Stacy Spikes Explained

Stacy Spikes
Alt:colour photo headshot of Stacy Spikes
Birth Place:Houston, Texas, U.S.
Occupation:CEO and Co-Founder, MoviePass
Organization:MoviePass

Stacy Spikes is an American entrepreneur and inventor. He holds several business and technical patents. He is the co-founder of the subscription service MoviePass and founder of Urbanworld, an international festival dedicated to nurturing women and BIPOC storytellers and creators. A former film marketing executive and producer, Spikes has had senior executive roles at Motown Records, Sony Music Entertainment, Miramax Films, and October Films.[1]

Life and career

Spikes is from Houston.[2] His father was a school principal, and his mother hosted a public-access TV show.[3]

After high school, he relocated to Los Angeles, where he lived with an uncle and worked in a blue-collar job before getting his first job in the entertainment industry at Motown Records. By 1995, Spikes was working at Miramax Films and had been promoted a number of times, becoming the vice president of marketing. By 1996–97, Spikes was senior vice president of marketing at October Films.[4]

Urbanworld Film Festival

Spikes founded Urbanworld Film Festival in 1997.[5] The festival celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2021;[6] it is held annually in New York City.[7]

MoviePass, Co-Founder

In February 2011 Spikes launched MoviePass along with co-founder Hamet Watt. In October 2012, the company introduced a new business model which used proprietary location-based payment technology.[8] Robert De Niro was an early supporter of MoviePass.[9] After it was acquired by Helios and Matheson Analytics, Spikes was fired from the company in January 2018.[10] MoviePass filed for bankruptcy in 2020.[11]

MoviePass, Relaunch

In 2021, Spikes bought the company out of bankruptcy and relaunched it in the fall of 2022. Approximately 30,000 people registered on the pre-launch waitlist within five minutes of the announcement, causing the MoviePass website to crash.[12] The new iteration of MoviePass has three subscriber tiers: basic, standard, or premium.[13] The Financial Times commented:"In the roll call of terrible business ideas, MoviePass ranks alongside the Sinclair C5, Juicero, and The Soup Tube."[14]

Book

Stacy Spikes's memoir Black Founder, The Hidden Power of Being an Outsider was published in February 2023; it chronicles his career.[15] [16]

Filmography

Spikes was the executive producer for Punks,[17] The Visit, King of the Jungle,[18] Higher Ed (2001), For da Love of Money (2002), and the TV movie Urbanworld Film Festival Special (2004).[19]

Awards & Honors

He received a “Made in NY Award” from Michael Bloomberg, the mayor of New York City, in 2011 for his work with the Urbanworld Film Festival.[20]

Notes and References

  1. http://2008.wmyconference.com/spikes.php/ "Stacy Spikes Urbanworld Film Festival, Founder"
  2. https://www.businessinsider.com/inside-story-moviepass-rise-fall-2019-8 The definitive story of how a controversial Florida businessman blew up MoviePass and burned hundreds of millions
  3. Kolhatkar . Sheelah . 2023-02-27 . MoviePass, Take Two! . en-US . The New Yorker . 2023-10-01 . 0028-792X.
  4. http://2008.wmyconference.com/spikes.php/ "Stacy Spikes Urbanworld Film Festival, Founder"
  5. News: Talbert. Marcia Wade. WATCH: Urbanworld Film Festival Draws Top Black Talent. 29 June 2016. Black Enterprise. 20 September 2010.
  6. Web site: Jackson . Angelique . 2021-09-21 . Urbanworld Film Festival Announces 25th Anniversary Slate (EXCLUSIVE) . 2023-09-28 . Variety . en-US.
  7. http://urbanworld.org/about/about-us// "Urbanworld About Us"
  8. Tuttle. Brad. MoviePass Goes National: Unlimited Trips to the Movies from $25 Per Month. 29 June 2016. TIME. 2 October 2012.
  9. Web site: Spikes . Stacy . MoviePass co-founder Stacy Spikes praises Robert De Niro for reminding him the 'importance of perseverance' while trying to get the start-up off the ground . 2023-09-28 . Business Insider . en-US.
  10. https://www.businessinsider.com/moviepass-cofounder-on-what-led-to-firing-2019-4 The cofounder of MoviePass recounts what led to his firing from the company he'd built from the ground up
  11. News: Randles . Jonathan . Ex-MoviePass CEO to Test a Second Act for the Failed Subscription Service; Stacy Spikes, former chief of MoviePass, said he intends to test a revised business model between the Thanksgiving and New Year holidays, according to court documents . 1 October 2023 . Wall Street Journal . November 11, 2021 . New York . . Stacy Spikes, now helming a company called PreTechnology Inc., intends to test a revised business strategy during the busy holiday season between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day in hopes of relaunching MoviePass by the third or fourth fiscal quarters of 2022, court records show..
  12. 2022-08-31 . Everything You Need to Know About the MoviePass Relaunch . 2023-09-28 . Time . en.
  13. Web site: America . Good Morning . MoviePass relaunches with new tiered subscriptions ahead of blockbuster summer . 2023-09-28 . Good Morning America . en.
  14. News: Elder . Bryce . MoviePass is back and this time it's crypto, because of course it is . 1 October 2023 . The Financial Times Limited . January 13, 2023 . London . . English . In the roll call of terrible business ideas, MoviePass ranks alongside the Sinclair C5, Juicero and The Soup Tube..
  15. Web site: Schlichenmeyer . Terri . REVIEW: "Black Founder: The Hidden Power of Being an Outsider" by Stacy Spikes . Indianapolis Recorder . 29 October 2023.
  16. Book: Spikes, Stacy . The Hidden Power of Being an Outsider . Kensington Books . 2023 . 9781496739582 . New York, NY.
  17. Web site: Thomas . Kevin . 2001-11-16 . Witty 'Punks' Takes Romantic Comedy Into New Territory . 2023-10-20 . Los Angeles Times . en-US.
  18. Web site: Shirkani . K. D. . 2001-05-30 . Urbanworld into Rosenfeld’s ‘Jungle’ . 2023-10-20 . Variety . en-US.
  19. https://movies.nytimes.com/person/534562/Stacy-Spikes/filmography/ "Stacy Spikes Filmography"
  20. Web site: Mayor Bloomberg And Media & Entertainment Commissioner Oliver Present 6th Annual "Made In NY" Awards. The Official Website of the City of New York NYC. 29 June 2016. 6 June 2011. 15 August 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160815151352/http://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/192-11/mayor-bloomberg-media-entertainment-commissioner-oliver-present-6th-annual-made-ny-awards. dead.

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