Means (company)

Means, LLC
Means TV Logo
Type of businessWorker cooperative
Type of site
OTT platform, Video game publishing
FoundedMarch 21, 2019; 5 years ago (2019-03-21)
HeadquartersPortland, Maine
Founder(s)Naomi Burton and Nick Hayes
Products
Services
URLmeans.tv
CommercialYes
RegistrationRequired
LaunchedFebruary 26, 2020; 4 years ago (2020-02-26)

Means, LLC (also known as The Means Cooperative) is an American mass media worker cooperative. Means was founded in 2019 by filmmakers Naomi Burton and Nick Hayes in Detroit[1] as an expansion of their video production company Means of Production.[2] Means currently has two arms, a subscription streaming service offering Means TV and a video game publishing arm via Means Interactive.

History

Before founding The Means Cooperative, Burton and Hayes both worked in commercial media production for automakers in Detroit and attended Democratic Socialists of America meetings. They began to find their work morally objectionable and left their jobs to found the video production company Means of Production.[3][4] Means of Production first came to prominence after producing a viral campaign ad[5] for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's 2018 election campaign.[6]

Branches

Means TV

Means TV is a subscription-based video on demand streaming service owned and managed by The Means Cooperative. The service features films, documentaries, television series, an original news program called Means Morning News, and independent creators from YouTube and Twitch.[7][8] The cooperative raised nearly $200,000[9] in its crowdfunding campaign.

The full streaming service launched February 26, 2020.

Hayes has cited the anarchist podcast Street Fight as an inspiration for his decision to create Means TV, having worked with Street Fight to record live performances in 2017 and 2019.[10]

On Saturday, August 8, 2020 Hayes and Burton's home and office was attacked in a drive-by shooting.[11] Nobody was hurt. According to Hayes, they are "not 100% sure it wasn't politically motivated."[11] No further information about the identity of the shooters has come out.

Means Interactive

Means Interactive is a video game publisher and subsidiary of The Means Cooperative.[12] The first game published by Means Interactive is Tonight We Riot, released in May 2020 and developed by Pixel Pushers Union 512, itself a worker-owned cooperative.[13]

References

  1. ^ Wilson, Christopher (17 May 2019). "The Couple Behind The Viral AOC Ad Plans A Streaming Channel For Socialists". HuffPost.
  2. ^ Caccavaro, Dan (6 March 2020). "The Founders of Means TV on Their Post-Capitalist Streaming Service". Hour Detroit Magazine.
  3. ^ Christian, Daniel (13 September 2018). "Means of Production". Filmmaker Magazine. Retrieved 2020-03-22.
  4. ^ Ikonomova, Violet. "Meet the Detroit filmmakers helping promote progressive candidates around the country". Detroit Metro Times. Archived from the original on 2020-03-22. Retrieved 2020-03-22.
  5. ^ Sherman, Erik (2018-06-29). "The DIY Viral Ad That Will Change Politics Forever". Inc.com. Retrieved 2022-01-27.
  6. ^ Beer, Jeff (26 February 2020). "The revolution will now be televised: How leftist streaming service Means TV timed its launch perfectly". Fast Company.
  7. ^ Keimig, Jasmyne (5 March 2020). "Means TV Is Netflix for the 99%". The Stranger.
  8. ^ DeVito, Lee (24 February 2020). "Billed as the first 'post-capitalist streaming service,' Means TV launches this week in Detroit". Detroit Metro Times.
  9. ^ Knibbs, Kate. "A 'Netflix for the 99 Percent' Enters the Streaming Wars". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2022-01-27.
  10. ^ Hayes, Nick (2019-04-30). "Nick Hayes on Street Fight". Street Fight Zine #23 - Street Fight: The True, Untold* Story. Columbus, Ohio: Street Fight Radio. pp. 40–42.
  11. ^ a b Lee DeVito (10 August 2020). "Socialist streaming service Means TV's Detroit home and office attacked in drive-by shooting". Metro Times. Archived from the original on 11 August 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  12. ^ Means, LLC (28 October 2020). "Means Interactive". means.tv. Means, LLC. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  13. ^ Walker, Ian (7 May 2020). "Tonight We Riot Devs Wanted To Make An 'Unapologetically Leftist' Game". Kotaku. G/O Media, Inc. Archived from the original on 3 February 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2021.