Distribution is definitely one of the biggest challenges indie filmmakers face today. The market has changed drastically in over the past few years, and markets like DVD sales have all but died, and in foreign sales, getting a drama out there isn’t easy. But, we were very lucky to be signed with a great sales company, Cinetic Rights Management, early on. We are working with them on the TV side, as well as digital distribution, which is really their core focus. The concept of digital distribution isn’t new, but for feature films, it is a newer platform/business model. Essentially, they take the movie and bring it to amazon, Hulu, iTunes and a number of other similar platforms.
Raspberry Magic has been up on amazon since mid December, but we just came out on Hulu. For a moment, I felt a little panicked about it being on Hulu, as they have a completely ad supported business model, which means that the content is free, but it is embedded with advertising throughout. Seeing the movie cut up that way was a little tough for me, but I’m trying to keep an open mid about it for several reasons. First, I believe more eyes will get on the movie through this means than even premium cable. Already, I can see that quite a few people have watched it. Also, I believe there is an opportunity for a much larger revenue stream than with any of the traditional angles we have worked thus far. So… Being a person of the digital age, I believe that I have to be open about this form of distribution.
