A Conversation with Kerry Washington, Pilar Savone, & Sherrese Soares | Global Conference 2024

Industry Context & Recent Disruptions

• The entertainment sector is undergoing "massive disruption," described by participants as a "Wild West" era similar to the industry's Napster-era transformation.
• Recent consolidation of major players (Paramount, Warner Bros. Discovery, Universal) has created a "Napster moment" where legacy infrastructure struggles against new consumption models.
• Post-strike market dynamics have led to reduced content slots, with buyers exhibiting heightened risk aversion and a preference for broader, less niche narratives over social impact-driven stories.
• Participant Media recently closed, signaling a shift in the landscape for social impact media companies.

Strategic Shifts in Content Creation

• Simpson Street Media asserts that centering marginalized communities is "smart business" rather than a political statement, as diverse storytelling drives sales and resonance.
• There is a identified gap where buyers wait for proven success before greenlighting similar stories, whereas true "smart business" requires bold, disruptive innovation rather than derivatives.
• Successful examples of current risk-taking include Baby Reindeer, which proved bold, specific storytelling can achieve mass success.
• Kerry Washington signed a public letter supporting values-based storytelling primarily due to a direct request from activist Ai-jen Poo, rather than peer pressure from industry titans.

Investment Philosophy & Financial Targets

• Harborview Equity Partners targets "targeted returns in the high teens or low 20s" to serve mission-driven investors, including foundations, endowments, and the City of Los Angeles.
• Investment criteria prioritize cost efficiency (dollar-per-hour) and deep audience targeting ("mile deep, inch wide") over broad, derivative mass-market approaches.
• Charisse Clark-Sorres views cultural diversity as a financial necessity, noting that homogenous storytelling leaves significant value "on the table."
• The firm focuses on building portfolios that reflect global audience heterogeneity, including specific investments in Heavy Metal, Hip-Hop, R&B, and regional genres like Afrobeats and Regional Mexican music.
• Recent portfolio additions include investments in Macromedia (led by Charles King) and Mucho Mas (focused on Latinx audiences).

Operational Models & Partnerships

• The industry is moving away from traditional "script reader" models where business executives dictate creative notes; instead, investors aim to partner with creators on core competencies while avoiding creative interference.
• Simpson Street has adapted to the "Wild West" by forging unconventional partnerships, such as integrating music components via Interscope and hosting content on non-traditional platforms like YouTube.
• The "duplication of effort" within large conglomerates is being rationalized to reduce costs, favoring external production partnerships over internal redundant infrastructure.
• There is a strategic shift toward multi-modal distribution, acknowledging that stories may not fit a single home and requiring flexible strategies to find appropriate platforms (e.g., Hulu's Onyx Collective, Netflix).

Long-Term Value & Creator Empowerment

• The primary value driver for legacy conglomerates is shifting from networks (under pressure from cord-cutting) to their content libraries.
• Creators are advised to prioritize ownership of intellectual property (IP) and library rights to ensure long-term value retention in a fragmented market.
• The democratization of media allows audiences to dictate trends rapidly, rendering the old "must-see TV" scheduling model obsolete.
• Specific niche stories (e.g., The Parenting Project regarding the criminal justice system) can achieve universal resonance when told with authentic, specific humanity, challenging the notion that specific stories cannot be broadly appealing.

Specific Content Examples

• Onyx Collective on Hulu is cited as a platform actively supporting creators of color and specific narratives that might otherwise be rejected by mainstream standards.
• The documentary Daughters (Sundance winner) was unable to secure a home at its initial target but found a successful fit on Netflix through flexible partnership strategies.
• Kerry Washington highlights Scandal and The Sound of Music as examples of content that stands the test of time, reinforcing the enduring value of high-quality storytelling.