Brandon Pankey's career has given him an inside look at the lives and personalities of artists like Lil Wayne and the Roots, and what he saw was an opportunity for content.
Now, Pankey is providing artists free rein to produce and profit from content specifically focused on them through his new APEX streaming network.
APEX, which launched for download on Apple and Android devices Tuesday, stands for Artist Presented Experiences. Pankey envisions documentaries, episodic series and unscripted programming, all at the fingertips of artists themselves. The network's content will be a mix of artist-generated and professionally produced programs. He wants it to be "Netflix for musicians."
Pankey has the connections to bring top artists to his platform. He is vice president of business development for Live Nation Urban, directing festivals like the Roots Picnic, Lil Weezyana and the Super Bowl LVII Music Fest. Before that, he was helping produce tours for artists like Drake and Nicki Minaj.
Despite his Hollywood connections, Pankey is a Philadelphian through and through. He went to Julia R. Masterman Laboratory and Demonstration School before attending the University of Pennsylvania, where he honed his passion for the music industry. He remains based in the city.
"I feel like I'm one of the last individuals that's in the music and entertainment industry that did not venture off to New York or to L.A.," Pankey said. "I really believe in this city. I believe in what the city has built, the foundation that we built from a music perspective and even what we do from an entertainment perspective."
Pankey is looking to build further on that foundation with APEX, which is the first Black-owned, advertising-based, video-on-demand network built exclusively for artists. Right now, revenue comes strictly from advertisements with no membership or subscription costs for viewers. The venture is currently privately funded by Pankey and a silent investor, but it's kicking off a $5 million seed round this week.
APEX has already secured licensing agreements with Complex Media for episodic content, along with Mercury Studios, which is producing over 20 documentaries on artists like Amy Winehouse, J Balvin, Tupac Shakur, DMX and Lenny Kravitz. It has also struck partnerships with Live Nation and Marc Lamont Hill, the host of BET News and a professor at Temple University.
APEX has no official affiliation with Live Nation, but Pankey said the entertainment giant is a partner and he hopes to feature "ancillary content" from the festivals he directs on the platform.
It won't just be content from the Roots Picnic that shows up on the APEX network from Philadelphia if Pankey has his way. He's looking to bring more movie and video production to the city through the platform.
"I'm always going to have some Philly slant," Pankey said. "Even with some of the scripted ideas that come across my desk, I want to make sure that we shoot a couple of these ideas in Philadelphia. ... There's so many great movies that have been shot here, but there's so much more we can do. And I want to make sure that we do that here."
Pankey also sees APEX as a platform for artists that may not be as recognizable as some of the ones he usually works with. He said it can be an avenue to find "the next Drake or the next Lizzo." Contracts for TV shows have traditionally been only accessible to international names like U2 or Beyoncé, Pankey said, and he hopes APEX can be an alternative for any artist to build an audience outside of their music.
However, he also wants to give big-name artists a different avenue to grow their audience and their brand.
"I would love to look up three to five years from now and you turn on APEX and you see a sci-fi film from Dua Lipa or you see a horror movie with Lil Baby," Pankey said. "I want to get a diverse amount of content and I want to see artists be recognized as the creatives they are. I want to see Emmys and Oscars and NAACP Image Awards."
