LoCo+: Leveraging the Business of Creative w/ Kate Atwood and Megan Matousek

In this episode of the pod, we re-introduce the show as “Creative MKE.” Moving forward, episodes will feature a shorter format, have a focus on the creative economy of Milwaukee -- and will be sponsored by the Shepherd Express.

This episode finds Elisabeth in conversation with the Co-Founders of LoCo+, Kate Atwood and Megan Matousek. LoCo+ is a streaming platform that seeks to engage creators in specific communities (Atlanta, Denver, and now, Milwaukee) and enable them to leverage their intellectual property in a more direct way. Unlike models of streaming like YouTube and Spotify, LoCo+ offers artists the opportunity to host and merchandise their work through paywalls, ticketing, and more. It also gives the artist access to the data of fans and followers who engage with them. Through LoCo+, unlike all other streaming services, users can seek content through the lens of location. Matousek describes the LoCo+ UX experience as Netflix on the front end, and YouTube on the back end.

Throughout the discussion, the group touches on art as a form of storytelling — and a vehicle for human connection and growth, Milwaukee’s position as an under-the-radar hub for arts and culture production, the disempowerment that artists face when attempting to build fan and patron bases everywhere at once, and the concept of the LoCo+ platform being a mechanism to “teach emerging creators to fish” for their long-term financial success through leveraging technological tools.

LoCo+ is hosting a Creator Launch Mimosa Mixer on Saturday, Oct 29, at NO Studios in conjunction with NEWwaukee and MKE <--> LAX.

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Industrial Light & Magic