
Cameo's CEO on how he plans to disrupt Hollywood - ericzass
https://dot.la/cameo-ceo-on-his-move-to-l-a-and-his-companys-future-2646225672.html
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hckr_news
My friend’s brother-in-law used this service a couple months ago for his
engagement and wedding, and had a celebrity basically wish them
congratulations on the wedding and even mentioned the couple by name (I think
you just give them a script of what to say, and they’ll record themselves
doing it). The cool and maybe the natural part of it was that it didn’t look
scripted. The celeb record themself on their own phone I believe, and sent it
in the form of a video message. Something like Facebook live. When I saw the
video message, it seemed very natural. I suppose for your friends who don’t
know of this service, it’ll make it seem like you’re on personal terms with a
celeb and you received a video from your “celeb friend” saying congrats. I
definitely see a market for this service as it reaches the masses and grows.

Birthdays, weddings, anniversary milestones, bar mitvahs, high school
graduation. Imagine Lebron wishing your kid happy birthday. And all You had to
do was pay $5000 and send a script for a 15-second video.

~~~
pbhjpbhj
What's the root cause of this pathological behaviour.

Why is it impressive, to a large proportion of the population, rather than
just sad and wasteful (as it appears to me).

I mean I get that it's an [fake] indicator of social associations that could
have high value, it's more why is that impressive as opposed to people
actually acquiring value. Like a "demonstration of ability to pay" but with
social credit.

This seems like the social equivalent of when a brand becomes well known for
having high-quality goods -- they then put their logo on lots-and-lots of
super-low quality goods that people then buy to pretend they have high-quality
goods.

It all makes no sense to me.

Is it something about audio-visual media that we can't use it for
entertainment without our brains inadvertently treating characters as part of
our social circles; then we fail at recognising actors as not being their
characters; ...?

Is everyone insane or is there something I'm missing.

~~~
majormajor
Comments like this often appear to be the exact sort of status-seeking they
claim to hate. "I don't even own a TV," etc.

I really don't think the logical leap between "people like [person]" to
"people think it's cute to pay a couple hundred bucks to get a unique message
for someone from them."

And then if you want to get into "but some people spend thousands..." \- then
we're still just criticizing the extremes of the market, and not so much the
concept. Like making a show of freaking out about the fact that some people
pay $LOTS for a bottle of alcohol, vs the person who claims they can't
understand why others would enjoy alcohol in the first place.

~~~
themacguffinman
It's still quite the leap to me. I'd think most people who like another person
would want a genuine social connection with that person if they want anything
at all. I'd think that most people who observe a social connection lose
respect for it when it's revealed to be highly transactional.

I'm criticizing the very concept of paying something of material value for a
social connection, something that society looks down upon in general. When the
matter is important, we call it "corruption" and "bribery". When it's not, we
call it "sucking up", "selling out", "prostitution/escort-service", "fake".

The point is, paying for a social connection makes it fake. And no one likes a
faker.

~~~
darkerside
You probably don't like wrestling either? It's fake.

I used to dislike it (and again don't care for it today), but as a youngster,
when I expressed disinterest due to its phoniness, a friend pointed out
that... "so what?"

Yeah, it's fake. So are movies and TV shows. It's just for fun, and it's not a
big deal. People suspend disbelief all the time. When you choose not to, the
ones who do always look pretty silly.

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sharkweek
Cameo is one of THE WEIRDEST service I've ever seen, but it shouldn't surprise
me at all that it exists I guess.

Looking through the list and seeing that I can get the To Catch A Predator guy
to say almost whatever I want for $50, Diamond Dallas Page for $85, The Mooch
for $50... it's unbelievable.

The service practically markets itself too, as the more people that share the
videos they buy, the more it'll spread. No idea what the end game is here, but
it feels like something right out of a dystopian sci-fi novel.

~~~
haram_masala
Those rates seem really low, for some reason. Anthony Scaramucci, who was a
big-time trader at GS and then started his own fund, will record one of those
messages for fifty bucks? I don't get it. And just being on this platforms
seems to put a specific dollar figure on one's dignity.

~~~
ponker
For “The Mooch” it’s probably an addiction to attention that’s driving his
Cameo participation.

~~~
psds2
He could also just be getting paid $200 for his $50 cameo. Why would this be
any different than the other VC subsidized consumer focused services?

~~~
haram_masala
I hadn’t thought of that, you could be exactly right. In fact that should be
the default assumption.

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heyalexej
Interesting side note: Self proclaimed gurus and scammers of every possible
kind love cameo's services, too. Makes the programs so much more desirable if
your favorite celebrity endorses it, or gives shout outs to the gurus for
their "amazing work". Here's one quick example:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2BCT01STn8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2BCT01STn8)

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mc32
“Celebrities with over 20,000 Instagram followers – which occasionally
stretches the limits of what one might consider a "celebrity””

It certainly does.

I would not classify A-list actors and actresses as “gig economy workers” by
any stretch of current understanding of the meaning of that phrase.

Maybe “Talent” (タレント) in the Japanese meaning of the word, maybe.

~~~
ardy42
> Maybe “Talent” (タレント) in the Japanese meaning of the word, maybe.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarento](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarento)

> Tarento (タレント) are celebrities who regularly appear in mass media in Japan,
> especially television. The term is a gairaigo word – a foreign language
> loanword – derived from the English word talent (Japanese does not
> distinguish /l/ and /r/ sounds), and has a connotation of "famous for being
> famous".

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nytesky
Super weird, seeing some relatively famous people doing this. Sean Astin is on
a bunch of current Netflix shows fro example.

Now some do it for charity, which I think if they had started as a nonprofit
and took that angle it could end up huge. Think fo the kind of legacy it could
become, though I guess they wouldn't become millionaires going that route...

One shout out to a Silicon Valley alum, whose proceeds go to charity:
[https://www.cameo.com/suzannecryer](https://www.cameo.com/suzannecryer)

~~~
jedberg
Keep in mind that even famous middle-class actors with regular jobs aren't
working right now. Film production has only just restarted in the last week.

Actors are used to taking whatever gig they can. I suspect as film production
picks up you'll see fewer of those really well known celebrities on there.

On the other hand, it takes all of a minute to record one of these. You could
literally do it in your trailer on set while you wait for them to set up
cameras.

~~~
BurningFrog
I'd expect them to do a few takes and "find their motivation" etc.

Many hours go into acting for each minute that end up on screen.

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hn_throwaway_99
I've got to imagine this is a _huge_ moneymaker for any celebs that have
"event appropriate" fame. For example, I saw a friend get a personalized
graduation message from Natasha Bedingfield (singer of that ubiquitous
graduation song "Unwritten"). I thought it was really cool, and at a couple
hundred bucks a pop I can imagine that Ms. Bedingfield can make more in a
month's worth of graduation messages than the average person could in years.

~~~
tootie
Appearance fees for celebs are nothing new. It just used to require talking to
their agency. Top celebs probably will still require it. This is creating a
market place for mid and bottom tier notables to tap into that.

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michaelbuckbee
I heard an anecdote on a podcast about Donald Sutherland [1] who has done both
high profile and really steady acting work for going on 50 years got done with
his last scene and then said: "Well, that may be my last job. I might never
work again."

Even established actors are in a fairly fragile position with delays, weird
hollywood accounting, and the inherent "gig" nature of their work playing
havoc with their salaries.

I can imagine Cameo seems like incredibly easy and steady money (even pre
Covid) comparatively.

1 -
[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000661/](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000661/)

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chrisaycock
_The New Yorker_ also wrote about Cameo today. The _dot.LA_ article mentions
celebrities in general, but this article specifically covers people with
political connections:

[https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/06/29/from-the-
trump...](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/06/29/from-the-trump-white-
house-to-fox-news-to-the-cameo-app)

Rod Blagojevich (former governor of Illinois) says that Cameo is his main
source of income now.

~~~
BurningFrog
You shouldn't always trust everything Rod Blagojevich says :)

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ineedasername
The venn diagram of contract workers is not a perfect overlap with "gig" work.
Just because you're self-employed, selling your services to others on a
contract basis, doesn't make that gig work.

~~~
notatoad
>Just because you're self-employed, selling your services to others on a
contract basis, doesn't make that gig work.

doesn't it? as far as i can tell, the only distinction between "gig economy"
and contract workers is that contract workers actually get paid at rates that
make it sustainable and that being between contracts isn't a catastrophe,
whereas jobs classed as "gig economy" pay low enough to keep the workers
desperate for the next gig.

~~~
eswat
Most gig work is done through middlemen/platforms where only some contract
work like that exists and typically for longer engagements (ie: through
agencies and temp staffing).

Contractors also have more flexibility to develop a relationship with the
“client” for better opportunties down the road without the middleman/platform
interfering.

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daenz
In my mind, the prices that celebrities can be bought and paid to say anything
really casts doubt on whatever other social causes they claim to have.

~~~
Jarwain
I'd think that they'd be able to reject a request that they aren't interested
in or would have them go against their values.

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Traster
Cameo seems to fit in the proud tradition of companies that have a niche, but
are never going to be FANG. I'd put them in a bucket with Medium, Kickstarter,
and Patreon. They provide a relatively simple service, they take a reasonable
cut, and it has it's place. The problem with them is the Medium problem - when
you've valued your company far beyond its role you essential destroy the
business in an attempt to get it profitable to justify the valuation that
you've already given it through your series A/B/C.

Whether it's throwing huge cash at A list celebrities, or jacking up the rake
on their existing celebrities, or deciding they're a "platform" it's going to
be _very_ difficult for their management not to explode their own company
through greed.

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hckr_news
> Whatever the number, Cameo keeps 25% of the transaction and the talent does
> what it wishes with the remainder.

That’s...a lot. The App Store strategy I guess.

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callmeed
I've used Cameo twice, both times for my wife. Both times were a big hit.

I suspect this is one of those startups/services that the HN crowd just
doesn't get–but the average person probably thinks its pretty cool.

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rogerdickey
Prediction: repeat business will be low and service will have a reverse viral
effect where the more people have used it, the less special it will seem. Fad
will die out in a year.

~~~
whoisjuan
Cameo long term business is not that. They want to be the an agent/operator
layer to monetize the fame of those “celebrities”.

Celebrities bring their distribution (followers) and Cameo gives them the
toolS to monetize. They have teased upcoming features like merchandise which
is not a surprise since many artists make a lot of money from merch nowadays.

If you think about it, it makes perfect sense. A random Instagram celebrity is
probably not great at finding branded deals or creating a e-commerce to sell
merchandise. They probably don’t have the skill time and/or talent.

Cameo is also likely a challenger to something like Patreon since they have
created a transactional 1-1 model that can be easily converted or repurposed
into a Patreon type of model.

Last but not least, Cameo is getting a massive influx of data about the value
of influencers. They have the opportunity to help people monetize what
Instagram or YouTube can’t currently monetize which are mentions or sponsored
content.

This also makes them an interesting acquisition target just on the merits of
the relationship that they are trying to build with those influencers.

------
josefresco
Random Trivia: High Pitch Eric, a guest on the Howard Stern show is making
significant money on Cameo. They (the Howard Stern Show) have speculated that
he's one of the top earners on the platform. I believe he's on pace to make
over $100,000 this year.

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lovemenot
Who owns the IP of these Cameos? If the client, I predict it'll be only a
short-lived bubble.

Soon a client would use a Cameo to humiliate and destroy the credibility of
the performer. Word will get around the celebs and it'll be seen as a trash
market.

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jaifraic
How long till deepfakes make this obsolete?

~~~
charliemil4
Exactly.

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jerkstate
I think this service is incredibly cool. celebrities have been making paid
appearances at parties and events forever, this is just the social media
version of that, a much cheaper way to get a celebrity on your social media
feed. I bought one for my wife for mothers day last year, I was a little
worried about how it would go over, but she absolutely loved it. Yes, it's a
little silly, and no, it doesn't solve any glaring social problems, but it's
more memorable and personal than flowers and chocolates.

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TheUndead96
I think Cameo comes at a weird time in human history, where media is so widely
distributed/consumed that the number of somewhat-famous people is enough that
it has driven down the cost of getting a "celebrity" to do something
specifically for you, but is before the adoption of deepfakes that could
produce this type of content at almost zero cost (with celebrities that may no
longer be alive).

~~~
lou1306
Deepfakes of dead celebrities at almost zero cost? Surely the estates of said
celebrities have (or will lobby to obtain) the rights to their likenesses?

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bcrosby95
I'm just your average web dev, but the Cameo site seems to send a lot of
unnecessary information on pages. E.g. the request that fetches recent public
videos made by someone seems to include the price paid... because, why?
Reviews include the original order id... because, why? This just seems to be
asking for trouble. Is this how most AJAX-heavy sites work?

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und3rth3iP
Cameo is a fascinating company. Chicago mag also published a longread on the
company earlier this year if anyone is going down a rabbit hole:
[http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-
Magazine/January-2020/Came...](http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-
Magazine/January-2020/Cameo-Steven-Galanis/)

~~~
mattm
Haha, the headline made me chuckle.

------
apahwa
/r/wallstreetbets loves Cameo

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yalogin
Is that all it is? Pay a celebrity to say something? Its a gimmick and the
novelty will quickly wear off. It will be one of those fads that have a small
shelf life because you know the celebrity will say stuff if they are paid so
its not a big deal anymore.

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m3kw9
Hey I still want to exciting watch movies with story lines, no matter what
Cameo does.

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choffman
Word up.

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reedwolf
I don't get what the "clients" get out of this.

Is some down-on-their-luck celebrity wishing you Happy Birthday in order to
keep the debtors at bay really that special?

~~~
bdcravens
Not all of the celebrities are necessary down on their luck - many are current
actors or hosts or athletes making millions a year. That begs the question why
they'd both with a short video for a couple hundreds of dollars - perhaps they
actually enjoy it, who knows.

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Avicebron
This very much cheapens the struggle of those driving for Uber etc, we can't
conflate an A-list actor with someone scraping by as a real gig economy worker

