SAE Institute

Majd AbuJaber
4200 Research, writing skills, media, and culture
2320 words

Which streaming services is more beneficial for a new independent artist or film
maker?
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction
Cutting the Cord
Cultural Impact
Netflix
YouTube
Breaking through the stream
Conclusion
INTRODUCTION

Over the past several years, video streaming services have become so increasingly popular that
millions of people around the world have abandoned the archaic forms of visual entertainment
such as cable and satellite. Services like Netflix and Youtube have become the new driving
source of digital content for most modern consumers. These streaming platforms have now
expanded to provide a limitless selection of content including original movies, television series,
documentaries, and child-friendly choices right to everyone’s home from anywhere in the world.
Streaming is available through laptops, tablets, smart phones, smart TVs, and even gaming
consoles with most offering a specialized app for even more convenience and accessibility. As
an aspiring film maker, these services are of great interest to me. With these services becoming
so successful, independent artists who are starting in the film industry can use this to their
advantage. However, the biggest question for aspiring artists is which of these streaming
companies will give us a true creative space and opportunity to work with a mutual benefit for
both parties.

CUTTING THE CORD

10 years ago, if you had told someone that they would not be using satellite tv or cable box
anymore, they probably would not have believed you. But these days it has become so popular,
that it even has even birthed a new term, “cord cutting”. Cord cutting is the practice of
eliminating cable and satellite TV, replacing it with visual content that is available through online
streaming services. When I was in high school, one of my teachers said that he did not have
satellite TV and my whole class was laughing about that for days. Yet, here we are, more than a
decade later, and I haven’t used a cable subscription or satellite provider for over four years.
Within just a short period of time, generations have watched so many technological extinctions
in entertainment that its hard to imagine what these platforms will look like in just another few
years time. Cord cutting has many advantages to the consumer including price, quick
availability, and a lot more options for viewing.

CULTURAL IMPACT

Furthermore, the rise of streaming services has had a major cultural impact to our society.
Some people see this as a positive influence while others do not. One of the major advantages
of streaming services is the overwhelming abundance of choice. People can now choose the
kind of content they wish to view from virtually endless possibilities. With traditional TV, not only
are channels limited, but the type of programming offered is pre-set. Another major benifit is
how these streaming services have introduced people to other cultures, languages, and areas
of interest. Some of Netflix’s highest rated shows are from other countries like The 3% from
Brazil and Dark from Germany. With options like subtitles and audio dubs in multiple languages,
foreign content has become a lot more accessible and appealing to the average person.

When it comes to disadvantages, one of the more concerning issues that always comes up is
the cultivation of a generation that needs everything immediately. Services like Netflix
sometimes offer entire seasons of their new shows in one single scheduled release . This has
created a culture of binge watching, where people watch episode after episode continuously,
finishing entire shows in mere hours or days. Going back to regular programming becomes
difficult for people who are used to binge watching because waiting for one episode every week
becomes boring and mundane. I have personally experienced this to the extent that when a
show is releasing a weekly episode, I usually opt to wait until the whole season is done before
watching it.

NETFLIX

Netflix started as an online DVD rental service in 1997. (Randolph, 2019) 10 years later, in 2007
it introduced it’s now popular streaming services, offering audiences the choice of watching their
content on a personal computer. And by 2016, their content was available to watch anywhere
anytime, literally. In those few years, people were streaming Netflix content worldwide, and on
virtually every device that has wi-fi. (Riddle, 2019)

In the beginning, the content offered on Netflix was comprised of licensed movies and TV
shows. But by 2012, the streaming giant was just dipping it’s toes in original content production.
By 2018, 1500 hours of original content was streaming and the year after that Netflix spent
$15.3 billion dollars on original content.
(Smith, 2020)
The exponential growth of Netflix is further illustrated in the numbers of subscribers. In just over
10 years, paying subscribers numbers in the United States reached almost 60 million, and a
further 80 million internationally.

With all this growth, it is no wonder that Netflix is usually the top service recommended for
original content. (The best video streaming services for 2020, 2020)

YOUTUBE

Even though YouTube is only 15 years old, according to Business Insider, “It has over 2 billion
monthly users who watch hundreds of hundreds of millions of hours of content every single
day.” (YouTube is 15 years old. Here's the incredible story of the website's early days, and how
it rose to become the world's most popular place to watch video, 2020)

Youtube was originally founded in 2005 and only a year later, the search engine mogul Google
bought it for over $1 billion. By May 2007, the first viral video is created of a child biting his
brother’s finger and smiling, and within a decade that video has earned the family royalties of
over $1 million. (YouTube is 15 years old. Here's the incredible story of the website's early days,
and how it rose to become the world's most popular place to watch video, 2020) And only a year
later, the first video to ever reach 100 million views was uploaded to the site.
With the introduction of Ads, YouTube was making money for itself and it’s content creators.
The first original content creator on youtube is named Felix Kjellber and has over 100 million
subscribers today, making him the most subscribed solo channel on youtube.

In the years since, YouTube has become one of the most visited websites with content that
appeals to everyone such as music videos, game review channels, toy review channels,
documentaries, and short films. The British Telegraph even claimed it has changed the world
(Ten years ago, a video-sharing site called YouTube was born. Then, this happened, 2020). But
by far the one feature that sets YouTube apart from other streaming services is the fact that
anyone can also create content, not just consume it.

BREAKING THROUGH THE STREAM

Netflix shows have become a regular part of conversation in daily life. People are always
recommending Netflix shows to their friends and asking them what they’re watching. Because of
how popular it has become, new and independent film makers find it one of the most attractive
venues for releasing original content.

As mentioned before, when Netflix started, most of the content it presented was pre-existing or
licensed from other creators. This has obviously changed in a tremendous way. Netflix’s original
content now outscores many other streaming services in customer satisfaction surveys,
(Spangler and Spangler, 2020) and it’s original shows are it’s most popular content as of 2019.
(Feiner, 2020)

This has driven Netflix executives to increase funding for original content (Spangler and
Spangler, 2020). This is good news for film makers who want to show the world something new.
However, it is known in the industry that it is hard for filmmakers to even reach Netflix if they
don’t have pre-existing connections. A few years ago, Netflix had a page on their website that
accepts submissions for new ideas. Now, they no longer accept unsolicited submissions.
Instead, “Netflix only accepts submissions through a licensed literary agent, or from a producer,
attorney, manager, or entertainment executive with whom we have a preexisting relationship.”
(Unsolicited submissions to Netflix, 2020) This may discourage talented artists and filmmakers
from even trying. Sure, there are web pages out there that recommend different methods of
reaching them. But this means that someone interested in working with Netflix has to find
names of people who already have an established relationship with Netflix and try to reach them
with the idea.

Furthermore, even though Netflix is the biggest and perhaps most popular streaming service, in
recent years other services have launched that may threaten it’s dominance. For example,
Disney recently launched it’s own streaming service and effectively ended any chance of Netflix
having Disney content licensed to them. The same applies to HBO, Apple, and Amazon who all
also have their own streaming services with original content.

Looking at YouTube offers a completely different picture in a lot of different aspects. Many
artists in the film industry may overlook what a valuable tool it can be. But I believe that this will
all change soon. Tribeca film festival website has been encouraging filmmakers to use YouTube
for years! (Indie Filmmakers: Use YouTube & Find Your Audience | Tribeca, 2020)

One
of the major
advantages
of YouTube
in this author’s opinion is how shareable it’s content is. Most of the time people show others a
video instead of just telling them about it. Any YouTube app even has buttons to facilitate
sharing on social media or messaging apps.

YouTube has also recently started releasing their own original content on the service YouTube
Premium. (YouTube originals, 2020). This shows how interested the management of YouTube
is in encouraging new and original content on their platform.

But the true value in YouTube for independent artists and film makers is how much control the
content creator has over their content.
(https://www.iiste.org/Journals/index.php/JEP/article/view/51223, 2020) Here there is no need
for an agent or a manager, at least at first. A writer or director can create any kind of video they
want with no time limits, no creative differences with others, and a lot of times, a very small
budget. This has been illustrated recently during the Coronavirus Pandemic where content
creators are still pushing new material out even during a global quarantine.
Moreover, while Netflix has major competitors in the market, YouTube has virtually none. It is
the largest and most used video sharing website in the world. It seems that the leaders of
content creation are finally starting to pay attention. One film festival even called it the home for

the Independent Filmmaker (Lee, 2020).

Another factor in play when it comes to YouTube is the potential for virility. Videos go viral all
the time, giving normally unrecognized artists to be recognized and highlighted for their work.
Sometimes, all it takes is one viral video to catapult someone into the beginning of their
success. This has become so accepted that people dedicate studies trying to pinpoint what
makes a video go viral.

Of course, money is also an advantage for a lot of YouTube creators. Some YouTubers make
millions from their channels (Rose, 2020). For new artists, once they cultivate a somewhat
recognizable name, the option to monetize becomes a priority. One of the ways that people can
make money on YouTube when they monetize is by using ads. Another is collaborating with
other known names. But the possibilities are endless. (Why Some Videos Go Viral, 2020)
Some filmmakers on Youtube have found so much commercial success, that they have even
went on to win awards, such as the case of Niko Pueringer and Sam Gorski and their YouTube
channel Corridor, which now boasts almost 8 million subscribers. (Belanger, 2020). Scott David
Winn is another example of this success. (Murie et al., 2020)

CONCLUSION

In the modern age of digital consumerism and constant demand of original viewership, it is clear
that these commercial streaming giants, such as Netflix and Youtube have a very integral
relationship with their content creators. The success between both platform and artist is very
much dependent on each other. While analyzing these companies and how they operate, it
has become glaringly apparent which one has consistently offered more artistic integrity and
creative control to the ones who built as opposed to the ones who deliver it. With the dynamics
of our entertainment culture changing every year, sometimes due to unforeseen forces such as
world pandemics. I think its time that we reevaluate the procedures of how independent writers
and filmmakers can have more honest outlets to offer their brilliant ideas to the world. We can
see that with Netflix, the idea of grassroots content diversity is just an illusion of choice. That
these “started from the bottom” success stories are more likely well disguised industry plants
with already well grounded connections in the business. However, with Youtube, although the
larger of the two conglomerates, there is a still a very much open door policy of those with a
creative passion to develop original shows and films. The opportunities for consumer interest
and virility is much more obtainable than being miraculously offered a major deal with Netflix.
In conclusion, we can project that the future of streaming continue to evolve, hopefully into a
more liberated world of free content where no one has to compromise between viewer, creator,
and investor. That is, in fact the foundation of it all, the investment. Finding a balance between
creativity and marketability and the financial tether that connects it all.
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