Nerdbot loves indie films and filmmakers, and a new streaming platform promises to help them get their films seen without many of the pitfalls of previous platforms. In October, RecDek will be launching The Drive-In, a brand new TVOD service.
The Drive-In streams directly from independent filmmakers’ libraries. RecDek says that this means: “nothing is handed over, re-uploaded or locked away.” This allows producers to set their own price, keep receipts from sales, and see real-time audience metrics. Filmmakers can remove territories instantly if the movie sells to a distributor in a specific region.
RecDek is partnering with Hiway with the goal of giving indie filmmakers a platform to showcase their work. The Drive-In “turns a festival-season relationship with the industry into a year-round collaboration.”
“We champion the voices studios drown out, and for too long it had been unclear exactly how filmmakers get their movies distributed. Sure you can pitch, screen your work, hustle and so you should. Go after wherever you think your movie will be looked after best,” said Ed Rigg, writer/director and founder at RecDek. It will “exist for when filmmakers decide to take their film’s future into their own hands.” He adds, “Filmmakers keep everything that should be theirs and our community on the app, and in the wider industry, get a place to watch the shows we have been shouting about.”
The Fans
As fans, we love the idea of smaller voices getting a shot at bigger audiences without having to give away their rights. One of the reasons we chose to center a spotlight series around Tubi is because it was paying creators the best out of any other currently available option. Which is still not very much, as many of the filmmakers we’ve spoken to admit.
According to Hiway founder and CEO David Orman, RecDek has “built one of the most connected communities” in independent film. “The missing piece was a screen of their own. The Drive-In gives them that, on terms the industry rarely offers: every filmmaker keeps their IP, their audience and the majority of their revenue. RecDek owns the brand and the relationship, we provide the rails. The tools now exist for RecDek to run their own show.”
The only major concern we have here is the fact that this seems to be done on a paid system. Ad-supported/subscription-based streaming has given customers the expectation of “free” or one flat-rate when it comes to content. Physical media sales waned for decades due to the cost of buying it. Plus, consumers are now more reluctant to buy digital content. Mostly because you don’t really own it, and something that you paid for can disappear at any time.
We aren’t saying this is a bad idea by any means; quite the opposite. But we do have to point out that current trends in the consumer market don’t necessarily indicate a high demand for a streaming service where people pay to rent/buy movies.
The Pitfalls of Ad-Supported
As many filmmakers in our Tubi Spotlight series have pointed out, viewers use ad-supported streaming because it is a free way to access content. Customers are much more likely to give a smaller film a chance if they don’t have to pay, or if it’s part of a service they already pay for.
We can attest to this firsthand, having worked several conventions centered around independent films. Someone walking up to a booth, looking at physical media, and then asking if it’s streaming is a frequent occurrence. Some promise to buy it if they watch it for free and like it. Most don’t, and that’s just the way it is at this point. Hence why you see so many small filmmakers vying to get onto large platforms just for the potential exposure to a viewer who will buy a physical copy. Or at the very least suggest it to their friends to bring in more (undercompensated) views.
Advertisers may sound like a solution to keep things free for audiences. However, the revenue that model generates demands filmmakers work for pennies (at best). And with advertisers comes more censorship standards. We don’t know how censored/uncensored The Drive-In will be. But we do know that practically every platform that has cracked down on nudity and violence has cited advertiser concerns as one of the reasons for it. Creating a horrific double-edged sword for creators. Post your movies on an ad-supported platform for almost no return. Or go behind a paywall and risk languishing in obscurity.
The point is, buying physical media is still king for directly supporting independent art. While taking that notion digital may seem like a great idea, we’re just not sure there is a big enough market of film fans who are still willing to digitally rent/buy. That said, we certainly hope there is, since this could potentially reshape the way that creators and streaming platforms work together.
Filmmakers can submit their work to RecDek here. The Drive-In will officially launch on October 17th.
