Watch-and-Earn Platform Myco Reveals Community Film Funding Program

Filmmakers who are looking for funding to bring their projects to life can now apply to Mycolab, a community funding program from Myco, the token-driven watch-and-earn platform.

Launched today, Mycolab is a program that lets creators submit project proposals to join a long list of 30 projects that will ultimately be chosen and vetted by a group of industry judges. Of those, just ten will be picked and presented to the public as part of the funding drive.

If one of the final projects can raise 35% of its target budget through crowdfunding and via its own networks, then Myco will provide the remaining 65% of the funds. Completed projects will eventually premiere via the Myco platform, which pays out MContent crypto tokens to both viewers and creators alike.

Proposals will be accepted through November 5.

“A big part of being a filmmaker and a creator is being able to hustle for money and be entrepreneurial and build that network,” Myco co-founder Phil McKenzie told Decrypt. “We hope that they will bring some of that community and audience of fans to us, but we also have a community within Myco with nearly 3 million users that we can tap into as well.”

Beyond the initial premiere window, which McKenzie said would last an estimated two to four weeks, Myco will look to bring the content to other platforms to benefit the creators, generate further revenue, and help spread the Myco brand. Myco also plans to support getting films into festivals and in front of tastemakers.

“We want these filmmakers and projects to go as far and as wide as possible,” said McKenzie.

Users can contribute either cryptocurrency or fiat currency during the funding process. People who participate in funding may gain access to special perks tied to each respective project, such as early access to the film or exclusive merchandise.

McKenzie said that short films will probably be the ideal type of content for this program initially, given what he sees as an expected budget range of $5,000 to $20,000 apiece. However, he sees potential for larger-scale projects to be funded in future cycles. This initial cycle’s panel of industry judges will be revealed in the coming weeks.

Myco offers more than 1,000 hours worth of “premium” content, McKenzie said, along with over 300,000 user-created videos and podcasts, live sports, and other material. Mycolab is an expanded version of an earlier Myco program called MSeeds, which funded five projects.

Mycolab is part of the broader “Film3” movement—an industry of creators using decentralized technologies, including crypto tokens and NFTs, to help fund film projects and give users a say in what (and how) projects are ultimately made. The launch comes as Hollywood writers and actors are striking against the studios and streaming giants over various issues.

“Something’s broken here. There’s gotta be a better way of doing this,” said McKenzie, summing up the sentiment he sees brewing against centralized film gatekeepers.

Disclosure: Myco has a business relationship with Decrypt Studios, the sister division to an editorially independent Decrypt.