It Is Time For Doc & Indie Filmmakers To Abandon The Global VOD Platforms

That is: until much much much much later.

we better run, run, run away…

I think if you asked most folks who know a little about the FKATheFilmBiz, what the path your little indie should take in distribution, be it a fiction or a doc, they’d say “play some festivals, hope for a sale, and when you don’t get one, put it up on all the digital platforms to sell as a TVOD title”. That’s just “how it’s done”, the SOP, right? And you’d be getting really bad advice.

You made something special. Treat it like your child. Or like your kitty kat. Or one of those tiny monkeys. So cute! But recognize that you birthed it into a cold cruel world with some rapidly changing rules. Those do-gooders who sold you that How-To Playbook were looking at the old world. To navigate today’s shifting sands, you need to stop doing the things that not only do you little good, but actually hold you back from significant opportunity.

First thing though: you’ve got to get your priorities straight. Know what you want and why. Know how you are going to be able feel good about the choices you make today, fifteen years later down the road. Set some First Principles. Stand for something. Say what you mean and mean what you say. Best to make sure you and your collaborators are aligned and are clear on what it means to reward them appropriately. You want to make sure your baby is positioned in terms of context and manner to align with your goals. You probably want to make money. You want to make sure that audience engagement accrues in your favor. You want the emails and the data. That should all belong to you.

Your goals are different from those of the established studios and distributors. They are in a volume business of titles and you are in an engagement business with audiences. They are going to do better by squeezing out as much as they can and then moving on to the next thing quickly. They are chasing the next hit, and that’s already been determined that is not you. It doesn’t make sense that you follow the same windows and schedule that the Hollywood Studios do. They are two different businesses and they require very different tactics.

Slow down, way way way down, and don’t worry about those walled gardens anymore.Didn’t everything just get a whole lot more peaceful by taking that off your plate? Feel the gentle breeze? It is like a soft caress. Smell the jasmine? Has heaven come to earth? If joy had a scent, that would be this. Now let’s help you examine reality a bit so you can better grasp why you need to leave the old world behind.

Pick an indie – a real indie. The ones that aren’t made or bought by the GSPs. The ones that aren’t given to the winner in a bidding war – as if those even happen any more. And the ones that aren’t made by any company most folks know the name of. None of those are really indies. I am talking about the ones you see on The Popcorn List. The ones you see in articles entitled “Note To Distributors: Buy These Films!”. Generally, the ones that are made for under two million dollars. Now you know indie.

Here’s the rub: Indies – be they fiction or docs – do not make any significant money on TVOD. Seriously. Have you heard of an Indie film that has made more than $10K on TVOD in the US in the last two years? Nope. Not here on this planet I haven’t. It’s just been getting worse and worse YOY and no one seems to be trying to get this once mighty stream flowing well again.

If we don’t make money, why do we keep doing it? For the potential to make money? What? You think the thing that they routinely ignored is now going to catch fire and shine? You high? Oh, wait… You do it for the satisfaction! The satisfaction of saying you have it on the biggest platforms in the world and still no one watches it? No, seriously, I get it. You want people to have access to it, right? They have to be able to find it somewhere, and everyone’s been saying you have to bring your work to where the people are, and not make them come to you.  Those same folks probably sold you the book that told you there was nobility in suffering. Or that there was a natural class order. Or someone was actually better than you. My friend, you’ve been drinking their kool-aid for far too long. This is where you need to stop.

And this is where things get better. Yay, right?  By skipping that step of TVOD for a good long time you are not only going to make more money, but you are going to build desire, interest, and community by doing something altogether different. You are going to put yourself in a much better position for your next film --and for you to hit the holy grail of satisfaction: a sustainable life doing what you love. Hot damn! That’s mighty fine! Sure, it’s not all you are going to do, but step by step you are getting closer, and that’s surely something sweet.

The next question is why you haven’t heard others saying this. Or perhaps better to ask why aren’t the folks in real positions of power saying this? You know? The big bosses. The folks that coach the indies do share this information or probably do if you ask. If I was a journalist, I’d ask the big bosses and the kind-hearted coaches now both why — but being just another guy typing on my electronic soapbox I can’t be bothered: there’s too much to write. You’d get the same answer to many questions: you are being used and the powerful don’t want you to develop the simple alternatives.

They use you for your data. You are helping them determine what works and why and they need to do this so they don’t depend on others for their wealth and control. If they told you the truth you’d go out and revert to selling your film yourself in ways that truly benefited you. They don’t want that, and you’ve been falling in line driven by the status you think it gives you to say “You can watch my film on (Fill In The Blank Platform XYZ)”. It means absolutely zilch to have your film there – at least as how they are currently used by both them and customers. They use you for your data — and you are giving that away for free when you are collecting their peanuts for what you worked so long and hard for.

What are you asking yourself now? Is it whether you can make more money elsewhere? I believe so, particularly if you are also doing something else with it along the way.