Ryan Douthit
February 22nd, 2013, 04:39 PM
Recently I started using a "new" service called Chill.com. But it's not really new. They launched several years ago as a "Pinterest for Video" and that's when I originally found them. They had a lovely interface, and they amassed a decent user base, but as a producer, I didn't get much value out of that incarnation.
Last November (iirc) they relaunched (or, "pivoted" using VC speak) with a new focus on providing producers a plug-and-play option for selling digital downloads. I posted a couple items on their site, and just yesterday had a long Skype talk with Chris, their Content Partner Manager.
Overall, the experience for producers is excellent. You can have a complete digital download page setup in minutes. It's a nice set of tools to sell or pre-sell productions online. Buyers get a DRM-free download and commercial-free online streaming. Sellers can set price, upload a trailer, and bundle "add ons" like stickers, shirts and whoatnot that include the digital download. (you'll note the similarity to Kickstarter in this fashion.) Chill charges 30% of revenue, similar to Apple. Outside of taking their cut, Chill doesn't charge a fee.
The downside is that right now, there's not of exposure baked into the site. If you go to the main page, you'll see a few videos promoted, but there is no way to browse all the videos available. In fact, if you're not promoted to the main page there is no way to find your video. By default, promotion falls to the producer. Not saying that's bad - it's just how it is right now.
They know they don't have a strong offering for episodic at this time, but it's something they're looking at. I suggested pre-selling season packages, which I think may be the direction they're going to go. With my own stuff, I've had the best success selling seasons in advance (with at least one already available) versus selling single video downloads.
It's a (fairly new) work in progress, but based on my interactions with a couple folks on their team they have a lot of good ideas and seem really focused on expanding the offering.
Here's a couple listings I have right now:
Livin' the Dream: Noble Star Rally | Chill (http://chill.com/rdouthit/living-the-dream?autoplay=1)
Crossover Megatest | Chill (http://chill.com/rdouthit/crossover-megatest?autoplay=1)
This link explains their offering to producers:
Chill | Projects (http://chill.com/creators)
Anyone else use this service yet or another service like it?
Last November (iirc) they relaunched (or, "pivoted" using VC speak) with a new focus on providing producers a plug-and-play option for selling digital downloads. I posted a couple items on their site, and just yesterday had a long Skype talk with Chris, their Content Partner Manager.
Overall, the experience for producers is excellent. You can have a complete digital download page setup in minutes. It's a nice set of tools to sell or pre-sell productions online. Buyers get a DRM-free download and commercial-free online streaming. Sellers can set price, upload a trailer, and bundle "add ons" like stickers, shirts and whoatnot that include the digital download. (you'll note the similarity to Kickstarter in this fashion.) Chill charges 30% of revenue, similar to Apple. Outside of taking their cut, Chill doesn't charge a fee.
The downside is that right now, there's not of exposure baked into the site. If you go to the main page, you'll see a few videos promoted, but there is no way to browse all the videos available. In fact, if you're not promoted to the main page there is no way to find your video. By default, promotion falls to the producer. Not saying that's bad - it's just how it is right now.
They know they don't have a strong offering for episodic at this time, but it's something they're looking at. I suggested pre-selling season packages, which I think may be the direction they're going to go. With my own stuff, I've had the best success selling seasons in advance (with at least one already available) versus selling single video downloads.
It's a (fairly new) work in progress, but based on my interactions with a couple folks on their team they have a lot of good ideas and seem really focused on expanding the offering.
Here's a couple listings I have right now:
Livin' the Dream: Noble Star Rally | Chill (http://chill.com/rdouthit/living-the-dream?autoplay=1)
Crossover Megatest | Chill (http://chill.com/rdouthit/crossover-megatest?autoplay=1)
This link explains their offering to producers:
Chill | Projects (http://chill.com/creators)
Anyone else use this service yet or another service like it?