VHX has a pretty simple mission: to allow users the ability to sell their content directly to their audience through their online distribution platform. It has spent the last two years in private beta testing, working with the likes of Kevin Spacey, Ira Glass, and Aziz Ansari, and distributing films like Upstream Color and Oscar-nominated The Act of KillingWell, VHX made the announcement yesterday that they are finally out of beta and ready to offer their services to the public at a price they've lowered to commemorate the launch. To find out more about this direct-to-fan distribution platform, continue on.

Indiewire caught up with VHX co-founder Jamie Wilkinson at SXSW, and there, Wilkinson explained that their goal at VHX is, "to make it super easy for anybody to sell video content on the web directly to their fans." In case you've missed our previous posts about the platform, what VHX does is helps users distribute their content directly to their audience all from the comfort of their own websites. Here's a video that explains things better:


For the past couple of years leading up to the official launch, VHX has been working on building their platform, making connections with high-profile creatives, and amassing titles (over 350 now) to sell. Now that VHX is open to the public and free to sign up and use, they've lowered the cost of transactions from a 15-20% charge to %10 + $0.50 per transaction. And though independent filmmakers will definitely benefit from this setup, VHX isn't limited to just them -- they work with content creators of all sorts, studios, even other distributors. From their announcement:

Anything that used to be sold on DVD can be sold on VHX. Our platform works for a lot more than just film and TV. Faith, fitness, lifestyle, education -- the list goes on. VHX also works for organizations both big and small: individuals, distributors, studios, networks, and more. Make a site to sell your work, distribute your project, and own the relationship with your audience. VHX is the technology platform that lets you run your own iTunes or Netflix. Your digital copies replace the old physical, anywhere in the world.

Though there are similar distribution options out there, filmmakers can be excited that VHX offers many different tools that help put your film in front of people's faces, from growing your audience with the VHX built-in mailing list to facilitating coupon codes and other incentives. Not only that, but there are no upfront costs, rich analytics for you to track your film's progress, and many important industry connections and partners. What all of these options and features do is give you, the filmmaker, more latitude and control over the distribution of your film -- or at least a more hands-on approach. Wilkinson says:

Filmmakers at Sundance are used to the model of the last 35 years which is I make a great film. I sell it to somebody else and they do all the legwork. That's where we're embracing the shift in the model where you can do it yourself.

If you're wanting to get your film to its audience, there are a lot of options out there for you. Check out our direct distribution roundup to find out more about what's available, as well as which might be right for you.

I know it's still early, but have any of you used VHX -- possibly when it was in beta? What do you think of it? What are you looking for in a distribution platform? Let us know in the comments.

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