who recently spearheaded the Norman Lear “Declare Yourself” voter registration campaign.
It is also backed by the same venture capital company that bankrolled Internet phone provider Skype Technologies SA, which eBay recently acquired for $2.6 billion. (These guys are sewing up…!)
People wanting to use Revver upload their videos for free to the company’s Web servers. Revver than attaches a static ad to the end of the video.
It also attaches a “RevTag,” which keeps track of how often the video is viewed no matter where it ends up. People can leave their video on the Revver site, post it on their own Web site, e-mail it to friends and even download it to a portable device.
Revver says it will split the ad revenue evenly with content creators.
Should seem some interesting times ahead. This article is available in full through Yahoo news and is available by clicking here.
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