Self-Distribution only months away?

C

c.g._eads

Veteran
So here's the deal. As has previously been mentioned, anybody in the world can have their music posted on itunes at a ridiculously low cost (an independent company allows you to upload your song for something like $20). Now, Apple is coming out with their iTV unit which will beam your downloaded movies/tv shows to the TV so you can watch them. All it takes is for someone to do the exact same thing that they're doing with songs, for movies (even if they allow you to post your movie on itunes for say... $500-1000), and anybody in the world can download your movie and play it on their TV within a couple of hours of hearing about it.

Is it really that simple? Am I missing something here? Or has the self-distribution revolution really began?
 
It began a long time ago, with the widespread use of the World Wide Web.

Self-distribution has been there for some time now.

But only a very tiny percentage of people 1) actually take advantage of it, and 2) produce something anyone would want to bother downloading.
 
How bout Apple TV?

The hardest part is still how to market the film to get the word out... wondering what the cost would be to get your trailer on Apple Trailers?

Then have the public be able to download it for a fee on Apple TV or Itunes..

Just have to be aware of how many downloads it gets... disclaimer here... not saying but thinking about create accounting here... or better yet the Itunes or Apple Tv pulls it off your site... but not sure how much server space you'd need to hold a full blown movie...
 
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Self distribution is already here and has been for years. Anyone can sell their product through ebay or amazon. The issue is, and has always been, how do you get public awareness for your product? Worldwide access, worldwide payment systems, and worldwide shipping are a reality today. It's now all up to you to drive customer interest towards the product.
 
whether your a major studio or a single artisan with one film, having a library of content without access is pointless. If people can't find it they won't buy it. Simple enough.

The cool thing about this is that the single artisan has as much chance of finding an audience on the web as the major studio. This in part explains UTube.

However, the major studios are well branded so when they release something people are already looking for it [they've had a 90 minute trailer running in theaters], when I release something out of my garage in TO I might get my neighbor to download it and maybe a couple of his friends and a couple of their friends etc..

Occasionally you might release a trailer on UTube and it goes viral, ends up being featured on The Late Show and everyone has to have it. Don't count on that, your probably more likely to win the lottery.

DVXUsers own Barry Green is a good example of how to build a niche marketing strategy, he's taken his knowledge and passion and produced a DVD about the HVX. Now for everyone who purchased or even [illegally] rented or downloaded his DVD, he becomes a trusted source of information and his customer base is more likely to purchase anything about this topic, or similar topics, in the future.

There are lots of ways to create online niche marketing strategies and they have been around a lot longer than the web.

The interesting thing about the web is that its a "pull" medium whereas TV for example is largely a "push" medium. which means the "searchability" of your product offering is very important.

Again, if they can't find it they won't buy it.
 
Or, conversely, if they aren't looking for it, they won't find it.

How many people go on iTunes and just search categories of music looking to find something they've never heard before -- or of? Or search for anything they don't already know about?
 
Every time I go on iTunes, Netflix, or Amazon for example, and search for anything the search results always include things I didn't ask for that are in someway related to the topic, my personal preference or based on my past searches.

Searches are going way beyond simple syntax [word] searches to include a multitude of context searches whether I ask for them or not. I never search Utube but I may watch five or six Utube videos that I learned about through searches for something seemingly unrelated. If the success of any online distribution model were predicated on people only finding what they are looking for Utube would not exist.

Not to say that I use UTube as the measure of success but you have to admit it is pretty widely accepted.
 
Well, right -- but if the search hadn't returned it, you'd never have heard of it or known to look for it.

But relying on being one of the 4-5 extra results which come up extraneously when someone is looking for something else isn't going to get you too far.
 
Well, maybe I should clarify a little. Gary, I believe you just repeated what I already said in my post. But anyway, you obviously have to have awareness for people to want your movie. I guess the point I'm trying to make is we're months away from the simplest easy-to-execute form of self-distribution there is. We're not talking about someone watching a full-length feature on their laptop, which is still pretty unrealistic. Or you the owner of the film paying thousands of dollars to make a few thousand DVD copies and then selling them over Amazon to people who would rather not gamble on paying, waiting, then receiving a DVD in the mail a week later of something that may or may not be terrible. This is basic point, click, an hour later you're watching the movie on your television. And you the owner paying basically nothing to make it available. That's thousands of dollars saved right there. Money you can use to maybe pay for a featured ad on myspace. And then people will know about your film. Point, click, movie, without ever having to make a DVD master and go through all that hassle. Pretty damn cool.
 
Sounds great, we'll all be millionaires. If it only worked that way.

How many people do you think post videos on UTube? 60M and growing.

If its free to post to iTV how long do you think it will take those 60 million video producers to start migrating to iTV?

So how do you differentiate your content from everyone else's to get people to watch it? If you can figure that out thats great.

So it still comes back to people having the ability to find you. I'm not sure how much it matters whether its uTube, a DVD or iTv. Sure there might be added value for convenience but I'm not sure that's what drives commerce. VOD/PPV has been around for a while and Netflix grew a huge install base.

I still think the only way to compete is by creating a niche marketing strategy that is easily leveraged from niche to niche. Kind of like the example I used Barry for.

sure iTv will be pertty damn cool. I'm just not sure that makes you any money.
 
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