RadicalMedia names Anomaly founder Justin Barocas as CEO
RadicalMedia has a new boss. Justin Barocas, a founder of advertising agency Anomaly, will take over as chief executive.
Founder Jon Kamen will become executive chairman, a senior oversight role above the day-to-day management. Fellow founder Frank Scherma will stay on as president, according to Variety. The structure keeps both founders inside the company while Barocas leads it.
Kamen and Scherma started RadicalMedia after years in advertising to explore new content formats. Barocas comes from similar ground. He helped found Anomaly and had earlier served as media director at Wieden + Kennedy in New York, according to AdWeek.
His plan centres on ownership. Barocas wants RadicalMedia to own more of what it makes, rather than working purely for hire.
That could take several forms. Co-financing means putting up production money alongside a partner in return for a larger stake. Keeping backend rights means retaining a share of profits after a film or series is released. Developing proprietary formats means creating show ideas the company itself controls. Retaining underlying rights means holding on to long-term control when adapting a stage show or making a branded project.
He also wants the company to move more theatre properties from Broadway to screens. That work means filming or adapting a stage production for cinemas or streaming services.
Viewers will know the company from a run of high-profile credits. They include Summer of Soul, the filmed version of Hamilton made for Disney+, and the Zach Galifianakis series This Is a Gardening Show for Netflix.
For audiences, this means the change is less about one show and more about how shows get made. Ownership decides who shares in the revenue and who decides where a story goes next.
