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Boiler Room unveils 4:3, a platform it's dubbed the Netflix of the underground

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By John McCarthy, Opinion Editor

May 24, 2018 | 3 min read

Global music streaming site Boiler Room has expanded beyond its roots to take a deep dive into other cultural movements with the launch of a new streaming service called 4:3 (pronounced 'for free').

Boiler Room

Boiler Room launches 4:3

The self-styled "Netflix of the underground" will look to champion underground art movements across music, art, fashion, film and culture by curating and commissioning relevant content that brands can integrate with.

On board for the launch (29 May) are guest curators Elijah Wood, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Peaches, and Jenn Nkiru whose content will feature alongside archive footage, festival shorts and music videos.

Boiler Room has said the content will platform agnostic, Stephen Mai, chief content and marketing officer of Boiler Room, said "4:3 can live anywhere, [which] means that our content exists where our audience does social, on our website, on TV or in real life."

He said this will help "give brands an unique opportunity to co-create and curate content that tells their stories in a authentic way to culturally connected audiences."

Boiler Room was founded in 2010 and this launch underlines a new, multibrand approach from the media company. With 4:3 it will be hoping to bridge the gap between brands and artists in its role as "editor". Mai said: "Through our compelling narrative driven film and content we also speak to broader youth audiences too."

With this mindset it will "curate authentic, narrative driven films and stories," that brands can get involved in.

Mai added: "For us 4:3 is the evolution of the media brand. Audiences are tired of white noise delivered by publishers who are trying to hack an algorithm through engagement bait content.

"From the surveillance machine to queers destroying frontiers, 4:3 tells untold stories with purpose and editorial insight, all the while expanding the ways we experience moving image and sound."

Going a step beyond the normal market offering 4:3 sells its content packages by the season. Mai said this will help "eliminate white noise and just focus on hero content - meaning that when we communicate with our audience they know that we have something important to say and share".

Brands coming aboard came pick themes that tie into their purpose and co-create content with 4:3 talent, picking curators and ambassadors - and on occasion, tying them into events. He concluded that the platform offers the visibility of more than 5m social media fans and a quoted reach of 157m monthly.

Amar Ediriwira, 4:3 creative director said the brand will "hold a mirror up to internet culture". In practice this means it could "omnivorously pull in anything from a feature film to a music video to found footage to a meme".

He claimed his job will be to challenge the notions of 'high' and 'low' art.

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