Indie Doesn't Make Money
You Make Money
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Your Struggle to Make Money
By the end of our first year, we set our sights high—we planned to have 100 award-winning films in our library, and we hit that goal. I felt pride in what we’d accomplished. But whenever I got too comfortable, my tough Italian dad would bring me back to earth, reminding me, “The best lessons come from hard times, not success.”
Looking back, I can’t help but think of that Mike Tyson quote: “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” I was about to feel that punch—delivered straight from the cold, hard economics of the independent film industry.
On the surface, we had a ton of films, but deep down, the reality stung. We weren’t making any money. Even worse, filmmakers were only getting tiny payments—$8 or $9 here and there—barely a drop for all their blood, sweat, and tears. By the end of the year, I had to face it: OPPRIME.tv couldn’t make real money for anyone, not with the way things were set up.
It made me question everything—was it even possible to make money in the indie film world? The truth hit hard. I knew I had to rethink the entire approach.
I started reaching out to competitors, expecting resistance, but instead, they were surprisingly friendly and open. They weren’t making much money either. What I learned was eye-opening: most independent film platforms were struggling financially just like us. My competitors didn’t have all the answers, but they confirmed my gut feeling—the way VODs tried to make money from streaming indie films just wasn’t working.
Next, I turned to the filmmakers in our library for their input. They were polite, but I could see it in their eyes—they weren’t being fully honest. They weren’t making money from their films, but they didn’t want to crush me with the truth.
I needed the real story, so I spoke to filmmakers who didn’t know me personally. That’s when I met Janet. Her experience mirrored that of the 50 other filmmakers I talked to. She poured her heart into her films, won awards, but barely saw any money for her efforts. This wasn’t just her story—it was the story of almost every indie filmmaker, no matter which platform they used.
"In January, I invited my loyal fans to watch my film on the VOD platform. The first month was great because they were excited, and I earned the most money then. By February, most of them had already watched it and started looking at other indie films. With fewer new viewers, my earnings dropped fast.
The platform tracks how well my film does. Once my fans moved on to other movies, it showed my film wasn’t being watched much anymore, and my earnings dropped. Even though I got fans to sign up and watch, I didn’t earn extra money from their subscriptions after January. The biggest paycheck I got from the Pool Royalty Incentive Model was in the first month. After that, I stopped making money from getting my fans to join."
--Filmmaker Janet
Filmmakers Are Not Paid for Referrals
Here’s what hit me like a ton of bricks: the "Buy Button" on the website—what handles the credit card payments—only does half the job. It processes the payments, but it doesn’t track which filmmakers bring in their fans. So, when Janet works her tail off to get people to sign up and watch her film, she doesn’t get paid extra for those fans. She only earns when they watch her movie. But the second they start watching other films, her earnings stop.
The way VOD platforms pay filmmakers like Janet? It’s a dead end. She doesn’t make money for driving her fans to the platform, so she has no real reason to spread the word. That’s a huge problem. Without Janet’s hustle, the platform misses out on new subscribers, making less money overall. With less cash coming in, Janet’s not fired up to keep adding more films. And without fresh movies or a growing audience, the whole platform starts to stall out. It’s like baking a cake without sugar—it’s missing the key ingredient to make it work.
Filmmakers Don’t Make Money from The Pool
The Pool Royalty Incentive Model is the system that decides how indie filmmakers get paid on VOD platforms. Here’s how it works: part of each subscriber’s payment goes into a "pool," and that money is split between filmmakers based on how long people watch their films. The more watch time a film racks up, the bigger the payout.
Short films, which make up about 60% of indie content, are at a disadvantage with this model. Since they’re shorter, they don’t pull in as much watch time as feature films, so they end up earning less money.
This model is also a tough road for niche films. Since they don’t fit the mainstream mold, filmmakers often can’t afford big marketing pushes, leaving them stuck in the shadows. Without enough viewers tuning in, it’s hard for these films to bring in enough royalties to make a real impact.
Why VODs Struggle to Pay Filmmakers
VOD platforms in the Independent Film Economy, like OPPRIME.tv and Film Shortage, are like small, scrappy businesses trying to make it in a world dominated by giants like Netflix and Hulu. They don’t have the same big marketing muscle, so they rely on subscribers to stay afloat and pay filmmakers. But here’s the catch—they need more filmmakers to share their films and bring in viewers to grow their subscriber base.
This creates a tricky balancing act. Subscribers crave fresh, new films, but the subscription price is low. As more filmmakers join, there’s not enough money to go around. Imagine this: you’ve got 500 filmmakers and only 2,500 subscribers paying a low fee. It’s like trying to divide a small pie into way too many slices—most filmmakers end up earning little or nothing for their hard work.
Guaranteed Money with OPPRIME.tv’s Referral Link
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We guarantee you’ll get paid directly from your fans with OPPRIME.tv’s Referral Link technology. No other indie film company can promise that!
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Reach more fans around the world right now and grow your audience.
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We promote you to 80K new indie film fans on social media and email.
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