Many will be surprised to learn that Amazon’s video platform isn’t only open to big studio movies. In fact, the platform also hosts content from independent filmmakers — as long as the film meets their quality standards.
What’s more, filmmakers will be happy to know that you don’t need to meet any type of budget requirement to be able to submit your film for consideration. However, that doesn’t mean that every film that gets submitted is approved — that’s still up to Amazon’s discretion.
“Earth Freaks,” the short film I published in 2020 is a 14-minute drama produced for approximately $6000. Although it is not a studio production, I believe it was accepted into the platform because of its high production value and excellent sound design. And although Amazon is no longer accepting short-form content such as my short, it is still a good idea to get acquainted with the publishing process, as they still accept other types of content.
Earth Freaks trailer by Jennifer Miguel
What Type of Unsolicited Content Can You Submit?
While Amazon isn’t accepting short-form content at this time, you can still submit long-form content, such as professionally produced feature films or episodic series. However, it’s always a good idea to check with Amazon first to know if the length of your series qualifies as “non-short” content because they have not issued an official definition of what they mean by “short-form” content. You can contact them here to check with them first before submitting your title.
Non-fiction content, such as documentaries or recordings of conferences, is not being accepted for the time being.
Why Publish Your Title on Amazon?
Even if you know your film might not generate large amounts of revenue on the platform because your prospective audience is small or because you’re not well-known yet as a filmmaker, having your title on Amazon could result in more overall views of your title. And I've found that people are more likely to watch your film in full if they have to pay to access it — whether it is by renting, buying, or by Prime. At least that was what I experienced: most people were watching my 14-minute long film in its entirety, unlike when I initially published it on Vimeo.
Assets to Prepare Before Uploading
Aside from a strong synopsis, you will also need to prepare the following non-optional assets:
The Submission Process
Before you can upload all of your assets, you will need to create an account with Amazon Video Direct. The setup of the account requires you to create a payee profile so that Amazon can pay you for any views your film might get.
During the process of setting up your payee profile, you might see a note that tells you that you can add your billing information and complete your tax interview after you have uploaded your assets, but I don’t recommend that you wait. My recommendation is to fully complete your payee profile before you move on to uploading your assets. Not having a completed payee profile can actually delay the approval and publishing process.
Once you have completed your payee profile and you have uploaded all of your assets, you will be ready to submit your title for review.
To submit your title, you have to press the button. Only press this once after you have carefully reviewed that all of your submission assets are in order. Pressing this button again will reset the publishing process and extend the review process.
An Overview of Revenue Types (Prime, Rent, Buy)
Publishing your title on Amazon means you can earn revenue/royalties from people watching your video. The revenue can come from three different sources: from purchases or your title, from rentals of your title, and from those watching your title on Prime. And as you might have guessed, Amazon does take a percentage of the revenue.
You’ll be able to monitor your earnings via the Dashboard. More on that below.
Waiting to See if Your Submission Gets Approved
Perhaps the most challenging aspect of publishing a title on Amazon is waiting for it to be reviewed. In fact, the pandemic created even more publishing delays starting in early 2020. However, if your payee profile was completed correctly and you submitted all the required assets, you should get an update within three weeks of submitting your title.
You can check the status of your submission in the Amazon Dashboard. The green button should show you the status of your submission. If it’s not fully green, it means the review process has not been completed.
What If You See a Publishing Delay
Don’t hesitate to contact customer support if your title review takes more than three weeks. It will be the fastest way for you to find out why your title has not been approved. It might be that one of your assets is incorrect or that there is an error in your payee profile or account.
Promoting Your Publication
If your title gets approved to be on the platform, congratulations! You can now let the world know about it. Email the link to your cast and crew and they’ll be happy to share it among their networks. After all, who wouldn’t like to tell the world that something they worked on is now on one of the largest on-demand networks in the world?
You can also use the usual social media channels to promote your work by sharing your trailer, along with a direct link to your title. Just be careful not to say or imply Amazon was involved in the production of your title or they might remove you from the platform.
Be sure to add the Amazon logo to all of your digital promotional materials, as it adds more “clout” to your film, and might make more people interested in watching it.
Overview of Amazon Dashboard (Analytics)
If your title is published successfully, you can keep track of how many people watch your film and for how long by logging into the Amazon Dashboard. Here you can also monitor the following:
Final Thoughts
Unless your film features name talent and has a huge marketing campaign behind it, you probably won’t get rich just by making your title available on Amazon, but as stated before, having your title on Amazon will give you credibility. Just be sure to check out Amazon’s updated content policy before submitting.
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Note From Tongal: "How to Get Published on Amazon’s Prime Video Direct" is part of a series of Tongal Community-written blog posts that were originally sourced in the Tongal Blog Open Call Project. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Tongal. Read more Tongal Community-written posts here and then Pitch us a topic you'd like to write about for the Tongal Blog!
