Vine six-second video makers build new era of entertainment, as they make over $100,000 per clip

VINE has evolved from its early days. Now it’s an entertainment industry powered by people making their fortune one six-second clip at a time.

Vine app logo

IN Silicon Valley, the key to success for many is the ability to pivot, going from the burgeoning idea of one thing to the reality of another. Twitter emerged from a podcasting service, Android began as an operating system for cameras and the photo sharing giant Instagram was the one successful feature of the long-forgotten check-in app Burbn.

When Vine was launched in 2013, three months after it was bought by Twitter, it was seen as an extension to Instagram — a way that friends could keep in touch by sharing six-and-a-half second snippets of looping video.

Vine head of User Experience Jason Mante says what has changed in that time is not what the process is but what people have chosen to do with it.

“When we first started Vine we definitely thought of it more as a social network,” Mante says.

“People were really excited about making these little stories they could share with others.

“(Now) people are really turning to Vine because they see it as an entertainment network and they do realise that there is this potential for millions and millions of people to see the stuff they put out there.”

Vine is a stand-alone app in which you can search for particular content, follow people, or browse channels such as animals, comedy, OMG or “popular now”. When you see a Vine you like, you can Revine it, or share it on other social media such as Twitter or Facebook.

With the recent focus on streaming video apps Periscope and Meerkat that were launched earlier this year, it can be easy to overlook the impact of Vine. And with good reason — Periscope, launched less than six months ago, recently announced it has 10 million registered users who watch 40 years of video per day.

But Periscope and Meerkat are just two cards in a big deck and Vine has the sort of figures that demand attention.

Within six months, it had more than 40 million users although, as with many social networks, it’s not clear how many tried and stayed and how many tried it and then turned away.

When someone offers to pay! 😭😭 @KingBach https://t.co/iybV5tNGD9

— Kid Ink (@Kid_Ink) June 27, 2015

Another figure that is unclear is how many Viners actually make Vines.

Mante says they do not give out the figure but that it is similar to the traditional media industry.

“There’s a small amount of people who are creating content and there are many, many more people who are consuming it and watching the stuff,” he says.

While live-streaming services like Periscope and Meerkat are a better way of sharing what is happening at that moment, assuming the moment is longer than the six-seconds, Vine has better credentials as a way of showing off storytelling skills.

Unlike Periscope, you don’t need that sense of immediacy to enjoy it, Mante says. It’s like television show, if you enjoy it that’s enough reason to watch.

One example of those storytelling skills being demonstrated in a Vine is the inclusion of Vines in the Tropfest film festival.

Massive congrats to the winner of the 2015 #TROPVINE competition @thedarclaud! Here's her amazing winning entry https://t.co/YnVgKFHKjf

— Twitter Australia (@TwitterAU) August 12, 2015

Another is found when you look at the top end of Vine — the elite group of Viners who have followers measuring in the millions and make a living, a good living, out of making Vines.

In a strange case of how real-life networks can evolve through social network connections at least six of the top 15 Viners live in the same apartment building in Hollywood, which appropriately is on Vine St.

The collection of top Viners under one roof includes Logan Paul, with 8.3 million followers and 3.3 billion loops (Vine plays are measured in loops), Amanda Cerny, who has 3.5 million followers and 12.7 billion loops, King Bach (Andrew Bachelor) who has 13.4 million followers and 4.8 billion loops, and Jerry Purpdrank, who has who has 8.3 million followers and 3.2 billion loops.

They collaborate on Vines and Revine each others content in a way that cements themselves at the top of the Vine pile.

NASCAR in the future 😂 @alissa_violet, @ImJakePaul, @arantzaofficial, @MaverickParrot https://t.co/8rvYcSNPMN

— Logan Paul (@LoganPaul) July 26, 2015

A popular Viner can charge a few thousand dollars to create a sponsored Vine. King Bach charges a reported US$120,000 for a sponsored six-second clip.

“People are really giving a glimpse into what they are capable of with each one of these little Vines that they’re making,” he says.

“At the end of the day all these Vines that are put together on their individual profiles are really telling a story about who this person is or what their talent is all about.

“I think that’s what most interesting about it. You really get a sense of the characters behind the story across their whole profile.”

Unlike other social media, being a celebrity first is not usually key to having a huge following on Vine.

“People who do well on Vine and have lots and lots of loops, these people are great at Vine,” Mante says.

“It’s not necessarily that they’re big or have an influence outside of the platform. It’s the people who are great story tellers.

“Whether they did come from a more traditional entertainment background, or whether they’re a kid who is making a song in his bedroom or telling a joke. This is really coming down to how good people are at telling a story.”

Five things you didn’t know about Vine

1. The official site is Vine.co because Amazon owns Vine.com.

2. The name is short for vignette. The V logo looks like a vine wrapped around a tree or but if you twist it upside down you can see a six in it — as in the six-second length of a Vine.

3. In the time it takes you to read this sentence, 25 Vines were shared on Twitter _ or 30 Vines if you are a slow reader.

4. People often dismiss Vines as little snippets of silliness but on April 15, 2013, a record-breaking 19,667 Vines were created. That was the day of the Boston Marathon bombing.

5. A top Viner can earn US$120,000 for making a sponsored Vine.

Five tips to Vine

1. Use Vine for entertainment. Don’t think of it as a way of following what your friends are doing but more like following content makers who make Vines that you find compelling.

2. You don’t have to make a Vine to enjoy Vine. Most people are just viewers.

3. Start by following channels. That will introduce you to Viners you then might want to follow.

4. Love the loop. With Vine you see a real-time counter as a Vine plays repeatedly. Watch the loop count go up as the Vine goes viral.

5. Share posts you love. You can share Vines to social networks Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr. You can also embed them on your website.

Source: Vine