Vimeo: Tip Jar and Pay-to-view!
OK I think this is BIG!
At the very least this annoucement has the potential to be very big, and I think this is an important date on the timeline of online video delivery history.
Vimeo is going to allow its community to start monetizing their video content (and not with annoying ads like youTube!)
And while Video on Demand or Pay per View aren’t anything new, making them available to the "masses" if you will – IS.
There are two ways this will work:
First is Vimeo’s Tip Jar which enables us to crowdsource funds to support future work. I’m a big fan of this! Viewers will be invited to give tips before, during or after watching a video. And Vimeo will give 85% of that money straight to the creator – which is more than reasonable. And you can start doing this TODAY if you’re a Vimeo Plus or Vimeo Pro member by simply activating the feature.
I’ve been one of the many people out there asking Vimeo to do something like this for more than 2 years. I think that if audience members enjoy a tutorial or a video, this is the best way (by giving a small "tip") for them to help that filmmaker continue to produce more of that content. Same goes of course for short film, music videos, time lapse tips – you name it… or in this case: you "tip" it!
As far as this blog is concerned, the truth is that the majority of the sponsorship we get from companies on this blog goes right into the production of educational/promotionals/behind the scenes videos, shoots, and reviews we do on this blog. In an ideal world I would love to be able to do these videos purely off of crowdsourcing funds. We’d be able to make more of them, and to make them a little more impressive or just plain crazier 😉
Vimeo Tip Jar and Pay-to-view from Vimeo Staff on Vimeo.
I think a lot of people will be activating this feature on their Vimeo accounts – you never know who will appreciate the work you put up…
This blog has never been about making money, it’s about sharing and giving a little bit back. But the truth is: it takes a lot of time, effort and money to get that done. And to this day we’ve been able to do that (a team of 4 of us) on a weekly basis – thanks to the sponsors of this blog. If you’re not already familiar with them, you should check out the gear section and the educational resources section of this blog that contains a wealth of information.
This new feature will hopefully allow us to balance things out more and to "think bigger" in terms of demos and videos which has me very excited. And that’s what I think is significant about Vimeo’s announcement: it allows us to not only continue to connect with our Vimeo audience, but also to give them an easy way for them to support our (and other people’s) future work.
Which is awesome.
The second method, is Vimeo’s pay-to-view. And I think it’s just as significant, if not more. VOD is nothing new. But the everyday easy access to Video On Demand is huge and a significant step in online distribution. Vimeo will beta this feature in the fall, and make it available to Vimeo PRO subscribers in early 2013. Filmmakers/content providers will be able to control their pricing, rental duration, distribution location, and other settings with the service.
The fact that Vimeo is making this available to ANYONE with a Vimeo Pro account is very significant in my opinion. And the fact that Vimeo is on just about every Apple TV, iPad, iPhone and Android is not to be forgotten… I routinely watch Vimeo videos on my flat screen TV at home (I save them to my "watch later" queue on my phone or on the web and watch them when I’m at home.) I can only imagine this functionality will make its way onto those apps as well at some point. And I can’t wait to see the first young filmmaker put out a great short… and have that short fund her or his first feature-length film. And I’m sure I’m not alone!
With vimeo already reaching a global audience of more than 75 million viewers a month – I think that this will make a lot of people out there happy. I plan on "tipping" a lot of other videos out there myself as I really believe that we all benefit from one another’s support in the filmmaking and content creation community. For more information you can visit Vimeo’s blog page detailing these new features or here https://vimeo.com/creatorservices/ .
This is very exciting news. Finally a distribution model for independent film makers that’s not itunes or netflix. I think this could also facilitate a safe place for short films to grow in. Props to vimeo for stepping up.
Vincent, This is good news on many levels for creatives to have access to more training content plus supporting each other with the tip jar. But you know there will be those that will say way should I have to pay or tip.
Vincent Laforet Reply:
September 19th, 2012 at 9:35 am
Of course there will ! Until THEY start to try to make a living at this .. Or even only if they try to pay for their hobby… One hopes! (some clearly: never.)
I love the tip jar concept. When you don’t force a price, I think people will actually be more motivated to back films they loved.
The VOD I am less convinced will be amazing. It already takes films with stars and multi-million dollar budgets loads of advertising to convince us to spend $8-12 on seeing their films. If a film from a film maker you have never heard of casts people you have never heard of with a micro budget, even if the film is amazing, I believe it is a difficult sell for most. I would not mind being wrong though.
Vincent Laforet Reply:
September 19th, 2012 at 10:27 am
Sure – but what about paying $0.99 for a short? or $2.99 for an Indie?
@Vincent Laforet, I think those reduced prices around 99 cents will possibly work for those who have an established following and solid credibility for films at a near feature length. For those who make outstanding films but are simply unknown, I don’t see it working out as well for them.
Also, in regards to short films I think the VOD model could possibly be detrimental. I really don’t know if any of the unknowns that ended up producing viral hits would have accomplished that if a price to admission stood in the way of the masses. I personally feel that a short film isn’t made to directly earn a profit, but instead stands as a proof of talent. The real goal for most putting a ton of work into shorts is to become discovered as far as I can tell, as most people won’t risk their time on a short film from some unknown even when it is completely free.
Vincent Laforet Reply:
September 19th, 2012 at 12:03 pm
Agreed -and all solid points. But if we don’t try… we can’t find out can we?
I think you only need to look at Amazon and what is happening now with Indy books. They are now making the best seller lists and disrupting traditional publishing.
I think this is very much possible in Indy film too. I thought Amazon would be first, but it takes 6 months to get a film up on Amazon. For Vimeo to do this will spur others to join in and create a much larger marketplace for Indy film. I think this is huge.
However, simply activating the feature means you have to go into each video separately to activate it. Luckily I’m newer to Vimeo and have a whopping 5 videos but for those with hundreds of videos, they would have to go into each one to activate it. Which is time consuming but I think worth it.
I’m curious to see how the VOD works. It will make sure descriptions become more creative but I think its a fantastic way to help support each other in our creative ways.
As an indie filmmaker myself, I have to say that the VOD CAN be a great way to make profit!
That is of course, if used correctly. I’m unknown to the masses… I think building a solid fan base who loves my work and ‘tips’ me for future production will help me branch off into the VOD category.
Marketing correctly is important as well. Making a series of free to view films so the internet audience can see your work, puts you out there. Creating a series or story that is very popular can lead up to the VOD. Much like sports entertainment does (professional wrestling, ppv boxing, etc.)
Its a great feature, those filmmakers utilizing it will have to use it wisely though. Just my opinion.
This is great news. Although I am non professional, I am still a pro Vimeo member so that I can host my attempt at Real Estate videos. The sad part for me is that I am unable to engage with the vimeo community as the content is essentially commercial. Frustrating as best as passionate about the industry and the people in it. There are so many talented people on Vimeo it would great to connect , and maybe down the road someone somewhere, maybe just maybe makes some Real Estate videos to help pay the bills. At least the broker can pay the film maker/videographer through Vimeo ,
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Suggestion for Vimeo: add suscription options too.
Some people create lots of small videos, you can’t expect me to pay $0.10 for each one they make, but you can expect me to pay $3/month to watch them all.
Vincent Laforet Reply:
September 20th, 2012 at 9:07 am
Oooh – I hate the subscription model! That’s the death of all of us IMO.
The vast majority of film makers use Vimeo to achieve mass recognition, to build an audience and increase their appeal.
I think the tip jar model is universally appealing, and won’t harm mass appeal / distribution. Even if a small % use it, its still a contribution to content costs.
But for the 95% pay per view will detrimentally harm audience numbers. For it to work past content is king, and a strong sell required to do well.
I think traditional pay per view is an outdated hollywood model, and there needs to be a spin on this for web distribution. i.e. first 10,000 watch it free with the tip system to gain traction and further views pay per view. But Vimeo needs to provide film makers with the options in this department to make it work for them.
This is great news for all great creatives with amazing videos on Vimeo! It will be interesting to see how the pay-to-view is presented to the buyers and how flexible the solution is. We see there are quite some limitations already for Tipping: no embed, Paypal only, see their FAQs http://vimeo.com/help/faq/tip_jar
It seems many other video or content platforms tried to launch their own pay system, yet often they realize this is not their core business and then look for other best in class components to integrate.
Actually, for those who cannot wait until 2013 to sell videos pay-to-view, Vimeans can try Cleeng. Takes 2 minutes to protect a video:
http://cleeng.com/us/s/sell-online-video
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