Eggup takes no rights over the content and only charges a modest flat fee of $1.25 per download. As long as the film's file stays within the 5gig limit, there is no monthly service charge for storage. Most films fall within the 2.5gig range. There is no set up cost and content owners are paid as soon as a download takes place. But with so many new digital services coming online, what sets Eggup apart? "Most digital distribution platforms either rely on advertising revenue, which is minimal, or charge a setup fee between $100 - $10,000. Often, there is a monthly service fee and an average of 20% - 30% transactional fee. It would be very difficult for an indie filmmaker to recoup their costs using them. Our business model is very simple, no set up charge and a flat fee. Also, other platforms do not allow filmmakers to edit their content and pricing or, if they do, there is a middle man to work with which leads to wasting time, money and possibly loss of consumer momentum while the changes are being made. Our Fried Rice Application allows the filmmaker to add, edit, delete anytime they want. If they notice a certain demographic is growing, they can cater their marketing strategy in real time and engage it quickly. If they want to experiment with pricing for certain lengths of time, they can easily do it." The Egg also include analytics to track who purchased and from where.
Front Page Example of How Fried Rice Functions
The platform has all elements in place to allow film marketers and fans to proliferate the content anywhere they want online, taking advantage of fan evangelists who can pass their Eggs onto friends. "Filmmakers can easily embed a "Purchase and Download Egg" button into their website,
into 3rd party sites such as forums, online communities and blogs. We take consumer sharing habits and transform them into viral transactions for the filmmaker to profit directly. For example if consumer A who purchased the Egg passes it to consumer B through a thumbdrive, ftp, IM etc., consumer B will only have access to the trailer and other peripheral elements. For consumer B to see the full movie, he would need to make a purchase in the Egg player."
Currently, the Egg can only be viewed on computer, but this will change soon. "We do see a demand for other devices besides computers. By this fall, we will have viewing available for iPhone, iPad and the Android mobile application. There are other devices that we will also develop, however, at this time, we can't disclose that information."
Eggup promises to improve the way films can be controlled, distributed and monetized. For such a straightforward price to pay and no long term contracts to sign, I think microbudget filmmakers can comfortably give this platform a try. Marketing and audience building duties will still be up to the creator, but now there is an affordable way to bring films out to the fans as soon as they are ready for distribution.
Sheri Candler is an inbound marketing strategist who helps independent filmmakers build identities for themselves and their films through the use of online tools. She has promoted short films, narratives and documentaries including The High Level Bridge (Toronto, Sundance, SXSW); Undertow [Contracorriente](Sundance, Frameline), Ride the Divide(Documentary Channel) and consulted with countless independent filmmakers on their content marketing and social networking strategies. Sheri is co-authoring a book , "Selling Your Film Without Selling Your Soul Presented by PreScreen-Case Studies in Hybrid, DIY and P2P Independent Distribution," due for release digitally in September 2011. Follow her at SheriCandler.com.
