Company
Created by the Emmy award-winning producers of HBO's Taxicab Confessions, CrushedPlanet was originally founded in 1999. Too early for broadband, they put it away after a year and officially relaunched in 2008. CrushedPlanetet.com is independently owned and operated in Woodland Hills, CA.
Mission
CrushedPlanet's unwavering mission is to feature original content from top artists and emerging talents, while allowing those artists to retain all the rights to their work and receive the majority of fees paid to view the work. CrushedPlanet will offer viewers a new generation of creative content and become a destination for the most compelling entertainment on the web today.
Overview
The network will carefully select and distribute provocative, intimate and innovative content for a worldwide audience. With content ranging from narrative and documentary films and videos, to animation, comedy, music, games and blogs, CrushedPlanet users navigate through different channels to view content that appeals to them. They can view content in two different ways: they may pay individually for each piece of content or there is a monthly or yearly subscription option.
Content
The Gantz brothers personally oversee the curating of CrushedPlanet to ensure that the integrity and quality of content is in line with CrishedPlanet's mission. Powerful story-telling with a strong point-of-view sets the CP content apart from amateur videos found elsewhere on the web. Unrated and uncensored, language and nudity are welcome on CrushedPlanet as long as it is pertinent to the story. Unique to the website is a page that allows artists and filmmakers to directly submit their work for consideration. The CrushedPlanet team reviews each film that comes in and contacts the rights holder directly with the distribution terms. In addition, the Gantz brothers produce their own series for CrushedPlanet. Gender Blender, the documentary about transgender beauty pageant contestants, will debut on CrushedPlanet, along with other series such as First Apartment, First Night in Jail, Can I Ask You A Question, and Legal Prostitution.
User Experience
In addition to the channels for creative and inspiring films and webisodes, CrushedPlanet offers a social networking aspect that will allow users to interact and connect. Each registered member has his/her own profile page which stores their viewed films, their messages, account information and personal information, along with photos and friends. The site is easy to navigate, with a bold yet simple design, to allow the user the best possible viewing experience.
Artist Royalties
CrushedPlanet is unique in its commitment to protecting the rights of artists featured on its site. Unlike other entertainment websites, CrushedPlanet allows artists to retain all the rights to their work and receive the majority of fees paid to view their work. The CrushedPlanet business model is one in which revenue is generated by users paying individually for each segment of content they view, or viewers can choose to subscribe by the month or the year.