Vimeo Creates Subscription VOD Opportunities for Video Creators

So you want your own YouTube-style website? Not a channel on YouTube – but a website like YouTube, where you can post your own

So you want your own YouTube-style website? Not a channel on YouTube – but a website like YouTube, where you can post your own videos and add a paywall so subscribers can pay to view your content? Consider it done! That’s what Vimeo has done for video creators, according to Mashable.With the new product, video creators and filmmakers can set their own monthly subscription pricing or a one-time fee, accept different forms of currency, and specify where content can be purchased. In addition, Vimeo offers video creators and artists with a dashboard so they can track stats. What does Vimeo get for being so generous with its platform? 10% of the subscription revenue, minus transaction fees, which seems like a very reasonable revenue share. As Variety explains it, it is an opportunity for video makers to operate their own “mini-Netflix” to their fans.According to Greg Glayman, Vimeo’s general manager, in the Mashable article, this new service was requested by Vimeo users and that Vimeo is not planning to launch its own subscription service, an interesting word choice since Vimeo offers ad-free Plus and PRO memberships.”It’s not Netflix. It’s not Hulu,” said Clayman. “It’s a toolset so that any creator can launch their own SVOD service, and they can do it from their own website.”Kerry Trainor, Vimeo CEO, explained it for Variety “as a natural extension of Vimeo’s transactional VOD platform, giving creators a new way to sell content to viewers worldwide. Online video is entering an exciting new stage where creators don’t have to rely on pre-roll advertising alone to earn money.”Insider Take:Vimeo is an interesting hybrid streaming video channel. In addition to music videos like Jay Z & Kanye West’s “No Church in the Wild” from The Great Gatsby soundtrack, Vimeo offers video on demand like “The Cool Kids,” original series like “High Maintenance,” documentaries, instructional videos and more – for free and for sale. It also partners with companies like Samsung on original video shorts and with direct-to-consumer studios like Supergravity Pictures to serve as their distribution platform.Vimeo gets revenue from its membership programs, on demand purchases, and advertising. Presumably, it is also making money from its partnership deals with companies like Samsung. On the user side of things, video creators can make money through the new program with subscription fees or one-time charges, as well as through affiliate sales by promoting Vimeo on their own websites.Mashable compares Vimeo to services like Netflix and Epix, but we see as its own, unique blend of products and services. It’s more like a marriage between YouTube and Netflix, but putting creators in the driver’s seat. It is also a company that seems to cater to the needs of the video producers and their target audiences. Sure, Vimeo is trying to make a profit and grow its market share, like all subscription and membership-based companies, but they are doing it with an interesting mix of innovation and ingenuity. 21.7 million unique visitors (in April 2015) can’t be wrong.

Up Next

Register Now For Email Subscription News Updates!​

Search this site

You May Be Interested in:

Join us to master the latest subscription business strategies, from emerging payment trends