Screenshot: @realoverheardla/Twitter
Doing Things Media, the parent company to several viral Instagram accounts, plans to acquire Overheard, a social media content brand, two sources familiar with the deal told Axios.
Why it matters: The merger will allow the companies to invest more in new platforms at a time when short-form video content is overtaking static meme accounts.
Details: Overheard consists of social media accounts that typically post images of text with funny or relatable things people say. Its Instagram accounts collectively have roughly 5 million followers. Most are city-focused, such as Los Angeles and New York.
- The company has begun to invest in TikTok, but comparatively has a relatively small presence there.
- Doing Things Media owns a slew of social media brands and accounts that mostly post viral memes, including Middle Class Fancy, House of Gaming and Animals Doing Things, among others. It raised $21.5 million in Series A funding earlier this year.
- On its website, Doing Things Media says that it publishes more than 100 pieces of content per day across 25 owned and operated brands, reaching 70 million followers across its social media accounts.
The big picture: The creator economy has been moving more toward short-form video making it harder for meme accounts to monetize their massive audiences.
- The transition to short-form video hasn't been easy. BuzzFeed, for example, has said the medium is not monetizing fast enough, attributing that delay as one reason for its recent layoffs.
Of note: Axios could not confirm the value of deal or additional terms of the agreement. The companies did not return requests seeking comment.
Editor's note: A previous version of this story linked to a DC-based account that is not owned by Overheard. The story has been updated to remove that reference.