Movie distribution is changing fast. A few years back, it was impossible to get your movie seen and sold without finding a traditional distributor willing to take a gamble with your title. And in those days, if you did not garner a deal, your movie died in quiet obscurity.
Thankfully the era of modern movie distribution has arrived. With companies like distrbber (full disclosure – they pay me to promote), filmmakers can now access popular marketplaces without asking permission. This means, that unlike the old days where you based your business plan on the Sundance lottery, you can now plan a marketing and sales strategy that YOU control.
While both iTunes and Amazon are awesome marketplaces for filmmakers, one of the most exciting outlets to emerge on the indie scene is Hulu. Unlike the other marketplaces, Hulu does not require viewers to enter a credit card to access your content. They make their money on advertising. This means that once you get your movie into Hulu, a viewer can stream your content and watch it without obstacles.
To get your movie onto Hulu, visit distribber and sign up for the service. With distribber there is a one-time upfront fee of $750. But unlike the traditional middle-men, deals with distribber are non-exclusive and you can cancel any time. In the event paying the upfront fee sounds crazy, because distribber is owned by Indie GoGo, you can always create a crowdfunding campaign to cover the cost.
Once your movie is in the Hulu marketplace, I would advise embedding your movie’s Hulu code right onto your website. Once complete, your next task is to simply drive traffic to your movie website. In this way, assuming the viewer stays long enough to watch an advertisement, then Hulu will split the ad revenue with you. A great way of getting traffic to your movie is by adding it to Hulu streaming guides like The Vore, Reelgood or Agoodmovietowatch.com. This means, you can potentially make money even if people don’t stick around to watch the end credits.