Last week, we all found out that Vine would be shutting down soon. The reaction to this News has been pretty...chill. In the words of Amanda Cerny, "Vine has been on its deathbed for a long time". Most of the app's top creators made the switch to different platforms over a year ago. People like The Gabbie Show, Liza Koshy, and Lele Ponsall turned to YouTube and are getting great views. KingBach and Destorm moved their skit comedy over to Instagram. Nearly all of Vine's stars jumped ship and it seems to be working out fine. But why did they jump ship?
And how did they predict Vine's future a year before it happened? The answer may shock you.
Viners demand $1.2 million
The truth is, over 10 Viners went to the app's executives and offered them a deal. Well, more like an ultimatum. The stars wanted $1.2 million each in exchange for their consistent content. If Vine didn't accept, they would all leave the app forever. Allegedly, the deal started off with 18 people and then grew when more Viners found out.According to some sources, the people at Vine originally seemed open to the idea. Then, they changed their mind, the Viners left, and now the app is closing down. Would Vine have picked up again if the executives coughed over the money? The creators involved in the deal seem to think so.
I sat with those execs a year ago and told em to shape up...they didn't listen. Now everybody wants an interview? ππ #RIPVine
β DeStorm Power (@DeStorm) October 27, 2016
Maybe people should have invested more time in celebrating the success of their content creators than put them down.
β Piques (@piques15) October 28, 2016
I tried to tell vine multiple times ideas to save their app... but they didn't want to listen Β―\_(γ)_/Β―, they thought they had it on lock π
β Jerry Purpdrank (@purpdrank) October 27, 2016
Everyone else isn't so convinced.
The Response
The reaction to Vine's secret meeting has been overwhelmingly negative. Now, this could just be another of casenon-creators not understanding how much social media stars are worth. Internetstars have been taking over the world for a while and some people just aren't hip to how much these influencers make. (Hint: It's A LOT, fam.) But it looks like even fellow Viners and online creators think the deal was a little ridiculous.
How tf can people ask for 1.2 million dollars from Vine? I can barely ask my best friend for $5. Tf
β Sarah Schauer π (@SJSchauer) October 31, 2016
those big viners really demanded $1.2 million or they'd walk away from the app. nigga I woulda stayed for like a free mcchicken & fries
β 21 Compassionate (@NathanZed) October 31, 2016
1.2 million dollars to make an unoriginal and trashy 6 second vine you got off a tumblr post. nice
β Alexis Isabel (@lexi4prez) October 30, 2016
Milk
β Vincent Marcus π (@VincentMarcus) November 1, 2016
Eggs
Bread
1.2 Million Dollars
Give me 1.2 million... or I'll take my iMovie sound affects else wear ππππππππππ
β Kenny Knox (@KennyKnox) October 31, 2016
And this hilarious video ofDrew Goodenmocking Piques definitely takes the cake.
Piques explains where vine went wrong pic.twitter.com/s0YZJI5Eae
β Drew Gooden (@drewisgooden) October 31, 2016
A lot of people are questioning how Vine spending nearly $40 million would've helped their situation at all. How would that have solved their inabilityto advertise on 6-second videos? How would the same creators making the same content have brought in more viewers, or helped Vine compete with apps like Snapchat and Instagram? The answers aren't clear, and no one will ever know for sure. #RIPVine
