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A new means of distribution?

S

Snapalooza

Hello all,
I started a new website called Snapalooza (http://www.snapalooza.com). It is a place where people can upload sets of images or videos for sale...and where other people can purchase and download them. In almost all cases it costs the publisher nothing. We split the money if what you post sells and I cover all the hosting and administrative costs.

I have always thought that Snapalooza might be a good way for independent filmmakers to sell their films.

Snapalooza offers features to help you market your films such as integration with Facebook and the ability to easily create embed code that allows you to display a listing of your films for sale on any other website.

I'm looking for feedback from the independent film community on the usefulness of this idea and also anything I can do to make the site more useful. Anybody is welcome to create an account and upload their films and then to get the word out that they are available for sale on Snapalooza.

Snapalooza
www.snapalooza.com

contact@snapalooza.com
 
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YouTube & Hulu

YouTube does now offer rentals if you want to get paid for your content but it appears as though it is only for "...major Hollywood studios..." as their website says. Of course you can always post your work for free on YouTube. Hulu seems to offer a range of content including that from smaller studios but again it is not clear how you become a studio with content on Hulu. I'm sure you can but the process seems more involved.

Snapalooza makes it easy to post content for sale. You don't have to be a major studio or go through any process. You just create an account and upload your content and it is immediately available for sale. From that standpoint it may be the best alternative for the newer and smaller filmmakers needing their first means of distribution.

I appreciate the response. It is a brand new website and I am looking for feedback and potential publishers. Maybe the concept makes sense for independent filmmakers...maybe not. I would love to have some filmmakers try it though to find out.

Snapalooza

contact@snapalooza.com

www.snapalooza.com
 
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So I, as a filmmaker, should give you 50% of the profits for hosting and an additional 5% for payment processing? Do you honestly think anyone in their right mind is going to go for that?
 
Several things...

First...the payment processing fee is set to 0% and the terms are updated to reflect this. I had originally intended to charge a separate fee for payment servicing because I still get charged for it when somebody buys your content but I decided to eat that cost out of my percentage to make for a cleaner billing model for content publishers. It is possible but at least at this point I have opted to not charge an additional fee. That means I would cover the storage, bandwidth, and other costs that I would get charged for distributing your content out of my percentage.

Second...tell me what percentage other websites offering a means of distribution are charging to offer your content for sale? Seriously...If there is competition for this kind of service I want to know what the pricing structures are so I could potentially match them and be competitive.

Third...I would consider a "graduated" pricing structure for filmmakers who were selling content and bringing in revenue.

Nothing is set in stone at this point and the only way it will work is if it works for everybody. That is why I posted here...to get constructive feedback.

I appreciate the response.

Snapalooza

www.snapalooza.com

contact@snapalooza.com
 
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Snapalooza said:
Snapalooza makes it easy to post content for sale. You don't have to be a major studio or go through any process. You just create an account and upload your content and it is immediately available for sale. From that standpoint it may be the best alternative for the newer and smaller filmmakers needing their first means of distribution.
Click to expand...

This is, essentially, what CreateSpace and Amazon are doing. I do
see the slight difference - a filmmaker does not upload content
directly to the Amazon server - but a filmmaker does not have to
be major studio or go through any process other then creating an
account and sending in their content.

I love the idea of it. As you know, the real issue we filmmakers face
isn't a place to upload out films - it's driving enough traffic to the
site to get sales. Distribution is so much more than a website with
content. As I know you also know, full distribution (in the truest
sense of that word) costs more then most movies - at least on our
level.

So my question; what are your plans for driving traffic to the site?

As you know, there isn't much of a market for "newer and smaller"
films. Those of who make these films don't really pay to buy or watch
films from our fellow filmmakers and the general audience isn't
interested in paying to see movies made by people they don't know
staring actors they haven't heard of.

Again, I love the idea. I hope you can conquer what I think is the
most difficult challenge.
 
I don't think there's any point in being excessively cynical about indie sites promoting indie films.

That said there's a lot of work to do for ideas like this to flourish. Quite a lot of people promote similar sites here on IT and none of them (that I've regularly checked) have managed much. I hope Snapalooza does better.

From a personal point 50% seems quite high and I think it would be to you (psychological) advantage to choose a number in the 40s that will help people not feel like they're giving you as much as they're getting themselves.

Also I'm always unsure about large ads on the homepage of developing sites. For me it's very off putting. Look at every successful website (however esoteric and relatively small) and they all have clean, ad free homepages. I know it's tempting to try and recoup a little bit of your money asap through the ads but I think it would be to your benefit to let the site grow and it's user base and reputation grow as well before overloading it with ads.

Good luck! :)
 
If I came across as cynical I apologize.

I am very excited about any possibility for distribution. I have my concerns based
on past experiences, but I hope to find the one that works. I have already signed
up on Snapalooza to show support.
 
I actually very nearly began that sentence 'I agree with Rik that there's no point being...' :D

It wasn't directed at you at all but at the people who commented earlier simply to point out problems and similarities to other sites.
 
I would think your biggest competitor is Netflix. With unlimited downloads of a giant collection of movies plus dvds and blurays -- you'd really need to have an angle to compete there.

1) You could try letting people see the first 10 minutes or so for free.

2) You could try hooking up with some well known celebs and their pet projects.

3) You could try a "club" membership where people pay a monthly fee to see how many films they want.

The Netflix club model is only about $8 though, I believe.
 
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