Blacktag Streaming Service for Black Creators Raises $3.75 Million | Urban Tech Connect
Summary
Entrepreneurs Akin Adebowale and Ousman Sahko raised a $3.75 million seed round led by Connect Ventures for Blacktag, their new streaming platform featuring Black creators set to launch next year. Although advertisers spend $18 billion on digital content aimed at Black audiences, only about 1% of that actually reaches Black creators on YouTube and Facebook, Adebowale and Sahko told the Los Angeles Times. Adebowale and Sahko, who have previously worked with Google, Viacom, Adidas and Spotify as well as artists such as Drake and Kanye West, said that Blacktag will differentiate itself by targeting 18- to 35-year-olds with both free and paid video options. Issa Rae and Common already formed partnerships with the streaming service to release original content. In today’s Plug In South LA Beat, our regular curation of must-read innovation and tech news, we’re taking a closer look at how Blacktag’s founders plan to disrupt their industry: Why These Entrepreneurs Created a Streaming Service for Black Creators Blacktag Wants to Be the Netflix-YouTube Hybrid for Alternative Black Creators