How KevOnStage can help build a stronger entertainment industry

"I believe the most effective way to tell the story of how I got to where I am today is one person at a time, one video at a go," is comedian and creator Kevin Fredericks - better known under the online moniker KevOnStage. Kev talks to us from his studio and office in Los Angeles, the epicenter of his most creative venture so far: KevOnStage Studios. But the digital creator did not get Hollywood-sized production space in a matter of hours. Kev's grew from side hustle to full-time job in nearly a decade in the digital grind.

"Before the path of a comedian was to go to L.A., get on the Tonight Show, and try to convince an agent," he says. "Now due to the evolution of the internet, you can find an audience of your own and become a celebrity." Since the year 2011, KevOnStage has slowly but surely amassed over 1M+ Instagram followers and 800K+ YouTube subscribers, by sharing candid bits of comedy with his devoted online fans, lovingly known as"the Stage Crew.

"I believe that charting your own future is extremely vital," adds Kev. "Right now, I'm making my own show which I created and directed and financed that nobody in Hollywood needed to accept. I'm able create all of it and then present direct access to my viewers."

 The basics of HTML0

Kev started creating his community online over a decade ago. However, the site took time to get going. "I haven't seen any genuine growth in the form of KevOnStage prior to 2017," states Kev. "Before it I had been working very hard and not getting many views, like many people."

In that period Kev had to figure out his ultimate north star when it came to making content that was authentic to his own sensibilities and beliefs. "When people don't create with their hearts, their success is draining," says Kev. "I had always felt comfortable not blowing up every now and then and just being able to create content I loved. In my opinion, because of that, I've had more success, instead of doing what was working."

When his comics career started to grow in a rapid manner, Kev took to touring the country with comedians from the same genre. However, the pandemic brought these in-person gatherings to a grinding stop. Keen to discover new strategies to maintain the momentum, Kev's brother came to him with a new idea which was to launch streaming.

 Reclaiming the power

Kev is the only one to admit an OTT service was not on his radar as a next business move. "We were first just trying to create independent films, and then my brother told me"Yo, I've found a way we might be able do this on our own app,'" he says. "I didn't think about it as an option."

Kev reached out to the producer and business associate Brennon Edwards. He inquired if Brennon would be interested in working the direction of launching an OTT application. "It was an obvious choice," says Brennon, currently the president of KevOnStage Studios, because it gave them the power to develop (and make money through) the content they create on their own terms. "We have a world in which the barriers to access to being able to be creative is significantly lower. It has changed our game."

"We have been able to move beyond what we had been looking forward to Hollywood to accomplish for us, and begin to do it ourselves," he says. "We collaborate directly with the audience that we've. They are the ones giving us the funds that allows us to create what we want. It gives us all the power back, as creators."

 Helping other creators become empowered

Since the beginning of KOSS, Brennon, Kev and co-founder and co-CEO Melissa Fredericks have consciously created an inviting and supportive environment that allows the other Black creators to try their work. "I only feel grateful that this space exists, that people are employed in this place, and that they are able to follow their dreams at KOSS," says Kev.

The beautiful thing about this journey, is that we are going beyond what conventional Hollywood claims, and putting it to our own," she adds Melissa. "We're making an effect on people. We're not waiting around for Hollywood to accredit you. This is the moment to decide, we have done this by ourselves. Period. We can accomplish this ourselves. Period. In addition, we are able to provide opportunities that they wouldn't otherwise receive. Period."