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In my experience as a Cameo customer, the videos are received very well as a gag gift. "OMG, I can't believe you got them to make me a video!"

To me, the open question is if the novelty factor will wear off. I don't think I would ever get the same person a second Cameo. I'm not even sure if I would keep buying Cameos if the service was well-known. A big part of the gag is "How did you pull that off?!" Maybe there are enough birthdays that it just doesn't matter.

Also wondering if deepfake could eventually disrupt them

Without an explicit license from the celebrity that likely would infringe on image or likeness of the celebrity and not be protected by fair use.

Which will matter to absolutely no one, just as music is remixed and memes made with no recourse.

For individuals doing it on their own, sure, but if it’s a service (like this but with “deepfake”) it wouldn’t last long before the lawsuits come in.

The component that generates would be distinct from the model used. You make the model freely available, but charge to generate. Highly unlikely we’re going to outlaw math distributed online.

Given enough time, assume you’ll be able to run this on a phone eventually.

No chance in hell this isn't nuked into oblivion by the most amateur lawyer. Money is changing hands, legal figleafs won't cut it.

Surely no one actually cares all that much about the video itself? The novelty is the fact the actual celebrity took some time to do something involving you or someone you know.

You can already happily Photoshop a hugely convincing signed celebrity photo, I don't see people who want such things affected by this or feeling the real thing is worth any less. Giving someone a deep fake as a gift or novelty would feel somewhat strange/hollow.

The more disconcerting problem is, even if it's a trend and not a fad ... there are still valuation problems with this.

Based on what? Celebs & pop stars are already getting paid millions per year to speak/play at private events. Commoditizing that market and making it accessible on a variety of platforms at a variety of pricing tiers is going to bring in a ton of money.

How much is a 'ton'? 5 Million? 10 million? 100 million?

How big really is the market for a celeb sending a custom 10 second video talking about something, and can this entity really control that market? How do they maintain their margins.

Take Social Media for example, it'd seem there doesn't seem to be a massive player that controls how the sponsorship money flows into influencers, and not for a lack of trying.

I think Cameo a really cool business idea.For me it would mostly be a gag gift, but I definitely think it's sustainable. It gets creators in front of their fans, and lets their fans send money directly to them. I see comparisons between Cameo, YouTube, Patreon, and Twitch.

You frame this as sensible business advice that would move Cameo from where they are now to being a business that could capture your money, but really what you're saying is that you aren't Cameo's target market. There's no reason for Cameo to change if they're doing well. They don't need to pivot simply because they don't appeal to you or me.

==But now that it's getting more popular, it seems to me the value of it being unique would get washed out fast.==

Or, the prices will rise and Cameo revenue will increase. Each celeb has only so many hours in a day, so there is an upper-bound on the number of Cameo's they can realistically record.

From Crain's Chicago [1]: "On average, customers are paying $62 per video, nearly triple the amount just 12 months ago. Cameo keeps 25 percent."

==Like being able to invite them to parties, or events, and pay them for an actual true "cameo." It would obviously come with a price, but to me, that would be much more innovative.==

Isn't this idea basically the Fyre app? It seems like Cameo took a solid route, it will be interesting to see where this round takes them.

[1] https://www.chicagobusiness.com/john-pletz-technology/cameo-...

> Like being able to invite them to parties, or events, and pay them for an actual true "cameo." It would obviously come with a price, but to me, that would be much more innovative.

This so much. I would never pay for a VIP session with a guitarist I like, but I would pay quite a bit for a couple of actual guitar lessons.