5 Reasons Traditional Distribution Still Matters

When you look at most of the other bloggers and podcasters talking about indiefilm distribution, a lot of them are very convinced that aggregators like Distribbr are the only solution that a Filmmaker needs.  As a Producer’s Rep, I disagree.  A good sales agent, distributor, or producer’s rep may each take a piece of the pie, but if they do their job well they’ll also make the pie significantly bigger, increasing the payout for all involved.


Here are 5 reasons why a traditional distributor or sales agent are still necessary partners.

1. Distribution and Marketing are their own Skillsets

Unless you happen to have a background in marketing or a huge social media following, it’s not likely you’ll even make back the money you put into the aggregation fees.  It’s a surprising amount of work to get the amount of money you need to pay back fees upwards of a thousand dollars to put the film on iTunes. 

Distributors also help market the film.  It’s all they do, so they’re generally pretty good at it.  (At least, if you get the right ones) In addition to cutting the costs of aggregation and paying them out of a recoupable expense, Sales agencies and distributors will also often put money into a publicist, social media ads, and other marketing expenditures that will help your film make more money to all involved. ​

2. It's generally No/Less Money Up Front

In addition to needing to pay aggregation fees up front if you do it yourself, you’ll also need to hire a publicist, take out social media ads, and pay a lot more marketing expenses.  If it were me, I’d much rather give up a piece of the action to have someone else cover some of these costs up front. ​

3. Not Every Avenue is Truly Open Without a Local Distributor

No matter what people tell you, not every avenue is completely open to self distribution.  Theatrical is rare for most indiefilms, but unless you want to give up 70-95% of the take, and potentially pay a large amount of money to a platform or directly to theaters, you’re not getting into theaters.  If you work with the right distributor, they MIGHT be able to book you some screens. 

I’ve got one film Goodland opening in NY and LA this weekend (May 11) and 6-10 other markets on May 18th.  We didn’t have to pay anything up front.  It’s all because we got the right distributor involved. 

Further, other outlets won’t get you into Cable VOD, or SVOD other than Amazon Prime, event though they may claim they have the ability to. ​

4. Local Distributors Control Specialized Knowledge

Do you have any idea how to localize a film for South Korea?  What about Germany, Italy, or Mongolia?  I’m a Producer’s rep, and I certainly don’t.  But I do know people who do, and I know lots of people who can get it to the territories I can’t.  Successfully selling a film internationally involves a lot of high level skills most filmmakers simply do not possess.  So if you want your film to be truly exportable, then you should consider working with some partners to help you capture the foreign market.
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5. Marketing is Much More Effective with Multiple Partners.

Multiple voices pushing your film will do a lot more than yours alone.  Working with Producer’s Reps, international Sales Agents, and distributors will amplify your voice and help it rise above the white noise to really take your project to the next level.   Without the multiple partners helping you out, it can cost significantly more to get your film out there.  

Thanks for reading!  In lieu of many of my other right hooks, I’m going to offer you a new one.  I’m going to offer the first 25 people reading this blog a FREE Hour long Strategy Session.  If you sign up, I will personally help you understand where you are with your project, and how to get you to the next level.  Schedule your free strategy session through the link below.