012 - Deep Dive with Melanie Rowland on Global Success with a Minimal Budget: the Story of Lilydale Films and Flunk

In this episode, Melanie Rowland, co-founder of Lilydale Films, shares how she and her business partner have built a successful independent production company that is totally sustainable, without relying on streamers or broadcasters to greenlight them.They’ve created seven series, six feature films, and built a loyal audience with no investors, meaning all revenue flows directly to them.Their flagship show, Flunk, has garnered over 200 million views globally to date, all while operating on a minimal budget. In this episode Melanie discusses Lilydale’s unique approach to self-funding, building community engagement, optimising for YouTube’s algorithm, and creating new content within their highly engaged niche.Listen to this episode if you are interested in:How to build a sustainable production company in the new media landscape.How to build and grow a story universe.Gaining insights into how to have a truly audience centric approach to screen storytellingUnderstanding sustainable revenue streams that don’t rely on traditional gatekeepers.Being inspired to create high quality on a low budget.Exploring business models that leverage You Tube, social media and direct-to-audience.Follow Melanie and her workWebsite: ⁠https://www.lilydalefilms.com⁠Social MediaLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melanie-rowland-producer/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flunkseries/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FLUNKSERIESYou Tube:: https://www.youtube.com/flunkseriesWatch Flunk here:Website: https://www.flunk.com.auYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/flunkseriesThis Deep Dive interview is hosted by ⁠⁠Julie Eckersley⁠⁠⁠, and proudly brought to you by ⁠⁠CrewHQ⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠Expanding Media⁠⁠.If you’re enjoying the podcast, please leave a rating on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, and we’d love you to forward this episode to a friend!