Disney Buying Storytelling Social Net FanLib; DigiSynd in Process
Disney (NYSE: DIS), which has a specific mandate of making some smaller acquisitions in the online space, has been looking at everything these days, and is in the process of buying at least two companies that we know of. The first one is Fanlib, a community site dedicated to showcasing fan fiction. The Los Angeles-based site launched about a year ago, and had raised about $3 million from H.I.G. Ventures in 2006. Fan fiction is “a broadly-defined term for fiction about characters or settings written by fans of the original work, rather than by the original creators. Fan fiction usually describes works which are [generally] uncommissioned by the owner of the work, and usually (but not always) works which are not professionally published.” An example: the Harry Potter series has spawned a lively fan fiction genre, in which the characters make choices and enjoy an afterlife that Rowling herself did not create, as Wikipedia describes it.
It has been controversial over the years because of copyright issues, as it is a derivative work, and therefore, a gray area with copyright violation. Fanfiction.net is the largest site in market, though more user-gen than a business…Fanlib is an effort at commercializing and developing organized communities around fans, with the primary focus being TV shows, in addition to books. It has deals with HarperCollins, Penguin Books, Showtime Networks, Simon & Schuster, and Starz Entertainment….it has done promos for Showtime’s The L Word and Dexter.
It will be an interesting exercise from Disney’s perspective, in working with various other media companies in developing the site and its services. It could be that Disney focuses on it internally, working on various Disney shows and properties across the company. Disney and Fanlib did not reply to request for comment.
Meanwhile, a smaller acquisition that is still in the works, and not yet completed, is DigiSynd, an as-yet-stealth online video startup founded by Revver co-founder Oliver Luckett. Techcrunch reported on it first. We do understand the deal is still in lawyering stages, and has not been finalized. Not much is known about the company’s product, but it is apparently a service for professional content creators to distribute and monetize their content. Big disclaimer: Greycroft Partner, who is our investor, is also a seed investor in DigiSynd, and refused any comment on the deal.
Related StoriesPosted In: Money, M&A & Venture Capital, Mergers & Acquisitions, Social Media, digisynd, fanlib
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Comments (11)
Jun 4, 2008 10:30 AM
What?! Has FanLib agreed to doing this?! I hope not. I’m a member of FanLib and I sure hope they don’t. This could mean all non-Disney fandoms being deleted. Don’t agree to it FanLib, don’t! :( >(
Jun 26, 2008 12:58 PM
hi anna-wa! i am also against Disney buying Fanlib! i was thinking the same thing about all non-Disney fandoms being deleted and if that was to happen, i would most likely leave fanlib
Jul 24, 2008 6:18 PM
I am also against it! I loved that site and now this. i am a member and I also agree with the other two. >( :( :’(
Jul 24, 2008 6:21 PM
THEY DID!!!!!!
ITS HORRIBLE!
disney i hope you know what you are doing because you just mad A WHOLE FREAKING LOT OF ANIME AND OTHER FANS ANGRY!
and you dont want that to happen, believe me when i say that we are a scary group of people
***this is in no way a threat***
Jul 24, 2008 8:45 PM
ok, now this is just annoying. Disney has made some BAD choices this year. if any of you knew of VMK they closed that down. I sincerly hope disney makes a good choice with this, or they will be hearing from ME!!!!
and yes inusora3 we are kinda scary ^-^ they better know what they’re doing. cuz now im mad MAD MAD MAD!!!! grrrrrs
Jul 25, 2008 4:11 PM
i am sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo mad!!!!
Jul 31, 2008 8:55 AM
Fanlib why would you do something stupid like that this isn’t cool i am a member and everyone on your site writes good stories so why would you do that if my stories get deleted i’m leaving and never come back i don’t even like Disney so let me tell you this fanlib you made a big mistake selling out like that >_< the word MAD!!!! IS MY BEST FRIEND RIGHT NOW!!!!!!
Aug 4, 2008 11:10 AM
this is not fair to the members of fanlib!!!! why fanlib is deciding to hand over the site to disney??? what disney really want from this site??? selling out the site,not even reconsidering tthe people who made it grow over those days and everything and don’t realize how much the damage that the wrong hands would do.
Nov 23, 2008 12:28 AM
Wah!!! It’s been awhile, but I still can’t get over them taking it down!!!
Is Disney just going to work on it and put it back up?
Jan 17, 2009 11:49 AM
I can’t believe they took fanlib down and sold it when there were so many loyal membera! I for one, got to the top 30 members in rank by my fith month being there! And I had over 51 submissions! I adored the site and it’s lay outs, and haven’t ever found a site equaling that ever since! I mean, if fanlib were still going the way it was, then there would be a lot of new members who would be a whole lot better at writing than before hand. When I started out, I was terrible at writing! With the help of other members though, I was able to improve so much! Fanlib was also a site where the members were friendlier than most sites. On fanfiction.net, not so much for the many members…
The layouts on fanlib were also superb compaired to other site templates, most likely because it was a whole company doing this stuff. This site was up for less than two years before they abandoned the project, ruining hundreds of people’s favorite past time activity including mine.
What was even worse about all this, was that I was only able to save 2 out of 51 submissions before they closed down! I lost months worth of work, and I’m sure others did to. They could have atleast waited till after summer vacation time where most members were away from their computers. For me, I was on the other side of the country! There was no way I could bring the downloadable file back with me.
I really think it’s a big loose that fanlib left buisness… Or if Disney puts it back up and changes a lot of rules and ways. (Which if they do put it back up, THEY WILL. That’s a guarantee!)
Jan 27, 2009 1:29 PM
Well isnt this interesting? I wonder what will Disney do with this opportunity