What filmmakers can learn from the book industry

Last week, the New York Times published a front page story on the rise of the Self-Publishing industry. The article discusses the rise in conjunction with the contraction of the traditional hit-driven publishing industry. I've highlighted some of the key take-aways from the article below.

Key Take-Aways:

• The book industry - like the music industry AND the film industry - is evolving as artists (writers) and fans (readers) increasingly embrace a more democratic (meritocratic) approach to distribution. While traditional publishers (or distributors for film) will always do a great job at reaching mass audiences, the important question for all filmmakers to ask is if "going to the masses" is the right strategy for them at this time. Is your film a "mass audience" film? Do you have the track record and audience following that will attract a distributor? If no or no, respectively, self-distribution might be a better option for your film and serve as a stepping stone to future "mass-audience" films with traditional distribution.

• Excerpt: "As traditional publishers look to prune their bookslists and rely increasingly on blockbuster best-sellers, self-publishing companies are ramping up their title counts..." Sound familiar to Hollywood? Yes, the environment is getting more difficult for films going for a ttheatrical release. See Mark Gill's the Sky is Falling address. But the Straight-To-The-Theater is NO LONGER the only path to visibility and profitability. The environment is becomingly increasingly lush for films bypassing the theatrical window at first and going straight to customers via DVD or online.

• By just printing a book and getting it out there, it might not be a best-seller but it could open up other ancillary revenue opportunities like speaking or consulting gigs or even commissions for future work. If filmmakers, like authors, just get their film "out there" and not worry so much about following the traditional windows, the quality of their work and the passion of their audience could drive other opportunities. Once again, filmmakers need to think about if piracy or obscurity is more dangerous at this point in their careers.

• Excerpt: "Gone are the days when self-publishing meant paying a printer to produce hundreds of copies that then languished in a garage." The costs of self-publishing are coming down due to technology. This is true for all industries... be it books, music or film.

Read the full article here. Have any additional thoughts? Please comment below.

For more on self-distribution, check out:

Learn What You Missed3 DIY Distribution Strategies Every Filmmaker Should Know