Ever since I visited the Yekra headquarters in LA and saw what the company's vision is for distribution, I've been really excited to see how they develop and grow. They've been touting the release of Sirius as proof that the system works -- and now we've got the specifics. Read the case study embedded below or bookmark it here.
Making your content available online from a website you build does not mean it will get purchased or even found. In fact it’s only one very small piece of the puzzle, and it seldom yields meaningful results, unless you’re Dave Grohl or someone with a massive, loyal, pre-established following. Even then, if you choose to only walk that path, you’re doing yourself a great injustice by leaving real money on the table.
Here's the breakdown:
- Sirius grossed over $250,000 in the first 48 hours.
- Over $550,000 grossed to date and growing
- Curated by 1,765 affiliates who then promoted to their own audiences
- Approximately 50% of total gross was sold through affiliates
- 10% of gross came from Yekra.com as a direct result of Yekra marketing to its members
- Top affiliate earned over $11,000 in commissions and is still earning today
Overall, more than half of the sales were generated through affiliates, while the other half were split between revenue generated from the film’s own website and from the growing YEKRA network.
This case study is a really interesting read for anybody looking into direct distribution. The Yekra model is very exciting in theory, but it still suffers from the same problems that many nascent platforms face: familiarity, brand recognition and reaching a critical threshold of users -- both distributors and affiliates. Yekra works better the more people that adopt the system. Obviously Sirius is the exception and not the norm, but there's a lot to learn here as streaming and direct-distribution becomes more ubiquitous.
Source: Sirius: The Case Study
