The archive · Business Models · Product decision · 2013–2014
Vimeo On Demand lets any filmmaker sell video direct and keep 90%
Vimeo turns a PRO membership into a storefront: creators set price and regions, rent or sell, and keep 90% of every transaction.
Vimeo
What it had to solve
In 2013 indie filmmakers watched Louis C.K. sell his own special for $5 and clear over $1 million in under a month, but they had no easy platform to do the same. Vimeo's users had been asking for paid video for some time, and CEO Kerry Trainor said the company acted now because viewers had clearly shown they would pay online.
How it works
At South by Southwest in March 2013, Vimeo launched Vimeo On Demand, a self-distribution service that lets creators charge for their own videos. Any Vimeo PRO member can sell a video, choosing the price and the countries where it is available, and keeps 90% of revenue after credit-card fees are subtracted. The Verge reported that creators can also offer their storefronts on their own websites, with playback working across web browsers, smartphones, smart televisions, Roku and Apple TV.
The launch answered a moment filmmakers were already watching: Louis C.K. sold his own stand-up special for $5 from his own website and made more than $1 million in under a month — the model TheWrap said every filmmaker wanted to replicate. CEO Kerry Trainor said users had asked for paid video for some time and the company acted because viewers had shown they would pay online; he framed the service as building a new section of the market, not taking share of an existing one. The store opened with Don Hertzfeldt's It's Such a Beautiful Day at $2 to rent or $6 to buy, exclusively on Vimeo.
The bet drew follow-on investment fast. Streaming Media reported that a year after launch Vimeo celebrated with a $10 million Audience Development Program: it had offered $10,000 advances at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival to titles launching on Vimeo On Demand, 13 filmmakers took the deal, and in 2014 Vimeo guaranteed funding to any film premiering at one of 20 leading festivals in exchange for an exclusive window on the platform. Vimeo reported the platform drew 168 million unique global viewers in January 2014, up 80% year over year.
Why it lands
- Opening sales to every PRO member, not just curated titles, turned creators' existing upload workflow into a storefront instead of a separate distribution deal.
- Letting creators set the price and country availability handed them control that traditional distributors never offered, matching the direct-to-fan moment Louis C.K. had just proven.
- A transparent 90/10 split after card fees made the economics easy to explain and generous enough to attract filmmakers comparing storefronts.
- Because the storefront played on every device and could be embedded on a creator's own site, artists kept their presentation and their audience instead of surrendering them to a store.
What it did
One year later Vimeo put $10 million behind the channel — a $10,000-advance program that 13 filmmakers took at the 2013 Toronto festival, expanded into guaranteed funding for films premiering at 20 festivals in 2014 — and Vimeo reported 168 million unique global viewers on the platform in January 2014, up 80% year over year.
What you can take
Instead of selling content itself, a platform can open a storefront to every member: let creators set price and terms, keep the economics transparent at 90/10, and the new sales channel builds itself.
Since then
Vimeo On Demand became Vimeo's direct-distribution arm: within a year it carried a $10 million creator-funding program and expanded from self-service rentals into advances and festival guarantees for independent film. The service stayed tied to Vimeo PRO's $199 membership, and the company kept adding creator tools rather than building its own catalog — growing a new market by giving creators presentation, control and economics. At a moment when iTunes and Amazon dominated digital movie sales, the model helped legitimize self-distribution as a real channel for indie film.
Sources
- Vimeo On Demand lets content creators sell their videos direct
- SXSW: Vimeo Launches On Demand Service for Users to Rent, Buy Videos
- Vimeo Announces $10M Investment in Vimeo on Demand Platform
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