Susan The seller can either control it completely in which case there is no aftermarket or they choose to allow secondary sellers in which case they not maintain the tiered pricing. Most of the folks I work with are currently only selling to institutions. The soonest they would even think of a retail version is 18 monthts to two years and even them no certainty. Basically they simply can't afford to sell the home market though there would be some interest in their films. Selling 200 copies and getting back $15-$20 per copy would never cover the expenses and they made some really good films. Films where the majority of audience/use is academic are best sticking to institutional only sales.
On Thu, May 5, 2011 at 3:46 PM, Susan Albrecht <[email protected]> wrote: > Jessica said: > > One last thing. I have mentioned this before but for whatever it is worth > there are a lot of filmmakers and distributors who sincerely believe there > is something called "institutional video" and that schools and libraries > must pay more than individuals. I actually have one I am dealing with myself > and nothing I do including sending a copy of the copyright law will convince > him otherwise, because he was told this by another sales rep and this case > it is titles widely available through pretty much any standard wholesaler/ > retailer. > > > > > > Susan: > I think this is sometimes true. A few months ago, I had a similar > experience with someone pretty new to the film distribution world. I > ordered a copy of a DVD the very first moment I could get my hands on it, > and at that time, what was available was a $30 home-use DVD. I didn’t > really need PPR and so I didn’t worry about it, just bought it. A few > MONTHS later, I received an email from someone at the company, which > contained an invoice for the “institutional” price, along with commentary > similar to what a number of you received in this case. > > > > I ended up having a bit of an email exchange and then a very nice phone > conversation with the woman, followed by more emails, in which I explained > why I didn’t think she really had a leg to stand on and in which we > discussed tiered pricing, PPR, secondary sellers such as Amazon & Midwest > Tape, etc. I had fallen in love with the film [*Pelada*, btw] and had > decided I was willing to pay the difference between the home use and the > institutional simply because I supported what these young folks were doing > with their project, but I also ‘warned’ her that she had better be prepared > for others she was contacting to NOT be as friendly NOR as willing to pay > the cost difference. She had really *not *been very informed about this > stuff and was quite happy to discuss it. I honestly don’t know how much > trouble she eventually ran into with others. > > > > Now, to throw in another wrinkle. When I bought, it was available only > from the filmmakers (who really should’ve had home use & institutional sales > prepared to go simultaneously). To my knowledge, the home use was never > available through any secondary source. So let’s say they had done it > right and, from the beginning, had had tiered pricing and were the exclusive > distributor. What happens once **aftermarket** sellers begin offering up > copies through a site like Amazon? It isn’t Amazon directly selling it. > Anyone > care to take that one on in terms of institutional obligations?? > > > > Susan > > > > VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of issues > relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic control, > preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in libraries and > related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as an effective > working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of communication > between libraries,educational institutions, and video producers and > distributors. > > -- Jessica Rosner Media Consultant 224-545-3897 (cell) 212-627-1785 (land line) [email protected]
VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of issues relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic control, preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in libraries and related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as an effective working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of communication between libraries,educational institutions, and video producers and distributors.
