Stacy Spikes is an American entrepreneur and inventor. He holds several business and technical patents. He is the co-founder of the subscription service MoviePass and founder of Urbanworld, an international festival dedicated to nurturing women and BIPOC storytellers and creators. A former film marketing executive and producer, Spikes has had senior executive roles at Motown Records, Sony Music Entertainment, Miramax Films, and October Films.[1]
Life and career
Spikes is from Houston.[2] His father was a school principal, and his mother hosted a public-access TV show.[3]
After high school, he relocated to Los Angeles, where he lived with an uncle and worked in a blue-collar job before getting his first job in the entertainment industry at Motown Records.[3] By 1995, Spikes was working at Miramax Films and had been promoted a number of times, becoming the vice president of marketing.[3] By 1996–97, Spikes was senior vice president of marketing at October Films.[4]
Urbanworld Film Festival
Spikes founded Urbanworld Film Festival in 1997.[5] The festival celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2021;[6] it is held annually in New York City.[7]
MoviePass, Co-Founder
In February 2011 Spikes launched MoviePass along with co-founder Hamet Watt. In October 2012, the company introduced a new business model which used proprietary location-based payment technology.[8]Robert De Niro was an early supporter of MoviePass.[9] After it was acquired by Helios and Matheson Analytics, Spikes was fired from the company in January 2018.[10] MoviePass filed for bankruptcy in 2020.[11]
MoviePass, Relaunch
In 2021, Spikes bought the company out of bankruptcy and relaunched it in the fall of 2022. Approximately 30,000 people registered on the pre-launch waitlist within five minutes of the announcement, causing the MoviePass website to crash.[12] The new iteration of MoviePass has three subscriber tiers: basic, standard, or premium.[13] The Financial Times commented:
"In the roll call of terrible business ideas, MoviePass ranks alongside the Sinclair C5, Juicero, and The Soup Tube."[14]
Book
Stacy Spikes's memoir Black Founder, The Hidden Power of Being an Outsider was published in February 2023; it chronicles his career.[15][16]
Filmography
Spikes was the executive producer for Punks,[17]The Visit, King of the Jungle,[18]Higher Ed (2001), For da Love of Money (2002), and the TV movie Urbanworld Film Festival Special (2004).[19]
Awards & Honors
He received a “Made in NY Award” from Michael Bloomberg, the mayor of New York City, in 2011 for his work with the Urbanworld Film Festival.[20]
