Drew Baldwin and Josh Cohen didn't start out as friends, they were rivals and fierce competitors on opposite coasts in the same online video space. But Cohen (NYC), who was fed up with traditional Hollywood snobbery and endless production bureaucracy, had a vision and wanted to do more for online content creators.
Baldwin (L.A.), who comes from a family with deep roots in Hollywood award shows, soon reached a conclusion similar to Cohen's on his own.
Alas, the greater opportunity for both entrepreneurs was to join forces and work together to form what today is their company Tubefilter.com.
Tubefilter is to the online video community what The Hollywood Reporter or Variety is to the traditional entertainment biz. Cohen and Baldwin's company is the premier curator of online video and they do that in a number of ways. From industry news, to web series reviews, to related events and an awards show, the Streamys. Over the past couple of years the Streamys have gained significant street cred inside and outside of Hollywood.
In past years the awards show has been hosted by the likes of Neil Patrick Harris and Felicia Day. The 2013 Streamy Awards will be hosted on February 17 by online video pioneer Chris Hardwick.
In this episode of Behind the Brand, host Bryan Elliott talks Tubefilter co-founders about how online video is reinventing the future of broadcast, MCNs (multi-channel networks), supertubers and what's next in this fast-moving space.