Idea for Producers/Models, Feedback Wanted

[Angra Mainyu]

So I have an idea. And I am hoping to get feedback from people involved in the industry as producers or models.

What if I started a production company, but instead of selling my content on my own, I turned around and sold distribution rights to it instead. For example, I make a video. Then instead of putting it on my website, I go and sell it to XYZ Tickle Company and 123 Fetish Films, for them to sell on their websites. So I'd make the video, and then sell its distribution rights to other companies. They wouldn't have exclusive rights, just the right to sell it for a profit. And they'd have to say "this video is from NicholasA1's company" in the product description.

Let's say it costs $100 to get a model and make a video. Then the companies have to hope enough people buy it to make a profit. OK, but then I come in and change the game. My company makes the video, and then charges XYZ and 123 companies $50 to put my video on their website. So I just saved them $50 on production costs for that week. The only drawback is that multiple companies might be selling the same video. If that bothers people, I have a follow-up idea.

I could, for example, make a 10 minute video with one girl, but split it into two segments. They're different videos, but the same scenario. I could tickle a girl's belly for 10 minutes, and sell the first 5 minutes to XYZ and the remaining 5 to 123. Obviously this would be problematic if we're acting out a story.

So what do you think of this idea? Would I be able to make even a small profit off of it? Would this idea play a niche role at all? What about in the larger pornographic industry, outside of tickling and foot fetish?

 

[Comfort Eagle]

You'd have to show people the equpment you're working with, and the kind of people you shoot with. Who's gonna commission out non-ticklish girls on a video that looks like it was filmed with a potato?

 

[The Tickle Room]

It sounds off. It does not truly fit or do well if multiple companies can use it. Also they are taking a gamble on the profit of the video. Production quality, models presented, etc. It will take a lot but it sounds like you have a good idea just needs polishing.

 

[Angra Mainyu]

It isn't exactly a commission. I could do commission, but I was thinking I'd just do whatever I thought was good, then sell it. And of course producers can see the product beforehand so they know what they're buying.

 

[SoleMates]

Producers have no real need to buy other people's content. If we weren't capable of making our own, we wouldn't be producers in the first place.

 

[tickltulz]

Sounds like you have the only smart workable solution to the piracy going on between the various tickling production houses. So you're going to get some grief from them no doubt. They'll claim they can due the quality vids themselves and don't need ya. But honestly they aren't doing such. From the temperament on various threads its easy to see most people are fed up with the fake material and want something better for their money. Too much light stuff, repeated situations and bad models. But people forget it's just sexual entertainment! So of course it's faked and not torture. Producers get my sympathy because they are caught in between. Sure they could stand to be a lot more creative yet he minute they load up a clip it gets stolen anyway and posted for free by countering producers and ticklers. It's a no-win situation for them. The only way out is to make pre-sales and then release it. But clips for sale doesn't offer such.

But I do think your idea is great in theory. Try it! Don't worry about comments such as 'high quality' and 'high production values'. Those words don't apply to any tickling clips I've seen.

 

[turtleboy]

So I have an idea. And I am hoping to get feedback from people involved in the industry as producers or models.

What if I started a production company, but instead of selling my content on my own, I turned around and sold distribution rights to it instead. For example, I make a video. Then instead of putting it on my website, I go and sell it to XYZ Tickle Company and 123 Fetish Films, for them to sell on their websites. So I'd make the video, and then sell its distribution rights to other companies. They wouldn't have exclusive rights, just the right to sell it for a profit. And they'd have to say "this video is from NicholasA1's company" in the product description.

Let's say it costs $100 to get a model and make a video. Then the companies have to hope enough people buy it to make a profit. OK, but then I come in and change the game. My company makes the video, and then charges XYZ and 123 companies $50 to put my video on their website. So I just saved them $50 on production costs for that week. The only drawback is that multiple companies might be selling the same video. If that bothers people, I have a follow-up idea.

I could, for example, make a 10 minute video with one girl, but split it into two segments. They're different videos, but the same scenario. I could tickle a girl's belly for 10 minutes, and sell the first 5 minutes to XYZ and the remaining 5 to 123. Obviously this would be problematic if we're acting out a story.

So what do you think of this idea? Would I be able to make even a small profit off of it? Would this idea play a niche role at all? What about in the larger pornographic industry, outside of tickling and foot fetish?

To be honest I'm not sure that you would relistically have any luck with already established producers. As solemates pointed out, if people are already producing their own content it is not clear why they would want to buy content from an unknown third party...if we needed other people's clips we could probably just offer to buy from other producers but I've never heard of anyone doing that. I've had quite a lot of emails from random companies trying to sell me their content or offering to shoot clips for me and I've never understood why I would want to buy from them when I'm happy with what I produce.

Regular producers already have their own equipment, studios, regular models, contacts, experience etc. I'm not trying to knock your idea, but it seems more logical for you to approach this from the other way around - i.e. offer to buy content with a license to re-sell it yourself. I think you are more likely to find a producer willing to sell to you than buy from you. The other possibility is not to bother with producers at all, but to try and make some sort of deal with fans who either don't or can't produce content of their own. It might be an easy option to set up a store for someone who can't produce their own clips.

 

[SoleMates]

I'm not trying to knock your idea, but it seems more logical for you to approach this from the other way around - i.e. offer to buy content with a license to re-sell it yourself. I think you are more likely to find a producer willing to sell to you than buy from you..

Precisely, the only one who really "wins" in this situation is the guy selling the content to producers because he's the only one who gets a guaranteed sale. The only real appeal I see is getting content for cheaper than it'd cost to pay for it ourselves, but the big studios don't need it and the small studios already shoot on a shoestring and are already turning out product of comparable quality/cost. You'd also probably run afoul of various distro sites' copyright rules unless both parties had some kind of contract drawn up (which isn't that big a hurdle, but I doubt it's one most people are considering). And finally, one of the biggest complaints out there right now is that everyone uses "the same twelve fetish models". If that were true (...it's not, but whatevs), this would just make it worse.

most people are fed up with the fake material and want something better for their money.

Is there an echo in here? As I've already said like twice this week, I don't hire fakes so all you have to do is buy from my store. Problem solved!

 

[Jk1974]

Not fast on the uptake are you?

You were moderated in this thread twice and reposted twice. Next time you do you'll get a forum ban.

Knock it off.


Myriads

 

[Wolf]

So I have an idea. And I am hoping to get feedback from people involved in the industry as producers or models.
What if I started a production company, but instead of selling my content on my own, I turned around and sold distribution rights to it instead. For example, I make a video. Then instead of putting it on my website, I go and sell it to XYZ Tickle Company and 123 Fetish Films, for them to sell on their websites. So I'd make the video, and then sell its distribution rights to other companies. They wouldn't have exclusive rights, just the right to sell it for a profit. And they'd have to say "this video is from NicholasA1's company" in the product description.
Let's say it costs $100 to get a model and make a video. Then the companies have to hope enough people buy it to make a profit. OK, but then I come in and change the game. My company makes the video, and then charges XYZ and 123 companies $50 to put my video on their website. So I just saved them $50 on production costs for that week. The only drawback is that multiple companies might be selling the same video. If that bothers people, I have a follow-up idea.
I could, for example, make a 10 minute video with one girl, but split it into two segments. They're different videos, but the same scenario. I could tickle a girl's belly for 10 minutes, and sell the first 5 minutes to XYZ and the remaining 5 to 123. Obviously this would be problematic if we're acting out a story.
So what do you think of this idea? Would I be able to make even a small profit off of it? Would this idea play a niche role at all? What about in the larger pornographic industry, outside of tickling and foot fetish?

So, your payday is assured, but the producers would have to sell at least a couple copies of your video in order to see a profit. More like three, if you count their time and effort in selling your stuff under their banner.
And they're less likely to sell as many, because it'll be available from multiple distributors. Not sure what the upside is for them, since every video they make is a gamble.

 

[Comfort Eagle]

I'll say this; I've paid "contributors" for videos on my blog. But they've either been friends I've really wanted video of, or mid-tier alt/fetish/cosplay girls I thought it would make for more eyes on the product.

So like I said, depending on what he shoots and who he gets, I'd probably have some kind of interest. Depending on how much he thinks he's getting every time.

 

[Angra Mainyu]

You guys make good points, and I want to be clear. It isn't that the producers aren't making "high quality" videos or good videos. They are, you all make amazing videos. Even the small, shoe-string budget guys who come out with new stuff once every other month. It's all good stuff. My idea was to help cut your production costs, which, yes, I'd profit from or else I'm wasting my time. Some of you got that, others kind of thought I was insulting them. I wasn't. Sure, you can turn out good stuff on a regular basis, but what if trouble hits? You can't just leave your fans hanging, can you?

But it was implied here that the world of tickle fetish is small. It would be frustrating to some customers if ABCD Tickling had the same video, or same model and scenario, as Tickle Abuse. Perhaps this idea would be better for a larger marker, like just regular foot fetish?

 

[Angra Mainyu]

So, your payday is assured, but the producers would have to sell at least a couple copies of your video in order to see a profit. More like three, if you count their time and effort in selling your stuff under their banner.
And they're less likely to sell as many, because it'll be available from multiple distributors. Not sure what the upside is for them, since every video they make is a gamble.

Well, my payday isn't assured if I don't sell enough copies. If it costs me $100 (just a round, hypothetical number), and I sell rights to a video at $50, then I need to sell to two other producers to break even. Whereas the producer who bought my stuff will have an easier time because he only needs to make $50 back to break even.

 

[Comfort Eagle]

Perhaps this idea would be better for a larger marker, like just regular foot fetish?

The idea really doesn't mean anything until you show people what you intend to sell them. You can reword this idea a dozen times and add or subtract to it every time, if we don't know what we're actually being offered nobody is going to bite.

 

[SoleMates]

You guys make good points, and I want to be clear. It isn't that the producers aren't making "high quality" videos or good videos. They are, you all make amazing videos. Even the small, shoe-string budget guys who come out with new stuff once every other month.

No offense taken. And to be fair, it's not an unreasonable idea. It's how the music and software industries operate, for the most part. The fact that both are losing money hand over fist to piracy (hm, sounds familiar) has nothing to do with their business models, I swear.

It's all good stuff. My idea was to help cut your production costs, which, yes, I'd profit from or else I'm wasting my time. Sure, you can turn out good stuff on a regular basis, but what if trouble hits? You can't just leave your fans hanging, can you?

There's a couple of misconceptions that make this line of thinking inaccurate.

For one, define "trouble". A month of low sales? For some of us, sales are a jagged and ever-changing issue. We don't know if we didn't do well that month until the next month when the final earnings are tallied. Bad reviews? We get those just by existing. Bad videos? I know it's fun to imply that we're deliberately releasing crap, but I can probably safely assume that every producer stands by their work. I know I do. If I thought it was crap I wouldn't have released it in the first place.

The other misconception is that we have girls coming over every week to shoot one clip, and that's not how it works. We bring girls in for an hour (or more) and shoot in bulk, then parcel those videos out over our release schedule (whatever that may be). My last shoot was in mid-August. I won't need to do another until sometime next year, and that's assuming I don't just coast on my backlog. I could probably do that and be set until June. Even the most hard-up of us can find a halfway decent new girl every couple of months. I'm not even famous and I had three responses to my last Craigslist ad.

But it was implied here that the world of tickle fetish is small.

Not implied. Stated as fact over and over again.

It would be frustrating to some customers if ABCD Tickling had the same video, or same model and scenario, as Tickle Abuse.

And here is the problem. The only producer who stands to make any money at all on any material they buy from you is the first guy to buy it. The rest of them are going to get a pittance, if anything, because if anyone wanted it they'd have bought it from the first guy (or more accurately, the most famous guy). If both Tickle Abuse and my studio buy your footage everyone'll buy it from TA and I'll be out $50 and never use you again.

As you noted, the only way this would work is if you sold different material to each vendor.

Perhaps this idea would be better for a larger marker, like just regular foot fetish?

Maaaaaybe, but although it's technically a larger market there's a ton of free foot stuff out there, and there are a lot more girls willing to shoot foot videos than tickling videos. The need for third-party content is even less of a thing.

Well, my payday isn't assured if I don't sell enough copies. If it costs me $100 (just a round, hypothetical number), and I sell rights to a video at $50, then I need to sell to two other producers to break even. Whereas the producer who bought my stuff will have an easier time because he only needs to make $50 back to break even.

Technically true. However, the reason people are asking about quality is because the fact is, unless you can product videos of the same quality as the studios you hope to sell to, they're not even going to look your way. Say what you will about TA's roster of models and whether or not they can tickle/are ticklish worth a damn, but one thing we can all agree on is that TA brings the funk in terms of lighting, equipment, and so on. Do you have all that gear? If your videos look like they're being shot in your mom's basement, TA's not going to want to sell them because it's not the level of quality their customers are used to.

So that means you'll be marketing to guys like me, and I have news for you; I already produce content with an operating cost in the neighborhood of what you're talking about, and I already struggle to break even, so why would I pay you for content that I didn't have any control over? Furthermore, your payment model completely breaks down when we consider the fact that if your content would be any good, you could sell it yourself and not have to deal with us at all.

That last one is the real kicker. Let's say you do shoot $100 worth of video. Yes, you'd need two producers, say, to buy into it at $50 a pop. But the only way those producers would do so is if they felt that they could each sell $50 worth of those clips themselves. And if they could... so could you. You could just set up your own Clips4Sale store (it's free!) and sell the content yourself. The only thing your payment model does is foist all of the risk onto the producers, which they're already assuming with their own content.

I also foresee a bunch of angry small-timers who bought into your thing, didn't see any profit, and take their grievances public, telling everyone not to distro your stuff because it doesn't move. Once that happens? You're sunk.