OwnStream
At OwnStream video is the product, not the viewers.
OwnStream is a video sharing platform. The goal of OwnStream is to provide creators and viewers with an ownership-first experience; no advertisers, no monthly subscription, and no selling of user data. Instead you pay a modest fee for the videos you watch, and the creators are entitled to the lion's share of the profits. Company bylaws restrict discretionary power, which protects creators from overreach.
The OwnStream Model
$3 per 10 hours, creators get the lion's share, and creators get multiple legal guarantees.
The base model of OwnStream is that viewers pay for watchtime, and then spend it however they want, whenever they want. You can think of it like utilities, or a prepaid mobile data plan.
Creators earn based on how much profit their videos generate. The platform cut increases in a manner similar to a progressive tax system. For details, please examine the 'Supplementary Information for Letter of Intent' document, available on the LOI page.
Additionally, OwnStream commits to legal protections for creators. This includes, but is not limited to, protection against demonetization. If it can be watched, then it can be monetized.
You can read more on the model page.
Addressing Enshittification
Incentives are everything.
If you have read this far, then you are likely familiar with enshittification.
Perverse incentives cause enshittification. For this reason equity investors are rejected wholesale. The plan is to get off the ground from bootstrapping and soft funding.
Eliminating the "line go up" incentive of speculative capital is the first line of defense, but it is not the only one. A pro-competitive business model. Creator and viewer rights. A no-sell clause to prevent founder exit. All of these pull in a different direction than the anti-competitive, exploitative, extractive direction that we have all come to know and hate.
OwnStream is not being built for a scale-and-exit money-making scheme. OwnStream is for the long haul. OwnStream is for lasting change. OwnStream is for the love of the internet.
How to Help
Spread the word!
If you want to help, then please share this page to everyone you can. The more reach OwnStream gets, the greater the chance that it becomes a success. Even more so when creators notice!
If you're a creator, then sign an LOI and send it in. The size of your channel doesn't matter - your support matters more than you think!
The LOI only permits sharing confidentially with relevant parties. This would make grant applications much more likely to succeed. You can revoke your support at any time.
If you want to cover OwnStream in your channel, then please reach out for any clarifications, materials, or anything else you want to incorporate. Interviewing the founder is also highly encouraged.
Thank you for your help in making OwnStream succeed.