Today, we are thrilled to announce the launch of two exciting initiatives here at StoryCo: “Co/Create” and “Profit Points.”

These two programs will be vital in our mission to democratize storytelling - allowing our community to play a direct role in shaping our story universes and earn a share of the profit of the underlying IP. Both programs will be employed within our first narrative, THE DISCO BALL, dropping imminently.

Co/Create will redefine the way stories are created and told by leveraging global, networked creativity, and Profit Points will empower these co-creators to participate in the financial upside of their creative input.

The goal is simple: utilize the power of networked creativity to revolutionize how Hollywood franchise-caliber stories are created. The recent entertainment-industry strikes have shown the world just how broken the current centralized, gate-kept Hollywood system is, and we at StoryCo believe that the best way forward is to create a new path for how stories can be created and owned.

We’re launching these two initiatives within our first narrative, THE DISCO BALL, a groundbreaking story created by established Hollywood talent (acclaimed showrunner Kyle Killen, pop-artists duo shelby and sandy, and our soon to be announced A-list cast). Utilizing Co/Create and Profit Points, we will invite creators from around the world to build on top-of and extend the core elements of THE DISCO BALL universe.

Now is your chance to work hand-in-hand with established Hollywood professionals to create a rich, ever-evolving story universe, and earn a stake of the upside in what we’re confident will be the next great entertainment franchise.

Co/Create: Contribute Key Creative Components to the Next Great Entertainment Franchises

A "Co/Create" is an invitation to participate in the creation of key elements of our stories. Co/Creates will span the realm of artistic expression, from creative writing to illustrating, animating to acting. Co/Creators will have the opportunity to create new characters, animate scenes, be a voice actor for a character in the narrative, and more.

There will be a wide-range of opportunities across the artistic and creative spectrum, as the goal is to include the talents of as many creatives as possible into our story worlds. These Co/Creates are open to anyone, regardless of location, background, or level of experience. At StoryCo, we believe creativity can come from anyone, anywhere and our aim is to foster an environment where the only determinant of success is the strength of your work and ideas. Each Co/Create includes a detailed description of the desired creative output, information about how that work will layer into the larger narrative, a variety of creative references, and any necessary contextual information in relation to the larger story. Our hope is that every Co/Create acts as a fun, creative prompt that inspires creators of any level to flex their muscles and try.

Initially, all submissions will be reviewed by our internal creative team who will evaluate each entry based on artistic merit, originality, and alignment with the submission guidelines and story. Once a winner (or winners) are announced, they will be given creative notes, and their final work will be integrated into the larger narrative. Each winning Co/Creator will be appropriately credited and compensated via the terms outlined in each Co/Create description. As the story progresses and evolves, our plan is to decentralize this decision-making process, allowing community members to vote on the submissions that resonate with them.

Profit Points: Profit off your Direct Contributions to Our Stories

“Profit Points” are the foundation of the reward system StoryCo has developed to allow creators and fans the ability to share in the upside potential of IP created on the platform. Profit Points, quite simply, represent a claim to a percentage of the profit generated by the underlying IP and are awarded for meaningful contributions to the story universes. The more you contribute, the more you’ll earn.

The first, and most substantial way to earn Profit Points is to submit creative work to a Co/Create opportunity. Eventually, as the story progresses, the Profit Points system will expand to reward other types of actions within story, such as solving a puzzle, finding a clue, voting on co-creation submissions, or taking an action that increases the value of the IP.

In addition, we are excited to distribute Profit Points to our StoryDAO Producer community. As our earliest believers and supporters, we consider this community an extension of our core team. They have served as a sounding board as we’ve grown our business and community, and are grateful for the opportunity to reward them for their patronage. Distributions to this group will be based on each individuals activity and support of our company’s initiatives, especially in the launch of THE DISCO BALL.

The number of Profit Points awarded for each Co/Creation or action is determined by a system that considers level of effort, time, and value to the narrative as a whole. This system will ensure a fair assessment of each contribution to our shared story. There will be a total of 500 million Profit Points reserved for creators and contributors to THE DISCO BALL, representing 50% of StoryCo’s total profit from the the IP.

In contrast to the current Hollywood environment, where data and costs are hidden and obfuscated from creators, StoryCo will ensure a fully transparent accounting of all costs and revenue generated from each story.

The decentralization of profit-sharing for THE DISCO BALL is an unprecedented step in creator empowerment, and one that is especially important today given the current state of labor disputes in Hollywood. Creators will be rewarded for their creative contributions within StoryCo, and together, we will create a new paradigm for ownership, access, and transparency.

Our First Four Co/Creates

Our first four Co/Creates are now open to submission at Story.co/create, and include:

• Co/Create: International Director of DBRIS Character: Writers are invited to create the character profile for the International Director of the Disco Ball Research and Investigation Society (DBRIS) through a blog post detailing the backstory and motivations of the character. The selected entry will have significant influence on future storylines within THE DISCO BALL story world.
• Co/Create: Government Whistleblower Voice Performance: Voice actors have the chance to bring to life a government whistleblower within THE DISCO BALL story, conveying a heightened sense of urgency and risk in their performance to reveal secrets that change the course of THE DISCO BALL narrative.
• Co/Create: 90’s-era DBRIS Wordmark Logo Design: Artists and graphic designers are tasked with designing a logo that would have been used by DBRIS in the 1990's. The logo will be used in building-out the lore of DBRIS, and will need to represent the organization's mission while capturing the cultural and artistic essence of the 90s.
• Co/Create: Gold Coast TV Show Theme Song: Musicians are tasked with composing a theme song for Gold Coast, a TV show existing in one of the THE DISCO BALL’s many universes, meant to be a parallel version of the classic 80’s TV series Miami Vice. The theme song should feel reminiscent of music from the era, including a distinctive mix of 80’s instrumentation and production.

Links

For more information about Co/Creates and Profit Points, visit Story.co/create or our FAQ page at Story.co/FAQ.

To stay abreast of all new Co/Create opportunities and updates, follow us on Twitter, and join our Discord and Reddit.