Brandon Fletcher
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Brandon Fletcher (born April 2, 1987) is an Internet entrepreneur and creator of the online-based reality show Date Unknown. He grew up in the Harlem section of New York City and has lived in various cities such as Boynton Beach, Florida, Menlo Park, California, Los Angeles, California, and Kingston, Jamaica.
At 20 years old, Brandon became one of the first content creators on the Internet to ink a revenue sharing deal with YouTube.[1]
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[edit] Companies
Fletcher's first internet venture was an online consulting company called You Should Be a Star.[2] He created the website while interning for record producer Ryan Leslie as a way to "offer musicians feedback".[3] There is a $39.99 fee for musicians to submit their music.[4]
[edit] Date Unknown
The second initiative from Fletcher was an online-based reality show called Date Unknown that films "the first dates of people who meet online".[5] He executive-produced and funded the whole project himself.[6] A new episode from the series is uploaded to the Internet every Monday. The show has filmed in the New York City and San Francisco areas and has been compared to traditional television shows such as "Blind Date".[7] The tenth episode has received 1.1 million views to date.[8]
The entire series is filmed on a Canon GL2 and edited using Apple's stock editing software, iMovie. Fletcher says he chose to execute the show because "it was different and had the potential to be huge".[9]
In June of 2007, Fletcher signed a "highly symbolic deal" with YouTube for Date Unknown.[10] The deal was struck because of a cross-country trip that he took from New York City to storm YouTube's office in San Bruno, California.
[edit] "Can YouTube Hear Me?"
At 19 years of age, Brandon gained some notoriety by publicly asking YouTube to feature his show idea on their front page by flying across the country to visit their office.[11] The effort, dubbed "Can YouTube Hear Me?" landed him a chat, but no promise of a feature.[7] He hired a videographer to document the journey and posted clips to a personal website as the trip went along.[12]
Eventually, Fletcher was able to accomplish the goal of the trip and get Date Unknown featured on YouTube's home page.[13] This also led to him signing a publicized revenue-sharing deal with the site.[14]
[edit] Personal life
Brandon is also a music producer.[7] He is credited as a co-writer on Cassie's debut self-titled album.[15]
[edit] References
- ^ View my My Posts. "Date: Unknown Gets Revenue Sharing Deal with YouTube". Mashable.com. http://mashable.com/2007/06/19/date-unknown/. Retrieved 2009-08-30.
- ^ Posted by Dee (2006-09-28). "::Cake & Ice Cream:::Celebrity News & Gossip for the Fresh, Fly & Flashy::: Attention Aspiring Super Stars". Cakeandice-cream.blogspot.com. http://cakeandice-cream.blogspot.com/2006/09/attention-aspiring-super-stars.html. Retrieved 2009-08-30.
- ^ Sep 25th, 2006 at 11:53 pm (2006-09-25). "You Should Be A Star! » HIPANDPOP.COM - Gossip and Humour, The Digitalized Black Celebrity Life". Web.archive.org. Archived from the original on 2007-10-10. http://web.archive.org/web/20071010050538/http://www.hipandpop.com/you-should-be-a-star-683.html. Retrieved 2009-08-30.
- ^ "Be a Star Consulting Group : submission for your music and professional feedback from an experienced A&R!". Youshouldbeastar.com. http://youshouldbeastar.com/join.html. Retrieved 2009-08-30.
- ^ "Dateunknown.com - Reality Show of First MySpace Dates | Visit dateunknown.com". Killerstartups.com. 2007-05-07. http://www.killerstartups.com/Social-Networking/dateunknown-com-reality-show-of-first-myspace-dates. Retrieved 2009-08-30.
- ^ "National Journal Online - Tech Daily Dose - YouTube Crusader Unveils Web Reality Show". Techdailydose.nationaljournal.com. 2007-05-08. http://techdailydose.nationaljournal.com/2007/05/youtube-crusader-unveils-web-r.php. Retrieved 2009-08-30.
- ^ a b c (2007-05-08). "Brandon Fletcher Debuts ‘Date: Unknown’". Newteevee.com. http://newteevee.com/2007/05/08/brandon-fletcher-debuts-date-unknown/. Retrieved 2009-08-30.
- ^ 27 augustus 2007 (2006-12-24). "Episode 10: Funky, Hot & Sweaty". YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kE-VkJf6uw&feature=channel_page. Retrieved 2009-08-30.
- ^ "New Web Series - Date:Unknown or How Social Media Affects The Battle of the sexes at Pravda on Media, Technology, and Rebel Filmmaking". Pravdam.com. 2007-05-14. http://pravdam.com/2007/05/14/new-web-series-dateunknown-or-how-social-media-affects-the-battle-of-the-sexes/. Retrieved 2009-08-30.
- ^ "YouTube signs deal with 20-year-old’s dating show". Tech.Blorge.Com. 2007-06-22. http://tech.blorge.com/Structure:%20/2007/06/22/youtube-signs-deal-with-20-year-olds-dating-show/. Retrieved 2009-08-30.
- ^ "Banging on YouTube’s Doors | Epicenter". Wired.com. 2007-04-02. http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2007/04/banging_on_yout/. Retrieved 2009-08-30.
- ^ "Should YouTube Hear Me?". 10 Zen Monkeys. 2007-04-16. http://www.10zenmonkeys.com/2007/04/16/should-youtube-hear-me/. Retrieved 2009-08-30.
- ^ "YouTube, the 20-Year-Old, and Date Unknown". 10 Zen Monkeys. 2007-06-22. http://www.10zenmonkeys.com/2007/06/22/youtube-the-20-year-old-and-date-unknown/. Retrieved 2009-08-30.
- ^ "YouTube To Share Revenue With 20-year-old Filmmaker". Slashdot. 2007-06-24. http://slashdot.org/articles/07/06/24/0357237.shtml. Retrieved 2009-08-30.
- ^ "Cassie - Cassie(2006)". Realrnb.com. http://www.realrnb.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11850. Retrieved 2009-08-30.
