Tag Archives: Kickstarter

What Fred Wilson Thinks Today

Fred Wilson writes on his blog, AVC, every day. He has done so for over ten years. Some might consider this activity a full time occupation. Not Fred. He really spends his time searching for the next company in which … Continue reading

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How Cable TV Invented Crowd Funding

We assume that crowd funding first appeared when Kickstarter launched five years ago. We may be wrong. You see, the cable television business invented crowd funding a long time ago, when they created the basic cable bundle. The basic cable … Continue reading

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The Audience Fund for Indie Film

“If you’re gonna make it, LEARN HOW TO SELL IT!” Bob Lefsetz Platforms, like Kickstarter, IndieGoGo, VHX, Vimeo, Tugg and YouTube are designed for indies who are prepared to reach their audience through “direct distribution”. It is not the responsibility … Continue reading

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The Indie Film World Needs 100 Amanda Palmers

The challenge presented to each indie filmmaker is the same. How do I get my work discovered? Typically, an indie film travels to success with the aid of a small group of usual suspects.  The 2012 version of that trip … Continue reading

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We Own Our Own Copyrights

The simplest distinction often tells us all we need to know.  In the music and film worlds there are artists who own the copyrights to their work and those who do not.  The music industry just honored Paul McGuiness, the … Continue reading

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The More Films, The Better

Just before the Sundance Film Festival opened last week, Manohla Dargis started a conversation about independent film with her piece As Indies Explode, an Appeal for Sanity. Dargis bemoans the fact that the NY Times reviewed 900 films during 2013.  … Continue reading

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Filmmakers: Gather Your Audience Early and Often

Film festivals have long been powerful tools for indie filmmakers who seek audiences for their films. They serve as launching pads for that elusive big distribution deal that catapults an obscure filmmaker and unknown movie to fame and (sometimes) fortune.  … Continue reading

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Can Indie Film Achieve a Network Effect?

In a recent post entitled Networks And The Enterprise, Fred Wilson explains how his firm Union Square Ventures invests in networks. He included this line. My uber goal of writing this post is to explain that the wired and mobile … Continue reading

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99% of All Filmmakers Should Crowd Fund

The original version of this piece appeared a year ago on  the Future of Film Blog at Tribeca Film.com, a blog I created and edited. There is nothing more frustrating and time consuming for a filmmaker than raising the money … Continue reading

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The 1,000 True Fans Strategy

In the movie business, the audience is usually described as either mass or niche.  Typically, Hollywood movies seek a mass audience and independent movies seek a niche audience. Today, there is a new way of thinking about the audience that … Continue reading

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