Both money and talent are flowing into Santa Monica-based Invisible Narratives, a digital studio that takes internet sensations into mainstream franchises – one viral meme at a time.
Founded in 2018 by former Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Studios executive Adam Goodman, and advised by director Michael Bay, the self-professed “tradigital studio” in June landed $25 million in initial investment from New York-based Verance Capital and funds managed by affiliates of BC Partners Credit. The latter is further eyeing more than $300 million in future investment to the platform, and by extension, the creator economy.
The studio, which made a name for itself bringing the controversial YouTube series “Skibidi Toilet” across multiple platforms, including an upcoming TV series and a feature film, would invest the fund in more IP and formats with potential acquisitions down the line. While the initial investment is tied to the majority acquisition of “Skibidi Toilet,” the company shared that it is “actively evaluating” new opportunities to scale with “the proven franchise model, development discipline, and operational infrastructure associated with traditional Hollywood studios.”
With the money came new leadership.
The studio appointed Mark Shedletsky as president and further named three more senior executives – Patrick Reese, Greg Salter and Peter Kim – by the end of last month.
“Audiences have definitively migrated to platforms like YouTube, TikTok, Steam, and Roblox where visionary creatives are building the most valuable IP,” said Shedletsky in a statement. “Along with our capital partners Verance and BC Partners, Invisible Narratives is uniquely positioned to become the studio of the future.”
Creator-led IP
The economy of online hits is growing hard to ignore, or as Verance managing partner Lyle Ayes said in a statement: “It’s undeniable that these new mediums are where the next generation of IP is being developed.”
Originally becoming viral through an 11-second video that shows a human head in a toilet singing a song, Skibidi Toilet by Alexey Gerasimov now has 47.3 million subscribers on YouTube and 8.7 billion visits across Roblox. It is expanding into a science fiction universe featuring aliens and cyborgs, and its spinoff merchandise can be found in Target Corp. and Walmart Inc.
It is not the only multi-platform IP that traces its popularity back to a loyal user base in a corner of the internet. Gen Z direc- tor Kane Parsons’s sci-fi horror feature “Backrooms,” released in May, has grossed nearly $368 million worldwide. It too started small – as a blurry photo of a dingy empty room on 4chan.
