Crowdfunding campaign hopes to save Letterboxd from venture capitalists
Letterboxd, the popular movie-rating and social platform, faces a potential change in ownership as Tiny—which acquired a majority stake in 2023—explores selling the site. Several companies have reportedly expressed interest in acquiring the platform, but Intrinsic Entertainment Collaborative has launched a crowdfunding campaign via Seed & Spark to raise funds for their own acquisition bid, hoping to prevent a traditional private equity or corporate takeover.
The organizers behind the campaign worry that new corporate ownership would “optimize and slowly hollow out” Letterboxd until it becomes something fundamentally different from what users value. They aim to preserve the platform as “the top rung of the filmmaking ladder—the place where films that have managed to get made, marketed, and released” can build their community. This effort reflects broader concerns within creative communities about maintaining platform independence and ensuring that algorithmic and business decisions remain aligned with user interests rather than extraction-focused corporate goals.
The crowdfunding approach represents an unconventional attempt to keep a beloved platform in community-friendly hands rather than allowing it to be acquired by well-funded corporate entities. Whether the campaign can raise sufficient capital to compete with established buyers remains uncertain, but it demonstrates the value creators place on maintaining control over the platforms central to their industries.