Brut, the rising digital media startup whose backers include James Murdoch and François-Henri Pinault, is set to bring the Cannes Film Festival into Epic Games’ Fortnite, as well as grow its global presence and creator economy platform.
The Fortnite operation is one of the many young adult-skewing initiatives spearheaded by Brut as part of its new media partnership with the Cannes Film Festival.
Brut is also planning to host a House of Creators at Cannes and will bring about 100 creators from across the world to the Croisette where they’ll meet high-profile filmmakers, actors and agents in small groups.
Guillaume Lacroix, who co-founded Brut with veteran producer Renaud le Van Kim in 2016, said the idea behind the House of Creators was to “bridge the gap between the film and digital-native industries and allow these talented young creators to grow and upscale in the long term.”
“Creators [on social media] have often been opposed to traditional content creators, but the truth is that if filmmakers who are now in their 40s and 50s had had smart phone like the ones we have today back when they started out, they would have all jumped on the opportunity to create content instead of using old VHS tapes,” said Lacroix.
Brut is also developing blockchain tools to put creators in direct touch with their fans and allow them to maximize their revenue. Lacroix said “there are 50 million creators and there is no tech stack for the creator economy” so Brut is well-positioned to fill that space thanks to its technology and massive reach.
“We’re looking to leverage our monthly reach of half a billion unique viewers and our profile of trusted platform to become a key outlet for creators’ content commerce,” said the executive who previously ran the company Black Dynamite which was acquired by Mediawan, and co-founded Studio Bagel, a top producer of YouTube channels and creators, which was bought by Canal Plus.
Along with its new subscription-based service BrutX, the banner also launched a Brut Live allowing creators to shoot videos that can be converted into a podcast by Brut. These features will be combined into a single platform accessible to creators looking to upscale their content.
Lacroix said Brut has a different strategy than other apps when it comes to live. “We want Brut Live to be a place where people can have quality conversations of a manageable size, because I believe it’s preferable to have one million conversations with 10 people over having 10 conversations with one million people,” said Lacroix.
In line with its DNA, Brut has kept its focus on cultural and social impact issues, which led it to partner up with politically engaged stars such as Kerry Washington who used Brut to help voters reach polls in the State of Georgia, or Leonardo DiCaprio’s foundation. Brut also landed exclusive interviews with France President Emmanuel Macron and Apple Chairman Tim Cook, among other high-profile figures.
Brut is currently a global media brand among young adults. In France, it reaches 100% of people between 15 and 34 years old who watch Brut at least one a month. It has also been rising significantly in the U.S. and India where it reaches more than 40% and 80% of Gen Z and Millennials, respectively. The company is now looking to accelerate its presence in South America and Africa.
The company raised $75 million from James Murdoch’s Lupa Systems, François-Henri Pinault’s Artemis, Orange Ventures and Tikehau Capital last year.