Google’s FameBit Acquisition To Benefit Creators

Google has acquired FameBit, according to TechCrunch. FameBit is a marketplace where video creators can find marketers to sponsor their content and is likened to Google’s YouTube, which has been looking for ways to monetize its offerings and those of individual creators who post on the platform.

YouTube’s partner program has been attempting to find ways to make the platform more lucrative, but there also has been growth in other multichannel networks that attract video creators for ad sales and resources. Ariel Bardin of YouTube denies that the acquisition of FameBit is a bid to compete with multichannel networks. According to Bardin:

“Creators will always have the choice in how they work with brands, and there are many great companies who provide this service today. This acquisition doesn’t change that. Our hope is that FameBit’s democratized marketplace will allow creators of all sizes to directly connect with brands, as well as provide a great technology solution for companies like MCNs and agencies to find matches for their creators and brand partners.”

FameBit CEO David Kierzkowski said last year that the marketplace was focused on “long- and mid-tail creators,” not just big YouTube stars.

Kierzkowski and Agnes Kozera, cofounder of FameBit, said that 250,000 branded videos had appeared on the platform. They also said that FameBit would be a standalone operation for the immediate future, and terms of the deal were not provided.

The announcement stated: “FameBit will continue to work just like it has and will remain a standalone operation for now. We’re excited to continue helping brands and creators succeed in an even bigger way. With Google’s relationship with brands large and small and YouTube’s partnership with creators around the globe, we hope to connect even more brands to creators, engage more audiences and make brand marketing more creative and authentic than ever.”