We all know that Simon Cowell isn't easily impressed, and that should tell you exactly what you need to know about Lounges.tv, a brand new streaming platform with a difference that Mr Mean himself is a shareholder of.
With a creators-first mentality, Lounges.tv is aiming to change the way that content creators are rewarded for their inventiveness, no one likes to be paid in exposure. Unlike other popular platforms, Lounges.tv gives a large portion of the streaming pie (80%) to content creators and pays within 24 hours, to help reward them as soon as possible.
Offering tip-driven streams but also pay-per-view streaming experiences or "Lounges", this is a very different experience to something like Twitch. While Amazon's platform very much puts gaming front and centre, Lounges.tv has a main focus on live music as well as comedy and fitness demonstrations (gaming is also present but less prominently). The company even offers creators free use of its own North London streaming space with a professional set-up and sound engineers on hand.
For creators that sounds fantastic, and everyone loves to support their favourite independent artists, but it could be a tricky sell to viewers. The biggest selling point of something like Twitch and YouTube are the stars that have built massive following on such platforms, and they're completely free to watch (admittedly with ads).
Currently, the biggest name on the Lounges platform is former X Factor winner Louisa Johnson, but the rest of the creators are relative unknowns (not through a lack of talent). Hopefully, in time, the audience will grow and creators will become as big as Youtubers or Twitch streamers, but there's a long way to go until then. With the creator-first mindset, at least they won't need such large audiences to sustain themselves.
Personally, it reminds me a bit of the best parts of MySpace, where singers such as Lily Allen and Kate Nash managed to use the site to launch accomplished musical careers.
