B-Side Entertainment
closedB-Side Entertainment operates as a distributor of independent films in the United States.
| Date | Investors | Amount | Round |
|---|---|---|---|
| investor investor investor | €0.0 | round | |
| investor | €0.0 | round | |
$4.3m | Series B | ||
| Total Funding | 000k | ||
B-Side Entertainment was an Austin-based technology and distribution company focused on the independent film market. It was founded in 2005 by Chris Hyams, who previously worked in the software industry as V.P. of Engineering at Trilogy. Drawing from his 15 years of experience building large-scale websites, Hyams aimed to apply information science to the film business, creating a platform to connect films directly with audiences in a transparent manner for filmmakers.
The company's business model had two main pillars: film distribution and technology services for film festivals. It distributed a dozen feature films and provided an online scheduling and social networking service called Festival Genius, which was used by over 600 film festivals, including prominent events like Sundance. This service allowed festival-goers to rate films and share schedules, generating data that B-Side used to identify and market films with audience appeal. For its distribution arm, B-Side would acquire films and work to secure financial success for them.
The company secured $7.43M in funding from investors including Floodgate, Silverton Partners, and Valhalla Partners. However, after losing its funding from Valhalla Partners in late 2009, B-Side Entertainment was unable to secure new investment and ceased operations in February 2010. Following the shutdown, the company's intellectual property, including its extensive database and the Festival Genius technology, was acquired by Slated. Founder Chris Hyams joined Slated for a brief period to oversee the transition before moving to Indeed in 2010, where he eventually became CEO.
Keywords: independent film distribution, film festival technology, Festival Genius, Chris Hyams, movie data analysis, audience engagement platform, film marketing, social networking for films, online festival guides, Slated acquisition, Valhalla Partners, Silverton Partners, Austin technology company, film distribution shutdown, entertainment technology, movie analytics, cinematic data, indie film market, filmmaker services, festival scheduling software