The "Storyline" from StoryCo - Issue 004

Greetings from StoryCo!

It’s been a bit since our last newsletter, and we’ve heard your pleas for an update on what we’ve been cooking up at StoryCo

Quite a lot.

We’ve been a bit busy with our prologue activation, revamping our Discord to make it an awesome hangout for storytellers worldwide, launching a few new initiatives we’re really proud of, building out the StoryCo platform, and finishing production on THE DISCO BALL. So, please have mercy on us.

But without that, we bring you the "Storyline" Issue 004, which includes:

-A recap of our launch of Co/Create and Profit Points

-The announcement of our newest Co/Create winners, the band Fuzzle!

-Highlighting some of our awesome Producers

-An update on THE DISCO BALL after a successful Beta test

-Our "Storytelling Digest," a tasteful curation of storytelling content from around the internet

Dive in…

ICYMI-We Launched Co/Create and Profit Points

A few weeks ago, we launched “Co-Create” and “Profit Points.” These programs are our way of democratizing the storytelling process, allowing our community to shape our story universes and earn a share of the profit of the underlying IP in the process.

Co/Creates are invitations to contribute to the creation of key elements of our stories. They will run the gamut of artistic expression, from art to writing to voice acting and beyond, and will be open to anyone, regardless of location, background, or level of experience. Those who win Co/Creates will earn Profit Points-a bespoke StoryCo reward system representing a claim to a percentage of the profit generated by the underlying IP of the stories created on our platform. We are launching both initiatives within our first storytelling experience, THE DISCO BALL, dropping soon.

Our first Co/Create opportunities are now open for submission at Story.Co/Create, where you can also find more info + FAQs about Co/Create and Profit Points.

Introducing Our Newest Co-Create Winner, the band Fuzzle! 👑

Speaking of Co/Create: it's our pleasure to introduce the band Fuzzle, winners of our Gold Coast Theme Song Co/Create! Bandmates Eric Fransen and Sean Skifstrom are heavily inspired by 80s music and culture, making them the quintessential artists to create the Gold Coast theme.

Fuzzle delivered a dazzling synth-heavy, 80s-inspired track to seamlessly align with this nostalgia-laden element of THE DISCO BALL tale.

For more on the band, their inspirations and process for submitting to this Co/Create, read our latest blog post.

Congrats to Fuzzle!

StoryCo Producer Spotlight

-Roope Rainisto, a highly-acclaimed + pioneering AI artist and storyteller, recently signed to legendary talent agency William Morris Endeavor (WME). Congrats, Roope!

-Investor, writer and Web3 thought leader Ben Roy penned an article called “Ethereum is a Game Environment,” equating the world of Ethereum to a video-game-esque experience. Subscribe to Ben's awesome newsletter and give his latest entry a read!

-Jason Michael Primrose recently minted-out his epic Lost Children of Andromeda NFT collection. Congrats to Jason on a successful launch!

THE DISCO BALL is spinning! After nearly a year of hard work, our team was thrilled to release a Beta version of THE DISCO BALL to a select Beta group last week, composed of StoryCo Producers, investors, and highly-engaged community members. Our focus with the Beta test was on identifying any bugs and technical issues, garnering feedback on the story (plot, characters, performances), and assessing the overall user experience. 

To really step into our community’s shoes, we invited testers to share their experiences directly with the core team through virtual meetings (in addition to filling out a Typeform feedback form). We also created a special Discord channel to facilitate ongoing dialogue about the experience. Through these channels, we were pleased to learn that people are “vibing” with the story, characters, and overall consumption experience.

At the same time, we also identified several key areas of improvement. Our creative, production, and technical teams are hard at work implementing the changes based on the feedback, and a wide-release of Chapter 1 is in sight…

Overall, the Beta Test was a success, underscoring the essential role of community engagement, collaboration and transparency in all of our endeavors as a business.

Lastly, for a tasteful sampling of storytelling-related content from around the internet:

-In the spirit of Co-Create, a video of famed Production Designer Rick Carter on his inspirations and approach to collaboration from his illustrious career working with the likes of Steven Spielberg and James Cameron. "It's funny to think about all the things that go into making a movie of one guy alone with a volleyball on an island, but how much is exactly just outside the frame," he said, in reference, of course, to his work on Castaway

-A fascinating oral history on the making of Martin Scorsese's beloved cult classic AFTER HOURS

-🚨🚨 This coming Sunday, August 27th, is National Cinema Day, with 3 thousand participating theaters across the country offering $4 movie tickets

-Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan did this enlightening podcast with Ankler Media, in which she spoke candidly and critically about the need for major change in the entertainment industry in the realm of creator empowerment

-Friend.tech has taken the cryptosphere by storm in recent days, allowing people to issue shares of their profiles in exchange for access to exclusive group chats. In just a few days, creators on the platform have seen their shares jump to as much as $5k worth of ETH 👀. Crypto 🤝 creator economy

-Last but not least, our very own JP wrote a Twitter Thread with some thoughts on the writers’ and actors’ strikes, reflecting on where we’ve been 3+ months since the writers put their pens down, and looking ahead to when both parties may be forced to come to the negotiating table