What's the Difference between a Sales Agent and a Distributor.

As a Producer’s Rep, one of the questions I get asked the most is what exactly do I do?   The term is somewhat ubiquitous and often mean different things to different people.   So I thought it might be a good idea to settle the matter.   In this post, I’ll outline what a producer’s rep is, and how we interact with sales agents, investors, filmmakers, and direct distribution channels. But first, we need a little background on some of the terms we’ll be using, and what they mean.   These terms vary a bit depending on who you ask, but this is what I’ve been able to gather

​DISTRIBUTOR / BUYER

A distributor is someone who takes the product to an end user.   This can be anything a buyer for a theater chain, a PayTV channel, a VOD platform, to an entertainment media buyer for a large retail chain like Wal-Mart, Target, or Walgreens.  The rights Distributors take are generally broken up both by media type and by territory.  
For Instance, if you were to sell a film to someone like HBO, they would likely take at least the US PayTV and SVOD rights, so that it could stream on premium television and HBO Go/ Now. They make take additional territories as well. 

Conversely, it’s not uncommon to sell all of France or Germany in one go. It should are often sold by the language, so sometimes French Canada will sell with France. This is less common as of late.
Generally, these entities will pay real money via a wire transfer, and almost dealing directly only with a sales agent. Although sometimes to a producer’s rep, and VOD platforms will generally deal with an aggregator.   The traditional model of film finance is built around presales to these sorts of entities, but that presale model has recently shifted.   

Sales Agents

A Sales agent is a person or company with deep connections in the world of international sales. They specialize in segmenting and selling rights to individual territories. Often, they will be distributors themselves within their country of origin.   This business is entirely relationship based, and the sales agents who have been around a while have very long term business relationships with buyers all around the world.   That’s why they travel to all of the major film markets.

Examples on the medium-large end would be Magnolia Pictures international, Tri-Coast Entertainment, and Multivissionaire. WonderPhil is up and coming as well.   The Weinstein Company, Lionsgate, and Focus Features would also be considered distributors/sales agents, but they’re very hard to approach.
​

​Generally, these sales specialists will work on commission. They may offer a minimum guarantee when you sign the film but that is not common. Generally, they will charge recoupable expenses that mean you won’t see any money until after they’re recouped a certain amount. There are ways around this, but I’ll have to touch on this in a later blog [or book].

​A sales agent commission will be between 20% and 35%, this is variable depending on several factors, but generally 25% or under is generally good, and over 30% is a sign you should read more into this distributor.

Aggregators

​Aggregators are companies that help you get on VOD platforms.   The most important service they provide is helping you conform to technical specifications required by various VOD platforms. This job is not as easy as you would think it is, which is why they charge so much.   Additionally, they have better access to some VOD platforms than others. These days, it’s very difficult to get on iTunes without one.

Generally, charge a not insubstantial fee to get you on these platforms, and they offer little to help you market the project. Companies like this include Distribbr, Bitmax, and more listed in the link below.

Related: Learn more on Aggregators from NoFilmSchool

There are merits to going this through this route, but they can be expensive, often costing about one thousand USD up front and growing from there. Check the link above for a much more thorough analysis.

Producer of Marketing and Distribution.[PMD]

​In the words of Former ICM agent Jim Jeramanok, PMDs are worth their weight in gold. A PMD is a producer who helps you develop your marketing and social media strategy, your Festival strategy, and your distribution strategy.   They’re also quite likely to have some connections into distribution.   They’re there to give your film the best possible chance at making money when it’s done.

Generally, they’re paid just as any other producer would be, but if they’re good, they’re worth every penny. With a god PMD on board, your project’s chances for monetary success are exponentially better.   

​If you’re an investor reading this, you want any film you invest in to at least have access to a PMD or Producer’s Rep.  

Executive Producers

​In the independent film world, the traditional definition of an executive producer is someone who helps you package projects by attaching distribution, bankable talent, and with luck financing.   They’ll also help you design a beneficial financial mix, [I.E. where can you best utilize tax incentives, presales, brand integration, and equity, and gap debt.] in order to help your project have the best chance of success.

Often, they’ll take a percentage of your raise, and you’ll have to have some money to pay them up front.   Not an insane amount of money, but some.

Producer's Reps

I’ll go into this much more deeply next week, But Producer’s Reps are essentially a connector between all of these sorts of people and companies.  Producer’s Reps will connect you do sales agents, aggregators, buyers, and investors. But more than that, a good one will help you figure out how and when to contact each one. For a more detailed analysis of what exactly a Producer's Rep does, Check out THIS BLOG!

Related: What does a Producer's Rep do Anyway?

There are far too few executive producers in the industry.  For those who have the skills, work is never hard to find.  Given this shortage, I've started an Executive Producer Expressway Program that will help transform you into a fully capable Executive Producer.  The program will give you the skills to package your independent film including attaching talent, finance your film, Market your Movie, and not only how to talk to sales agents and distributors, but how to tell a good independent film distribution deal from a bad one.   This program starts out with a completely FREE Strategy session with me.  Book yours today.  

Sign up for your FREE Strategy Session Today!

Want to more about Distribution?  Check out this book.​

There's more to film markets than simply knowing the difference between a distributor and sales agent.  Luckily there's a book that can help you.   In the words of Alex Ferrari, Don't go to AFM or ANY Film Market without first reading this book.

All indies need support

Ask for this book at your local independent bookstores, if they don't have it they can get it. 

Find your local Bookstore now!

Local libraries are excellent places to find information.  If you want to read the book, go on down to your local library and ask if they have it.   If they don't, they might just order it for you.

Click here to find your local Library

Also available online.

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