Filmmaker Direct is a new label appearing nationally on all major cable, satellite and telco VOD systems. Audiences who buy your film via their cable company’s video-on-demand service will know that 100% of the profits from their purchase will go directly to you, the filmmaker. That’s because it follows the same flat-fee business model as our popular iTunes service — we take no revenue share. For more information about whether it’s right for you and your film(s), contact CEO Adam Chapnick directly: adam [at] distribber.com

With Distribber your film can be made available to consumers on the following stores in the following territories:

iTunes: US and Canada
Netflix Watch Instantly: US and Canada
Amazon VOD: US only
Hulu: US only
Cable/Satellite/Telco VOD services: US only

We’re always working to expand the options available to our clients. Check this page again soon to see our progress!

If you are delivering just one standard definition (SD) film to iTunes, there is a one-time charge of $1295, which covers all the encoding, chapter breaking, tagging, and general caretaking that we’ll do to usher your film to full iTunes compliance and placement in the iTunes store.
After that, there is a flat annual service fee of $79 per film. The first year’s service fee is included in your $1295.

For high definition (HD) delivery, the charge is $1595.

If you are also using Distribber to access iTunes, placement on Hulu costs an additional $399. Hulu by itself costs $750.

For a limited time, if you sign up to use Distribber.com for iTunes distribution, you may add Amazon Video On Demand ABSOLUTELY FREE. Otherwise, the one-time charge is $95.

If you are also using Distribber to access iTunes, placement on Netflix Watch Instantly costs an additional $250 for SD and $395 for HD. Netflix Watch Instantly by itself costs $595 for SD and $795 for HD. The fee includes negotiating a streaming license for your film and handling delivery.

Submission is $249, which for a limited time is waived, so submission is now FREE. If your film is accepted, the charge is $5000 for guaranteed placement in a minimum of 80% of nationwide VOD households. Note that this service is not right for you if you do not have a good sense of the existing demand for your film. This deal works best for rightsholders who have already had some success with a title on VOD, are producing similar style/quality content for a similar audience, and want to retain more of their upside. If you think this could be right for you, please contact CEO Adam Chapnick directly to discuss: adam [at] distribber.com .

If you have multiple films, contact us for discount info.

iTunes and Amazon generally send your sales information and money within 60 days after the end of the month in which the sale took place.

Distribber offers 24-hour access to your sales stats. No more waiting on old-model distributors for reports! Just log in to your account to see the latest sales that have been reported to us by the stores. We now pay everyone monthly, within 10 business days of every collection. You may choose to receive your funds via Paypal (it’s fast!) or good old fashioned check.

On a $9.99 sale, Distribber pays you $7.00. We give you 100% of what we collect from iTunes.

Hulu collects advertising revenue based on the number of ads viewed while watching your movie, then pays you 50% of what they collect.

50-50. Again, we give you 100% of what we collect.

Unlike iTunes and Amazon VOD, Netflix’s Watch Instantly service does not pay “per turn.” Instead, they pay a license fee for your film’s Subscription Video On Demand (SVOD) rights — usually for one or two years. So, Netflix can stream your film to their subscribers as often as they wish during the term of your agreement, in exchange for the license fee Netflix pays for that term.

Each outlet cuts its own deal, so splits vary from cable operator to cable operator. Also, the elements of each film sometimes dictate better terms. As an average, you’ll see close to 50%.

Yes. For acceptance into the US iTunes store, you must include a closed captions file in either the .scc or .cap file format.

• For delivering your FEATURE in SD on tape, we only accept Digibeta tapes.
• You may deliver your TRAILER either on a Digibeta or as a file on a CD.
• OR, you may now deliver your feature and trailer as Pro-Res files on a hard drive:

For SD:

• File: Pro Res 422 HQ
• 720 × 480 – aspect defined 16:9 = 853 × 480 / 4:3 = 640 × 480
• Native Frame Rate
• Film: 23.98
• Video: 29.97i
• Audio: PCM Little Endian
• Ch. 1 left, Ch. 2 right – Each audio channel needs to be its own track

For HD:

• File: Pro Res 422 HQ
• 1920 × 1080
• Native Frame Rate
• Film: 23.98
• Video:29.97i
• Audio: Must have 8 channels of audio
  • 5.1 – L, R, C, LFE, Ls, Rs / PCM Little Endian / Each audio channel needs to be its own track
  • Ch. 7 stereo left, Ch. 8 stereo right / PCM Little Endian / Each audio channel needs to be its own track

Artwork can be a JPEG or TIFF. The image must be 800 × 1200 pixels.
Artwork may NOT include: credit blocks, email addresses, URLs, product tagging, or any other contact information or any pricing information.

For Amazon VOD, you need only provide a standard play-DVD (no data disks or Blue-Rays). This is because Amazon will down-res to DVD quality, so we discourage the expense and risk of creating and delivering other sources.

Amazon VOD: Yes
iTunes: No
Hulu: No
Netflix Watch Instantly: No
Cable/Satellite/Telco VOD: No

Our track record is extremely good for getting film and TV content onto iTunes. We have great relationships with all the platforms, but some are more picky than others.
Start by submitting your film’s information in the form on the Distribber homepage (you get your money back if you are declined, minus a $39 processing fee), and we’ll let you know within two weeks (often within a couple of days). Then, once your film is accepted, you can begin the deliverables process.

iTunes pricing is based on date completed (new release vs. library) and whether your film is HD or SD. There are 4 price tiers, and you may choose which you think gives your film it’s best chance. You may change price tiers after your film is live. Just notify us of the change and it’ll be active in a few days.

Amazon allows you to set your retail prices.

Netflix Watch Instantly is a subscription service, and so has no pricing for individual films.

Cable/Satellite/Telco VOD pricing is set by the operator.

GENERAL

While there are some rare exceptions, your film must:

• Be no racier than an MPAA R rating (if you don’t have an actual rating, you know what an R means)
• Be longer than 60 minutes
• Be available on a high-resolution master (like DigiBeta) or as a Pro Res 422 HQ file (SD can be transferred via FTP).
• Have a trailer in the same aspect ratio as your master
• Have poster art available as a .jpeg or .tiff file without a credit block, URL, or pricing info on it
• Have some bragging rights (e.g. festival selection, awards, stars, name producers/directors, good reviews, timely subject matter)

Your film must NOT

• Be pornographic
• Be waiting to clear any licenses (music or any other)
• Be a home movie
• Be an instructional video

NETFLIX WATCH INSTANTLY

To receive an offer from Netflix for their Watch Instantly service, your film must already be available in Netflix’s database. That is, if you search for your title on www.netflix.com, it is either already available on DVD, or if not, it appears as available to “Save” for the future.

Not yet, but we hope to be able to soon.

On average it takes about 90 days, if you have absolutely no QC issues. Most of this time occurs with the encoders, in the QC process. Once iTunes has your approved materials, the process moves very quickly. Please remember, Distribber does not have control over when your film goes live — but this is an average.

Unfortunately there is no easy way to make changes to a film once you have delivered. We distribute your film immediately to the iTunes encoders for delivery and therefore cannot make changes to the delivered film.
So, be very careful that your information is correct!

If your film has been live on iTunes for at least twelve months then just contact us and we will process a takedown for you. For films that have not been live for at least twelve months there is an early takedown fee of $95.

Yes! We are in discussions to add several more outlets soon. You will be able to submit your film to additional stores for an additional fee.

Officially, we say no, but in reality:
We always discuss promotional strategies with the platform you are placed on. We push for prominent placement on the iTunes Independent Film and Documentaries homepages, and to tie-in with other iTunes properties (film and music) when relevant. We work with Hulu to help determine best placement. We and our VOD partners at Brainstorm media work with MSOs to pick favorable release dates and other opportunities. And of course we promote clients’ films through our social media networks and our mailing list.