TATATU Founder Andrea Iervolino Thinks Free Access to Content is Not Enough Anymore

Cryptovest's Nikita Sachdev had a chance to chat with Hollywood director and movie producer Andrea Iervolino, the man behind TATATU.

Andrea Iervolino is a successful filmmaker who has produced and distributed hundreds of movies with Hollywood A-listers such as Al Pacino, Antonio Banderas, Jonny Depp, and many more. He created his first movie at the age of fifteen and has been at it ever since, bringing great ideas to life. Having worked in the industry this long, he knows all the ins and outs of film-making and content distribution.

"I financed my first movie in my town going door by door to ask funds. It's like the old system of crowdfunding," he disclosed.

At the age of sixteen, he invented a new content distribution model that proved to be very successful and kick-started his career in the big movie business.

"We tried to find a name, which is easy to remember and that will have a rhythm in it," he said by way of explaining the philosophy behind the name. "Actually, in urban language, TaTa means 'things are going well,' while Tu means 'You' in the Italian language, in Spanish, and in French. So the meaning of TaTaTu is 'Things are going well for you,' because TaTaTu is made for people, for you."

Speaking about what inspired him to start TaTaTu, Iervolino said the idea came from a study on how film-making revenue streams have evolved. Free TV license agreements used to be the second largest income stream from a movie, right after box office ticket sales.

However, free TV income is based on advertising, which has been declining steadily in recent years, and it is being overtaken by income generated through the internet and pay TV business model, Iervolino explained.

He said that TaTaTu's business model is to build a new relationship between users and content providers.

Speaking about plans, Iervolino revealed that the company would become a producer and start creating exclusive content for the platform. The first TaTaTu film will feature Antonio Banderas and Alec Baldwin.

Another differentiating feature of TaTaTu is its charity component, which means that users may opt to transfer a portion of the rewards they receive for watching content to charity. Iervolino believes that the majority of TaTaTu users will be willing to do that as the rewards are not the main attraction for them.

"I think TaTaTu should be just another option for the consumer. And eventually they will choose what is smarter for them: to watch content for free and get a reward or go and pay for similar content."

Watch the full with Andrea Iervolino here or visit the official website of the TaTaTu project to learn more.