Through a Micro Pay-Per-View Model, the Company Aims to Disrupt the Creator Economy By Empowering Creators to Make Videos for Fans, Not Advertisers.
Zarta, a new ad-free, micro pay-per-view video platform for creator content, announced today that it has secured $5.7 million in seed funding from Andreessen Horowitz, Endeavor, AirAngels, Dragonfly Capital, and others.
Founded by YouTube creator and former Airbnb software engineer Luba Yudasina, Zarta is creating a new model and revenue streams for video creators to generate income through microtransactions, while better serving their fans with authentic content that has meaningful value to their audiences.
With Zarta, creators are no longer at the mercy of advertisers. Zarta uses an ad-free, micro-pay-per-view model, which allows creators to upload videos, set parameters for a free preview, and then charge viewers a small amount to unlock the whole video. This model empowers them to create content on their own time and generate revenue on a per-video basis, while viewers can support the creators and content they love without expensive subscriptions or ads.
“We’re allowing fans to directly support the creators they love and gain access to content that provides real value to them while offering creators a new way to generate revenue through this direct support,” says Zarta founder Luba Yudasina. “Creators have been frustrated with the lack of frictionless monetization and transparent policies on major platforms. In the future, we believe good content from creators will not be solely supported by ads or subscriptions. Zarta was founded to enable and accelerate this transformation.”
“Creators are entrepreneurs, and as such are always looking for the best way to reach their audience, build relationships directly, and grow their business,” says Sriram Krishnan, general partner at Andreessen Horowitz. “By building an entirely new platform from the ground up based on ‘pay-per-view’ transactions, Zarta is giving creators a new channel and incentive model from which to grow.”
“Zarta is addressing a huge need to support creators as they grow their content businesses,” said Ben Enowitz, SVP, of Corporate Development & Talent Ventures, Endeavor. “By developing critical infrastructure, Zarta is helping further careers of both emerging and established talent.”
Content on Zarta will be reviewed by real curators using a transparent and simple set of rules to prevent any hateful content, copyright infringement, or misinformation from being published. Zarta is planning to launch soon with a roster of established and emerging creators on the platform. Video creators interested in Zarta can visit Zarta.com for more.
