Frequently Asked Questions

Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD) is a monetization model where users pay a recurring fee for access to a platform's content.

There's no single best one. It depends on your audience. If nobody knows your film yet, an aggregator or storefront gives you discovery in exchange for a share. If you have a following, your own branded platform gives you the margin, the prices and the viewer data. Many independent filmmakers use both: storefronts for reach, and their own platform for direct sales and as a fallback.

It depends on the model. Revenue-share platforms keep a percentage of every sale, and that percentage varies by platform and deal, so read each one's terms. Flat-fee platforms charge a fixed monthly price instead. Vodlix plans take 0% revenue share. The Launch plan was $99 a month as of October 2026, plus any bandwidth over the allowance and your payment gateway's fees.

Yes. Self-distribution means selling directly to viewers through your own website or apps, so you set the prices and keep the customer list. You need the rights for the territories you sell in, a platform that handles rentals or purchases, and a way to bring viewers in, such as your festival audience, a newsletter or social channels. Many filmmakers self-distribute alongside storefront releases.

An aggregator delivers your film to storefronts for a fee or a share, and you usually keep the rights. A distributor licenses the rights, often exclusively for set territories and years, and then markets and sells the film itself, paying you a license fee, a minimum guarantee or a share of revenue. A sales agent sits between you and distributors and negotiates those deals for a commission.

There are three common ways. Work through an aggregator that delivers to storefronts, which handles their technical requirements. Use a sales agent to license the film to channels and services. Or launch your own branded streaming platform and sell directly. Whatever you choose, prepare a clean master, subtitles, artwork, metadata and proof of your rights before you start.

Use layers. Encryption, such as AES-128, protects the stream in transit. DRM, such as Widevine and FairPlay, controls which devices can play it. Geo-blocking limits playback to your licensed territories, and signed expiring URLs stop shared links from working for long. No system makes copying impossible, but together these layers make it much harder. Licensing your film properly is your responsibility on every platform.

Large subscription services license films through their own acquisition process, often with help from sales agents and distributors. It isn't a store you can upload to. For most independent filmmakers, the realistic first step is to sell direct: rentals and purchases on your own storefront or through an aggregator. Real sales, reviews and an audience are what make a film worth a licensing conversation later.

Shorts earn the most when they sell to people who already know you. Rent or sell them individually from your own storefront, or group several shorts into one paid collection. An aggregator can put a short in front of a wider audience, but your share depends on the store's terms. Festivals and screenings help you build the audience that later pays.

Use YouTube for trailers, clips and free reach, then send viewers to your own website to pay. A storefront platform gives your website a checkout, a protected player and buyer accounts on your domain. With Vodlix, rentals and purchases are included from the Launch plan, at $99 a month as of October 2026, and buyers pay through your own gateway.

Yes. Renting, known as transactional video on demand (TVOD), gives a viewer access to your film for a limited time for a one-off payment. Selling it to own, known as electronic sell-through (EST), lets them keep watching it. Many filmmakers offer both, with a lower rental price and a higher purchase price, so viewers can choose.

If a hosting store closes, expect its sales pages and player to stop working, and buyer accounts stay with that platform. Check the closing date in your own account. Before that date, download your master files, export whatever sales and buyer records the host allows, and save your reports. Then set up a new storefront, decide how you'll treat past buyers, and update every link that points to the old store.

On Vodlix, a branded web storefront with rentals and purchases starts at $99 a month on Launch, or $990 a year, as of October 2026. It includes 100 GB of storage and 500 GB of bandwidth a month, and Vodlix takes no share of your sales. Your payment provider charges its own processing fees, and phone apps start on Professional at $1,550 a month.