Taye Diggs was one of the first traditional entertainment stars to enter the microdramas space. Now, he’s launching his own verticals venture.
His new platform Microhouse Films will launch this spring, the company announced Thursday. Diggs partnered to create the vertical storytelling app alongside Hallmark producer Autumn Federici, Emmy Award-winning producer Shelby Stone, former NFL player James Black and actor Troy Brookins.
The platform will be the first verticals hub to allow filmmakers to distribute their content directly. Microhouse will enables creators to produce, distribute and monetize their work within a single platform, more similar to platforms like YouTube than the vertical apps competitors like ReelShort and MyDrama.
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“When we thought about how to meaningfully impact the vertical space, we immediately focused on the creators and storytellers whose livelihoods depend on where this industry is headed,” Diggs said. “Microhouse Films is about creating a model that supports them in this next phase and allows them to keep telling stories that move us.”
Microhouse Films will have subscription fee required for creators or audiences. There will be no fee to upload or host content on the platform. Creators will have the choice of which episodes to offer for free and which they will put behind a token-based paywall, allowing creators to control pricing, release strategy and revenue.
The platform will use an in-app purchases similar to the monetization system of the other leading verticals apps.
“The industry is rapidly changing, and we have an opportunity to redefine who benefits in this new ecosystem that puts control directly in the hands of filmmakers,” Federici, Stone, Black and Brookins said in a joint statement. “We’re excited to introduce a model for vertical storytelling with Microhouse Films that places a premium on both the quality of the work and the storyteller behind the content.”
Diggs appeared in his first microdrama “Off Limits & All Mine” for CandyJar as both the star and executive producer earlier this year. He also developed a microdrama spinoff of his upcoming Lifetime network movie “Presents: Paradise With You.”
This partnership began after Diggs, Brookins, Stone and Federici’s collaboration on the microdrama spinoff titled “Tides of Temptation,” starring Swag Boy Q.
