Social-Media App Musical.ly Is Acquired for as Much as $1B
wsj.com
wsj.com
One kid’s performance on a stage in the convention hall was canceled by security because the crowd was dangerously large and packed-in (as they all fought to get as close as possible).
Another kid caused a major stampede by walking through the public lobby of the convention center (something they were very much not supposed to do). Literally hundreds of fans ran after them, to the woe of anyone trying to walk through the lobby.
You and I have never heard of these kids, and we don’t understand the appeal, but this is a huge business. The engagement and brand loyalty that Musical.ly stars get is like nothing I’ve ever seen.
I guess I'm getting old.
Cable penetration has fallen off in recent years as additional options (satellite, phone-company fiber, streaming) have proliferated, but it's been a long, long time since most Americans' universe of TV options were limited to the original "big three" broadcast networks.
If Toutiao wants to play in US markets, then this acquisition could make a lot of sense as the first defensible foothold.
You're not in his shoes. He has investors that probably pushed him to sell when they all saw that growth had plateaued. Selling gives the founders and investors all 'wins.' Once they took VC money, their future was either sale, IPO or bankruptcy, so the sale was the logical choice.
https://blog.ycombinator.com/the-hidden-forces-behind-toutia...
Strategically, its a good way for a Chinese consumer internet firm to enter into Western markets. As well as short form, digestible, interactive video optimized for mobile.
I remember when it was everywhere, and I remember being a bit concerned really, and yet thinking about it I don't recall it being mentioned in the past 6 months or so at least... maybe everyone moved on. On to what?
It worries me that an app designed for preteens to film themselves dancing can swell to such a size. Parents have completely stopped being accountable for what their children do online, and the consequences thereof...
Secondly, you definitely need to source some evidence for the claim about pedophile communities.
I am not about to post links to these places, for obvious reasons, but perhaps I'll post my article once it is finished. If HN had a PM system, I would bookmark your name and send you a link. Maybe just keep a look out in a month or so, or check back on my page for submissions. Lots of fact-checking and analysis to do before I publish this, not to mention protecting some of the children I am documenting.
There's also a large community of teens on these networks that consume pseudosexual content of kids their own age, and you obviously have to factor out of any statistics about pedophilia. I myself consumed a lot of preteen/teen model stuff when I was 13-15, but that content has only gotten more disturbing to me with age.
There are some disturbing trends out there, and it's clear to see the cause-and-effect in many cases. Kids are figuring out that if you dance on camera, you get a lot of views - but if you dance on camera in your underwear, you get A LOT MORE views. These sites are putting forth little to no effort to curb this kind of content, and there is little public oversight.
It's not illegal, but there are people profiting off of the ad revenue associated with this content, and there are children sexualizing themselves online, often without their parent's knowledge. It's not something we should ignore, because this is just going to keep getting further normalized as people try to downplay what is actually happening.
And there are people out there who become fixated on online personas, and this can lead to some very dark scenarios. The last thing we need is adults preying on children in environments that children frequent, and parents are ignorant of. These places are candy shops for pedophiles, and kids often don't notice that their peers on these sites aren't always fellow kids...
Here are some examples: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njtMuGaSIGg
> Through the app, users can create 15-second to 1 minute videos and choose sound tracks to accompany them, use different speed options (time-lapse, slow, normal, fast, and epic) and add pre-set filters and effects.
Edit: check the talent on these videos, wow! Hopefully I can see these in adult videos when they come of age.
Until BitCoin manages this feat, it's doomed.
Seems high given that, as noted in the article, the sale implies the owners think growth has plateaued.
How are you using DAU here?
The big game these days, that has a solid revenue model is Star Stable. A Huge virtual world, monthly subscription required, 12 languages and you can ONLY choose female characters.
Eligibility . THE SERVICE IS NOT FOR PERSONS UNDER THE AGE OF 13 OR FOR ANY USERS PREVIOUSLY SUSPENDED OR REMOVED FROM THE SERVICE BY MUSICAL.LY. IF YOU ARE UNDER 13 YEARS OF AGE, YOU MUST NOT USE OR ACCESS THE SERVICE AT ANY TIME OR IN ANY MANNER. Furthermore, by using the Service, you affirm that either you are at least 18 years of age or have been authorized to use the Service by your parent or guardian who is at least 18 years of age. [1]
My question, can you use the app without an account?
[1] https://www.quora.com/How-many-downloads-do-I-need-in-the-Ap...
It's very unlikely they'll be able to invade the US in a meaningful sense. Toutiao's primary business is media content aggregation. They're going to be incapable of presenting non-censored news, content, media. The CPC will require that anything they allow in their publishing space globally, be controlled and censored strictly to present the views of the CPC. What China allows their domestic companies to do internationally when it comes to media, is not very different from what they allow domestically. That's why companies like Baidu and Tencent, which are drastically larger than Toutiao, have been entirely unable to crack the Western media markets. The restrictions Chinese companies face due to the strict authoritarian regime at home, is extremely different from what companies in eg Japan faced when they 'invaded' the US 30 years ago (such as Sony in music & movies).
It's why there will never be a Chinese Reddit conceptually. Free expression is illegal for all Chinese media companies, it leaves them at an extreme disadvantage when competing globally.
I would expect one of these companies will want to attempt what Sony did and accumulate a music business. The question will be how they can manage to align that with the media restrictions they have to live within. Maybe Toutiao is young enough to still dare to attempt it, I think the older, larger Chinese Internet companies long ago learned to avoid challenging the CPC's boundaries.
In a less restricted atmosphere, companies like Snapchat or Twitter would be prime take-over targets for some of the Chinese giants looking for international expansion. I think a company like Tencent might have acquired Twitter by now if they could operate the platform without censorship trouble.
When it comes to app, companies will be ready to compromise to get as much data as possible (available).
1. This is massive with the tween/teen market. That is why not many people understand its popularity; you either need to know a tween, or have one as a kid.
2. Musical.ly became Vine after Vine shutdown. The content moved from lip-synced videos to more of a mixure of vine-like videos and lip sync.
3. They currently have 60M monthly users, and as of now Musical.ly is still #58 on the App Store (they have been in the top charts for the past 2 years at least). Its hard to say people aren't using it when its above some large companies on the charts (Linkedin, Shazam, Dropbox).
4. Their influencer network is huge as well. Nearly every popular musical.ly star has some sort of swag from the company. Think about that in the tween's mind: you're just a normal kid going to your normal middle school with your normal friends, then a national company wants YOU to be a spokesman for the company. That is quite literally getting famous for these kids. At popular industry conferences like Vidcon, they literally are celebrities.
So, so true. And as a result, some of these kids are not just "internet famous", but literally multi-millionaires.
Have you taken a look at it? Maybe I'm turning into an uptight old man, but it's not a good idea, knowing what I do about the internet.
At the end of the day, I can only coach her on how to conduct herself online, she's going to be the one out there.
Sheltering kids is bad, teaching them and finding a mutual understanding is the best way to handle them. There are predators out there and they need to be thinking about that whenever they make an interaction on the internet.
Good parenting!
Wikipedia writes: "Musical.ly's structure allows the viral dissemination of trends throughout the platform. The hashtags that are popular on this social network usually make reference to bits of pop culture and trends among the internet world. Because of its massive usage, a lot of events launched within the app can become viral global events, especially among teenagers"
Publishers have successfully been able to increase metrics like Spotify and YouTube plays with exposure via the app. Its one of the few examples in the creative/publishing industry thats great for both the artists and the publishers alike.