Means LLC
The Means Cooperative, or "Means" is an American anti-capitalist, mass media worker cooperative. Means was founded in 2019 by filmmakers Naomi Burton and Nick Hayes in Detroit, Michigan as an expansion of their video production company, Means of Production. Means currently has two arms, their subscription streaming service offering "Means TV", and a video game publishing arm via "Means Interactive". History. Before founding The Means Cooperative, Naomi Burton and Nick Hayes both worked in commercial media production for automakers in Detroit and attended Democratic Socialists of America meetings. They began to find their work morally objectionable and  left their jobs to found the video production company Means of Production. Means of Production first came to prominence after they produced a viral campaign ad for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's 2018 election campaign. Means TV. Means TV is subscription video on-demand streaming service owned and managed by The Means Cooperative. The service features films, documentaries, television series, an original news program, and independent creators from YouTube and Twitch. The cooperative raised nearly $200,000 in its crowdfunding campaign through ActionNetwork.org. The full streaming service launched February 26, 2020. Hayes has cited the anarchist podcast "Street Fight" as an  inspiration for his decision to create Means TV, having worked with Street Fight to record live performances in 2017 and 2019. On Saturday, August 8, 2020 Nick Hayes and Naomi Burton's home and office was attacked in a drive-by shooting. Nobody was hurt. According to Hayes, they are "not 100% sure it wasn't politically motivated." No further information about the identity of the shooters has come out. Means Interactive. Means Interactive is a subsidiary of The Means Cooperative and is the video game publishing arm of the co-operative. The first game published by Means Interactive is  Tonight We Riot, released in May 2020 and developed by Pixel Pushers Local 512, itself also a worker-owned co-operative. Cooperative structure. The Means Cooperative's structure is built out into three tiers: "Employee", "Contractor", and "Royalty". The "Employee" tier is for employees of the co-operative and offers voting and economic rights in the organization, along with 70% of the year-end profits of Means TV. The "Contractor" tier is for frequent contractors of Means TV who receive voting rights and economic rights in the co-operative along with 20% of the year-end profits. The final tier , the "Royalty" tier also has voting rights and is reserved for filmmakers, distributors, and creators featured on Means TV and acts as a way to provide royalties to these individuals, via 10% of the year-end profits of Means TV.