The latest Biopia Brian Epstein “Midas Man”, a movie about Beatles manager, debuted not on a platform like Netflix or Amazon, but at a beginning that Billet itself as “Shopify for filmmakers”. So what, you can ask?
The answer is that the new platform, Olyn, claims to offer a new model for the distribution of film and videos that relies on the power of social references to spread the transmission content “à la Carte”. Although any production size – from Hollywood Blockbuster down – can use the platform, the company claims it can be a game switch for the independent film industry, which tends to fight the marketing of the largest film marketing on the main transmission platforms.
Olyn based in California-founded by Ana Maria Jipa, Jeremias Buireo, Kiran Thomas and Malcolm Wood-Lejon filmmakers keep up to 90% of their income while giving the audience access to a broadcast experience. Instead of films to be sold on platforms like Netflix, the model depends on the marketing budget of the filmmakers themselves, combined with influencers, film critics and content makers acting as distribution partners by embedding purchases within their contents, blogs and social channels.
This approach from colleagues from colleagues leaves with the platform as a mediator and turns the distribution of film into more an e-commerce style commitment.
Jipa, CEO and Olyn’s co -founder, told Techcrunch that the company provides the filmmakers with the equivalent of a full flow platform. “We offer all the technology that implies: DRM, Streaming 4K, Casting, a full landing page that represents the film in the same way that may appear on Netflix or Apple TV, plus all other tools like geo-aim Analytics, and audience data.
Olyn also gives the analytical filmmakers on the vision, such as where the film is making, as well as the minutes watched, and a database of users who have watched the films. “Directors can spend years making a movie, but will never meet or own their audience at all. So we see this as a very powerful tool. It becomes an audience you can directly address for movies Your next and then grow from there, ”Jipa said.
The question is, can Olyn compete with the comfort and degree of key transmitters? While its model offers much higher revenue actions for filmmakers, it also means that all weight is placed on the shoulders of production teams to run marketing and partnerships.
Perry Trevers, a studio Pow manufacturer, who used Olyn to distribute “Midas Man”, sees the platform as a useful step in the right direction. “Olyn has enabled us to think beyond traditional platforms, leaving us to become our transmission service (…) is about empowering filmmakers to trade and distribute films in a way that reflects direct success to the consumer of E -Commerce (…) is a chance to keep control of our work and redefine how films reach their viewers, “he said in a statement.
One of the most pressing issues in the film industry is piracy. Many users turn to illegal resources simply because a film is not available in their country. Jipa argues that Olyn’s global achievement can help fight this issue, because if anyone can pay for a movie and watch it immediately, they are much more likely to do so.
Olyn’s attempt in film broadcasting came in part when the entrepreneur and director Wood joined as co -founder of the platform, which initially began as a way to catalog physical wealth. Wood started his film, “The Last Glaciers”, on the platform.
“Independent filmmakers have already taken the financial risk to produce their own films. Studio Pow is self-funded. They created the movie “Midas Man”. They have the freedom to be able to sell those rights to anyone they want. They made a deal in the UK market with Amazon, but they thought it was more profitable to go directly to their audiences in the US market using Olyn as a tool, “he said.
Wood thinks Olyn can be best thought of as “Shopify for filmmakers with a reference connection”.
He noted that the average film in the Amazon in the UK receives only about 2,000 views a year. “So there are a bunch of movies that are getting millions of views, but most films fall under 2,000 Mark,” he added.
The main broadcasting services usually offer a licensing agreement, which means the filmmakers receive a once payment, no matter how many times their film is watching. Olyn roll this model in his head allowing the filmmakers to make money on the basis of vision.
“With Olyn, a filmmaker can still sell their rights to the US market and use it to foresee the film, but then capitalize by going directly to the consumer, say, Asia,” Wood said.
But can the platform from the adult film industry be used to distribute pornography?
Jipa accepted the challenge: “For now, this is not the tone we want to decide, and it would be easy to attract that category,” she said. “At first, we are setting the tone ensuring that the films featured in Olyn are of high quality.”
“But in the long run, we aim to create a space where filmmakers, not platforms, decide what is scattered,” she added. “We do not want to act as a desert. Our vision is to allow the filmmakers to have full control over what they distribute, finally switching to a full Saas model. “
Olyn has so far raised only a small amount of funds – a total of $ 2.8 million – in a combination of $ 1.8 million from the US firm VC Hard Yaka and a number of angels investors.
