Selling movies through iPhone/Ipad app store..? at DVinfo.net

Greg Quinn · April 29th, 2012, 05:54 PM

Hi;
With the current distribution scene being what it is for indie productions - narrative and documentary - , I'm wondering if anyone apart from Warner Brothers has tried distributing films via the Apple app store (or Google Android market/Play for that matter)?
Thanks
Greg

Kevin Spahr · May 1st, 2012, 06:03 PM

For iTunes you need to go through one of a handful of companies approved by Apple - it isn't cheap plus they take a cut also.

I couldn't find any detail on fees/costs for youtube rental options.

With all of these you still have to do the promotion yourself - they just handle the delivery.

If you just want to stream your movie as a rental you could check out distrify.com
This is the cheapest option I found and you set the price you want to sell it at. You can also sell your movie as a download or your DVDs through this service too. They also allow you to see stats on your movie such as how many people have previewed it, etc.

They also have an easy way to sell your movie directly on your Facebook page or any where else you want to put their player - just paste the html code they generate for you.

I have been very happy with their support too - I had some questions and they got back to me real quick.

Here's my doc:
Distrify Glen Rock Fae: The Spoutwood Fairie Festival

Greg Quinn · May 2nd, 2012, 07:11 AM

Thanks Kevin, I appreciate the detailed reply. I was thinking specifically of the app store and not iTunes. For example, you can buy an app (three actually) that contain the films of Roger Corman, etc. as well as the recent Warner Brother example. I'm an iPhone/Android developer so creating these kinds of apps is no biggie for me.

Kevin Spahr · May 2nd, 2012, 08:20 AM

I heard about that but haven't looked into it yet. This would avoid the expense of going through an Apple approved aggregator on iTunes.

Do they embed the movie in the app or just link to it. A good quality movie for an iPad is gets into the mulit-gigabyte range.

Another thing I want to check into is Apple's iBook Author. You can easily embed a movie in an ebook but I don't know if they have a file size limit.

Greg Quinn · May 2nd, 2012, 02:19 PM

I've only found the Corman films as examples; they are embedded into the app, which is huge (~1.6gb if I remember correctly). This article on TUAW describes the Warner Brothers app which seems to be a download. Unless the app does something extra, as far as I can see it contravenes app store guidelines. The Corman app (I don't think it's created by Corman) seems to do nothing except display small format versions of the films. I think if you start trying to do this on an iPad Apple may cry foul.

April 29th, 2012, 05:54 PM	#1
Greg Quinn Major Player Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: San Diego, California Posts: 505	Selling movies through iPhone/Ipad app store..? Hi; With the current distribution scene being what it is for indie productions - narrative and documentary - , I'm wondering if anyone apart from Warner Brothers has tried distributing films via the Apple app store (or Google Android market/Play for that matter)? Thanks Greg

May 1st, 2012, 06:03 PM	#2
Kevin Spahr Major Player Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Carlisle, PA Posts: 451	Re: Selling movies through iPhone/Ipad app store..? For iTunes you need to go through one of a handful of companies approved by Apple - it isn't cheap plus they take a cut also. I couldn't find any detail on fees/costs for youtube rental options. With all of these you still have to do the promotion yourself - they just handle the delivery. If you just want to stream your movie as a rental you could check out distrify.com This is the cheapest option I found and you set the price you want to sell it at. You can also sell your movie as a download or your DVDs through this service too. They also allow you to see stats on your movie such as how many people have previewed it, etc. They also have an easy way to sell your movie directly on your Facebook page or any where else you want to put their player - just paste the html code they generate for you. I have been very happy with their support too - I had some questions and they got back to me real quick. Here's my doc: Distrify Glen Rock Fae: The Spoutwood Fairie Festival

May 2nd, 2012, 07:11 AM	#3
Greg Quinn Major Player Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: San Diego, California Posts: 505	Re: Selling movies through iPhone/Ipad app store..? Thanks Kevin, I appreciate the detailed reply. I was thinking specifically of the app store and not iTunes. For example, you can buy an app (three actually) that contain the films of Roger Corman, etc. as well as the recent Warner Brother example. I'm an iPhone/Android developer so creating these kinds of apps is no biggie for me.

May 2nd, 2012, 08:20 AM	#4
Kevin Spahr Major Player Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Carlisle, PA Posts: 451	Re: Selling movies through iPhone/Ipad app store..? I heard about that but haven't looked into it yet. This would avoid the expense of going through an Apple approved aggregator on iTunes. Do they embed the movie in the app or just link to it. A good quality movie for an iPad is gets into the mulit-gigabyte range. Another thing I want to check into is Apple's iBook Author. You can easily embed a movie in an ebook but I don't know if they have a file size limit.

May 2nd, 2012, 02:19 PM	#5
Greg Quinn Major Player Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: San Diego, California Posts: 505	Re: Selling movies through iPhone/Ipad app store..? I've only found the Corman films as examples; they are embedded into the app, which is huge (~1.6gb if I remember correctly). This article on TUAW describes the Warner Brothers app which seems to be a download. Unless the app does something extra, as far as I can see it contravenes app store guidelines. The Corman app (I don't think it's created by Corman) seems to do nothing except display small format versions of the films. I think if you start trying to do this on an iPad Apple may cry foul.