Summary
Amazon Prime Video Directis a lesser-known service provided by Amazon Prime Video that may be a useful tool for creators who have yet to hear of it. As one ofthe major streaming services, Amazon Prime Video is a key player in the film and TV creation and distribution space, and they are constantly looking for new ways to improve their market cap and take territory from rivals like YouTube, Netflix, Apple, and more. However, Amazon is not just a video streaming service and, with its vast amounts of money,Amazon can try out any new project it wants.
Amazon has produced numerous original moviesand TV shows and continues to curate their ever-expanding library of offerings to entice users to come to the platform. As a massive business, Amazon can afford to make mistakes, as some believePrime did when it began putting ads in videos in 2024. They’ve also made some smart moves as well, including Amazon Prime Direct Video, which was made available in May 2016. The service has been a boon for small and independent creators, thoughrecent decisions have made some users wary.
Amazon Prime Video Direct Is A Content Submission And Viewing Platform
Amazon Prime Video Direct is a content submission platformthat allows users to upload their self-made videos to the service, free of charge. It launched in May 2016, with only a few changes made since then. The service allows content creators, independent filmmakers, studios, and distributors to put their content up on Prime Video and monetize what they create. These creators can reach a global audience through variousdevices like the Amazon Fire Stickand gaming consoles. This service is available to those in the US, UK, Germany, Austria, and Japan.
Amazon Prime Video Direct Is Free To Use
The Service Just Requires An Amazon Prime Subscription
The two services are different anyway, with Prime Video Direct serving as a more “serious” platform with greater care given to what’s submitted and approved.
Of course, YouTube is YouTube, and even an organization as powerful as Amazon can have trouble changing the way everyone consumes their content. So Prime Video Direct never knocked YouTube off its perch. The two services are different anyway, with Prime Video Direct serving as a more “serious” platform with greater care given to what’s submitted and approved.
Users Can Earn Money On Their Submissions
Creators Receive Profits And Royalties
Creators can earn money in two ways on Prime Video Direct. First, creators receive 50% of net revenue from licensed productions as either rentals or purchases (viaAmazon). Generally, Prime Video Direct only licenses professionally produced feature-length movies and TV shows. However, Amazon reserves the right to offer episodes and seasons of a show at a discounted price if a user has already purchased an episode. Payments are issued approximately 90 days after the end of the month if a revenue threshold has been met.
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Creators also receive royalties for each hour of their show that’s been watched, similar tohow Spotify pays music creators on their platform. Each region receives a different amount of royalties, but they generally work out to a few cents per hour watched.
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Uploading Content Is As Easy As Signing Up
Uploading content to Prime Video Direct is simple. Creators just need to create an account onPrime Video Direct. Users will need to make a company profile with a name and address, but individuals can simply add their own name as the company’s. Users will also need to set up banking and payment information as well as tax information when creating a profile. Once that’s done, users can begin uploading videos to Prime Video Direct. Those videos that Amazon deems policy compliant can be presented through rent or purchase on Amazon Video.
Prime Video Has A Huge Content Library
Prime Has The Largest Library Of All The Streaming Services
Thanks to submissions through Prime Video Direct,Amazon Prime Video now has a larger content library than all its competitors, by a wide margin. Amazon has over 18,000 titles in its library (viaQuartz). The second-biggest streamer, Netflix, only has around 6,800 titles. Apple TV+ has the smallest library, only approaching 300 titles. This is a double-edged sword for content creators using Prime Video Direct because a larger library means more people will be interested in the platform, but it also means titles can get lost in the vast swathe of offerings.
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Prime Video Direct Is No Longer Accepting Documentaries
In 2021, Prime Video Direct Narrowed Down What Videos Can Be Submitted
In February 2021,Amazon made the controversial decision to stop accepting short films and documentariesthrough Prime Video Direct (viaIndieWire). This policy, which is still in effect (viaAmazon), also includes, but isn’t limited to product reviews, product unboxing, compilation videos, news segments, vlogs, health videos, toy play, selfie/YouTube videos (Tik Tok/reaction videos), home videos, slideshows, lectures, videogame play, tutorials, listicles, and ambient content.
The decision was met with anger from content creators, who also noticed that documentary titles on the platform were being purged, despite being previously approved. All questions regarding why a documentary or short film was rejected on the platform are met with the same automated response,
“Unless otherwise indicated removed titles (or titles not selected for licensing) may not be resubmitted or appealed.”
With non-fiction still a very popular form of entertainment, it’s curious as to why Amazon decided to target documentaries and similar content. At least it can be said that Amazon isn’t playing favorites. Independent creators and established brands have had their content removed and rejected in equal measure. It could be that Amazon wants to have a certain standard of production in their documentaries and so are cleaning house to start fresh, butafter three years, nothing much has changed in what can and can’t be submitted.
Is Prime Video Direct A Worthwhile Service For Filmmakers?
Prime Video Direct Is A Useful Tool For Those Looking To Extend Their Movie Or Show’s Reach
Whether Prime Video Direct is advantageous to filmmakers or not is most likely up to the individual filmmaker. For one, this is an easy way for an independent production to get its film or show to a global audience, with little in the way of licensing costs or time commitment. On the other hand,there is no guarantee of revenueand there seems to be the chance that a project could be removed from the platform just as quickly as it was put on.
At the same time, viewers will need an Amazon Prime account to watch these productions, which will naturally shrink the viewership compared to something totally free like YouTube.
Distributing movies and TV shows can be a big issue for smaller filmmakers and content creators, so Prime Video Direct does offer a global reach that few services can match. At the same time, viewers will need an Amazon Prime account to watch these productions, which will naturally shrink the viewership compared to something totally free like YouTube. Then again, as Prime Video Direct is somewhat curated, people who go on the platform will know what they are watching has been approved as quality in some capacity.
While it isn’t perfect, having a content distribution platform likePrime Video Directis better than having nothing and any independent filmmaker, content creator, or studio should at least try putting their video on the platform before giving up on it.
