Several threads I've been thinking about a lot recently just came together in my head in a way that I wanted to share.

First is the death of the video industry as we know it. Television and the movies will be with us for a long time yet, but more sophisticated consumption of media is eroding the ways companies traditionally earn money from moving pictures.

Second, I've been admiring the Walt Disney Company's slow and steady accumulation of every collection of characters there is. Starting with its own substantial animated stable, the company has gone out and purchased Winnie the Pooh, The Muppets, Marvel Comics, and Pixar, among others. There is money to be made from merchandise.

Finally comes the steady erosion of big-investment business models in the intellectual capital space. It has become easier and easier to create various kinds of entertainment. For a few thousand dollars, amateurs can acquire the equipment with which to record a studio-quality album, film a special-effects blockbuster, write a piece of software, or make an animated cartoon. Embarking on any one of those undertakings a few decades ago required a substantial initial investment, with distribution a nightmare.

So what now, when technology has made content cheap to create and cheap to distribute? Companies that relied on big investments in potential superstars are feeling the pain. There are some companies that are pushing towards lowest common denominator. Demand Media is at the forefront of this movement. They use computer-generated titles and pump out crappy, good-enough content by the metric tonne.

The other extreme is the 1000 true fans concept. Be very very good. Be so good that there are 1000 people who rave about you, and spend about $35 or $40 a year on you. All of a sudden, you've got a job -- keeping your 1000 true fans happy.

The way to make money in the future is merchandise. You sell merchandise best when it is based on specific characters. So the future of visual entertainment is thousands of little Walt Disneys and Jim Hensons, furiously creating stables of characters that they then endear to their audience. The audience then buys plush toys, t-shirts, and coffee mugs. The audience buys the glossy coffee-table book, the special-edition members-only download, the original artwork.

I can't help but think that there is space for a new kind of media conglomerate, one that takes small stakes and then provides operational support in cookie-cutter enterprises set up for individual creators. You build your brand, we'll take 30% of the entity that owns the brand. We'll give you hosting, an infrastructure to make and ship your products, an accountant, anything that distracts you from your central job of creating stuff people want to look at.

When I look at the Disney company, I see an organization built by Roy Disney. I've come across plenty of artistic geniuses. What made Walt special was his brother Roy, who recognized Walt's ability to create entertainment that people wanted to see. Roy kept Walt from going over the edge, holding him back just on the edge of possible, making sure the money and support were there as Walt grew one of the most successful media businesses that will likely ever exist.

Why not build an organization that can be Roy to thousands of Walts?