A Film's Life after Initial Distribution Platforms

I'd like to start a discussion about life of a film after its initial distribution license periods come to an end. I have a couple of titles that are coming up to the end of their first or second license periods with big aggregators who helped the titles appear on big platforms like cable Video-on-Demand, iTunes, Vudu, Amazon, Hulu and Netflix. I want to strategize the next phase of these films' lives.

I know that I can reload the film myself on Amazon so that's a start. But what else is out there? I know of and have some experience with the following:

IndieReign (www.indiereign.com)
Distrify (www.distrify.com)
IndieFlix (www.indieflix.com)
Amazon (www.amazon.com)

I know there is Fandor (www.fandor.com) as well, but they curate their titles so it's not a guarantee of acceptance.

Are there any other online distribution platforms for independent film? I'm doing the research and will share the list as soon as I have one complete.

And let me know your thoughts on any with which you have experience. Sharing our experiences will hopefully lead to a stronger independent world. Thanks all!

Not Since You Finds Its Audience Online

We just received our royalty statement from our Warner Bros. Digital Distribution deal for Not Since You and we are very pleased with how it has performed online. First, a big THANK YOU to our audience for buying and renting the film. We are so fortunate to have an awesome fan base.

I think all indie filmmakers should be embracing online distribution as I believe that is really where indie films will see the most revenue. We sold Not Since You all over the world in all different formats but it was digital distribution that stood out from the rest.

iTunes is wonderful for indie film. They make it very easy for their customers to either rent or buy a title and they have great Top 10 and Top 100 lists, on which Not Since You received a lot of great awareness. The downside to iTunes is that you need an aggregator to bring your film to iTunes. You can't just load your title on the site. So if you can't find an aggregator to take on your title then you may not be able to get it on iTunes.

Amazon isn't quite as wonderful as iTunes as I find films get buried on their site. However, they do send out email blasts letting people know about films in the genres they like and I've seen Not Since You being promoted many times. So definitely get your film on Amazon. The great thing is that you can load your film on Amazon yourself if you can't get an aggregator to take on your title.

Caution: wait to get your film on Netflix streaming since Netflix will only pay you a one-time licensing fee and once your film is up on Netflix, it will eat into your iTunes and Amazon sales. But once it's on Netflix, it's a great way to track reviews of your title. We have over 100 reviews on our Netflix page, the most of any online site.

Theatrical distribution is a loss leader but it can help drive ancillary sales so if you have the funds for it, many think it's smart to do. DVD distribution is dying as DVDs get phased out for online distribution. But you can still make money on DVDs. They are easy and pretty economical to make so keep on doing it until it is no longer cost effective.

There is still a market for Blu-ray as you really can't beat the image quality of a Blu-ray so I think those will continue do well until online distribution can present the quality of a Blu-ray. Most indies don't head to Blu-ray as it's costly to make them.

Television is a wonderful medium for a film. Not Since You is currently on Showtime and it has received a lot of attention from playing on that network. The attention can drive sales of the film and a larger fan base on your Facebook page and more. We are still seeking our free TV deal but I'm certain that will come through soon.

Loving the world of online. We just have to figure out the best way to monetize it!