Corus Entertainment has partnered with Los Angeles-based crowd-sourced publishing platform Flink on a global content and promotional partnership agreement that will see past and present episodes of its popular radio series The Ongoing History of New Music made available on the digital storytelling platform.
Launched this year, Flink crowd sources content from writers, artists and fans and arranges it into collections called “flinks.” It covers everything from music and TV shows to hobbies, rewarding users for sharing, contributing or promoting content.
Hosted by Canadian radio personality Alan Cross and produced by Corus, The Ongoing History of New Music, has chronicled the evolution of new music over the course of nearly 700 episodes. The series has profiled pioneering artists and delved into topics including conspiracy theories, festivals, censorship and bootlegs.
After three years away, Cross returned in August to Corus radio station 102.1 The Edge, where he spent 25 years between 1986 and 2011.
Episodes of the radio show will be released monthly to The Ongoing History of New Music flink, and will include audio files and transcripts enhanced by exclusive content such as video interviews.
People can subscribe to the flink for $5 a month, and make their own contributions to the stories. The flink also contains a leaderboard, which users can raise based on their contributions. People who successfully promote the flink also have an opportunity to earn a share of its revenue.
“We have been searching for a spectacular way to showcase the radio series and Flink is the disruptive platform that does justice to our vision,” said Cross, in a release. “This represents a revolutionary opportunity for new and longtime fans to engage with the show on an unprecedented level.
“Now, episodes can grow and evolve and ultimately take on a life of their own with contributions from myself, fans, and even the artists themselves.”
Corus also announced an agreement with A+E Networks to bring content and branding from its specialty channel History to its Quebec channel Historia. Beginning this winter, Historia will carry several global franchises from the History catalogue, including Mountain Men, Appalachian Outlaws and No Man’s Land.
The Quebec channel currently broadcasts several series from the History catalogue including Pawn Stars, American Pickers, American Restoration and Counting Cars, all of which rank among its top 10 programs. As part of the deal, Historia will also be permitted to incorporate the gold History “H” in its logo.
History is currently available in more than 180 territories and 325 million households worldwide.
