My Damn Channel Tries to Entertain and Profit on Internet

There’s a lot of money to be made in entertainment, and there’s a lot of money to be made on the internet. Thus far, though, there hasn’t been a lot of money made on the internet by entertainers. My Damn Channel seeks to change that. Comedian Harry Shearer, Rolling Stones producer Don Was, indie filmmaker David Wain have all signed up. While pioneers have a chance at hitting it big, pioneers also have a high attrition rate.

President and CEO Rob Barnett comes from MTV and VH1, which believe it or not used to be cutting edge in video entertainment (back when Reagan was president and dinosaurs roamed the Earth). According to the press release My Damn Channel put out announcing its birth, Mr. Barnett said, “My Damn Channel gives our talented friends a blank canvas to do what they want and the digital means to reach the masses. Some execs talk about disrupting media but forget about how smart this new audience really is. The BS barometer is very high. Our channels deliver the original content that web fans deserve and that advertisers and syndicators will support.” One is suspicious of people who use the term “the masses” without smirking, but he has a point.

Mr. Shearer, of Spinal Tap and Simpsons fame, said, “My Damn Channel is a great example of the kind of place an artist like me seeks out - a new outpost in an emerging medium where the rules have not yet been engraved in stone. Rob and his team are giving me the opportunity to make smart, topical comedy and get it to the audience before it cools. What, except for having a zillion stock options in the company, could be better?”

The press release also explained, “My Damn Channel is ad-supported and all of its programming will also be syndicated to the most heavily-trafficked online communities and social networks. The company will share revenues with its artists from advertising on http://www.mydamnchannel.com/ and from programming syndication deals.” YouTube has already signed up for syndication, so there’s a fair chance of success already.

Thus far, video on the internet has been amateurs putting up a clip here and there. This is more like a movie studio, a handful of professional entertainers, some suits to count the beans, and ad-revenues will pay for it. The internet has no rules, and in that vacuum, artists can do as they please. My Damn Channel could be the goose that lays the golden eggs. Then again, the entertainment world has heard that before, and sometimes, such geese (when they existed at all) got turned into dinner.

© Copyright 2007 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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