The Writers' Strike brought to mind a great conversation I had with Gene Gabbard over lunch at the end of summer. We talked about how the world had changed since we became friends 10+ years ago and in particular the refreshingly varied faces of entrepreneurship. Between "googlization" and globalization, the variety of viable business plans seemed infinite and it was clear to us that it was never going to be predictable again. Web 2.0 has amplified the internet's capacity to create business and sell products with the surprise twist of collaboration.
Although the media has trivialized the writers' strike of late by focusing on how lame late night entertainment will be, let us not forget that the Writers Guild is fighting the major studios over how much writers should be paid when their work is distributed online.
According to the LA Times �dozens of striking writers are negotiating with venture capitalists to set up new companies that would bypass the Hollywood studio system and reach consumers directly with video entertainment on the Web. At least seven groups of writers, all members of the striking Writers Guild of America, are planning to form Internet-based businesses that, if successful, could create an alternative economic model to the one at the heart of the Hollywood walkout."
Some will follow the path of United Artists, the production company set up 80 years ago by Charlie Chaplin and other top stars who wanted to break free from the studios. These will be collaborative ventures that will give the writers more control over their own creative products.
And, the VC industry that has historically eschewed entertainment investing is listening, possibly seeing a more promising return from these new business models that will more equitably reward the talent that creates the entertainment content. In a weird way it all makes sense.