The Netflix of Culture: Mistakes and Business
Everyone's been talking about "the Netflix of Culture" for a while now.
Unlike many self-styled experts, I don't want to get into the merits of the idea, or the political entanglements of the "platform to promote Italian cultural offerings around the world, in particular live performances."
Already during the Italian Museum Summit, with Giuseppe Cosenza, we had started to hypothesize the possible developments of the brainchild of Dario Franceschini, within a completely renewed model of museum business.
And that's exactly why I wanted to continue the analysis with him.
The name can make the difference
Sometimes the fortune of people, products and artists lies in the name they carry.
If Farrokh Bulsara hadn't been called Freddie Mercury, would he have had the same success?
And if Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone hadn't changed her name to Madonna, would she have had the same following?
Doesn't the title Gulliver's Travels work better than Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World, in Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships?
The problem with the online cultural content platform promoted by MiBACT is that it was "sold," preemptively, as the Netflix of Culture.
A name that created misunderstandings and divisions between the factions of those against it on principle, the hyper-innovators, and the doubters positioned somewhere in between.
A mistake, that of giving the platform a name before first defining:
- vision;
- mission;
- business model;
- products and services;
- payment model;
- partnerships.
As if the writer thought first of the book's title and only then of its content, the director of the film's title and only then of the screenplay, the entrepreneur first of the name to give his company and only then of what business to actually run.
Content or container
A few months ago I ran a small survey on LinkedIn, to understand what content the paid online cultural platform should offer.
The results are surprising and have nothing to do with Netflix or other similar platforms.
Users would like to find virtual visits to the museum and its storage rooms, virtual exhibitions, high-resolution artworks, in-depth content on specific themes and museum activities, films, fiction series, documentaries and docufilms inspired by the museum, theater, music, dance, literature about the museum, e-books, videogames and podcasts.
They would also welcome a cultural newsletter, in-depth coverage of the art market and the main Italian trade fairs, a space dedicated to Italian and European galleries.
A lot of things, perhaps too many and impossible to have all together.
Nevertheless, the survey highlights a latent demand (to be verified) for special, exclusive content that is different from the better-known platforms.
The MiBACT platform will need its own identity, differentiating itself from content already on the market and offering exclusive material.
For an entrepreneurial and transmedia Culture
MiBACT, with the project for a paid online content platform, becomes an entrepreneur.
So the evaluation criteria for the idea are mainly economic, since what matters is whether, faced with quality, unique and appealing content, there is demand ready to pay a price for that content.
The total revenue generated must cover fixed and variable costs, and reach the break-even point within at least three to five years.
For this to happen, it will be necessary to
design a unique content offering and protect it, so as to have a competitive advantage over the competition.
The online platform will need to find the right balance between quality of offering and revenue, enough to be sustainable and not need public funding to cover losses, as happens with public television.
Not least is the efficiency of the IT infrastructure.
Simple and functional, without the slowness or inefficiency of RaiPlay.
I agree with those who wrote that the recommendation system will need to be democratic and must not lock the customer into a bubble, limiting their choice to just a few pieces of content.
A system designed to foster interaction among users and encourage in my view physical visits to the museum, attending a concert in person, or a theatrical performance.
The platform could integrate with the National Museum System, promoting ticket sales and perhaps creating a circuit between Museums, Theaters and Concert Halls.
Without going into the specifics of the financial investment, what do you think the future of this platform will be?
If you'd like to share your opinion or find out more, we're discussing it here:
