Re: [Videolib] How do you know when you¹ve become an artist?]

[Ball, James (jmb4aw)]

Well-said, Gary.

Matt

__
Matt Ball
Media and Collections Librarian
University of Virginia
mattb...@virginia.edu
434-924-3812

On Jul 2, 2011, at 3:46 PM, "ghand...@library.berkeley.edu" 
 wrote:

> With all due respects to all, I want to discuss the concept of collection
> development.
> 
> Building library collections is, regardless of library type, an elegant,
> complex, and profoundly imprecise undertaking.  It requires a deep
> knowledge of and sensitivity to  institutional history and client
> needs--long and short term.  It, of course, requires balancing all this
> against current and projected budgets.  Collection building also demands a
> broad understanding of the publishing universe, as well as an
> understanding of how the publishing industry functions.
> 
> Collections are built title-by-title and/or database by database. Titles
> are selected because they will, in the short or long haul, increase the
> value of the collection to users, for teaching, research, personal
> enrichment.
> 
> What effective collection development SHOULD NOT entail (I can only speak
> for academic libraries):  Buying in bulk, because the price is right;
> buying an inferior title because it's cheaper than another, more expensive
> title; selecting or rejecting titles because of the technical difficulties
> of acquiring them; buying a title because it's format is more convenient,
> rather than because it's content is the best we can buy for the purpose.
> 
> Conditional vendor offers--time limits, quantity requirements, etc--almost
> always run counter to effective and responsible collection building. 
> While I think we need new economic models in videodom, we don't need new
> models with strings attached.
> 
> gary handman
> 
> 
> 
>> Excellent!  Glad you want to play.  I was proposing a pricing model as a
>> new paradigm for doing business rather than something that's more of a
>> limited time special offer.  No titles from the last two years, order in
>> by Labor Day?  Still, let's talk on Tuesday when I get back to the office.
>> 
>> Matt
>> 
>> __
>> Matt Ball
>> Media and Collections Librarian
>> University of Virginia
>> mattb...@virginia.edu<mailto:mattb...@virginia.edu>
>> 434-924-3812
>> 
>> On Jul 1, 2011, at 2:45 PM, "Meredith Miller"
>> mailto:mered...@icarusfilms.com>> wrote:
>> 
>> Hi Matt,
>> 
>> We’ll play! By my calculations your offer means, based on your purchases
>> from us last year, that you are ready to order 290 titles from us for $60
>> each (and without PPR).  Our only stipulations would be a) no titles from
>> this or last year, and b) place your order before Labor Day!
>> 
>> Deal?
>> 
>> Meredith Miller
>> Icarus Films
>> 32 Court St, 21st Floor
>> Brooklyn, NY 11201
>> P: 1.718.488.8900
>> F: 1.718.488.8642
>> E: <mailto:mered...@icarusfilms.com>
>> mered...@icarusfilms.com<mailto:mered...@icarusfilms.com>
>> www.icarusfilms.com
>> www.twitter.com/icarusfilms<http://www.twitter.com/icarusfilms>
>> www.facebook.com/icarusfilms<http://www.facebook.com/icarusfilms>
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> From:
>> videolib-boun...@lists.berkeley.edu<mailto:videolib-boun...@lists.berkeley.edu>
>> [mailto:videolib-boun...@lists.berkeley.edu] On Behalf Of Ball, James
>> (jmb4aw)
>> Sent: Friday, July 01, 2011 12:39 PM
>> To: mailto:videolib@lists.berkeley.edu>>
>> Subject: Re: [Videolib] How do you know when you¹ve become an artist?]
>> 
>> Just got my first offer from a distributor who wants to work on flexible
>> pricing.  Who else is interested?
>> 
>> Matt
>> 
>> __
>> Matt Ball
>> Media and Collections Librarian
>> University of Virginia
>> <mailto:mattb...@virginia.edu>mattb...@virginia.edu<mailto:mattb...@virginia.edu>
>> 434-924-3812
>> 
>> On Jul 1, 2011, at 12:36 PM, "Ball, James (jmb4aw)"
>> <<mailto:jmb...@eservices.virginia.edu>jmb...@eservices.virginia.edu<mailto:jmb...@eservices.virginia.edu>>
>> wrote:
>> "If the library community wants to figure out a way to assure distributors
>> they will literally sell 10 times the number of copies if they sell titles
>> at $30 a pop, I guarantee you distributors would jump at the chance."
>> 
>> 
>> It's not up to the library community to make assurances for the
>> distrib

Re: [Videolib] How do you know when you¹ve become an artist?]

[Ball, James (jmb4aw)]

Excellent!  Glad you want to play.  I was proposing a pricing model as a new 
paradigm for doing business rather than something that's more of a limited time 
special offer.  No titles from the last two years, order in by Labor Day?  
Still, let's talk on Tuesday when I get back to the office.

Matt

__
Matt Ball
Media and Collections Librarian
University of Virginia
mattb...@virginia.edu<mailto:mattb...@virginia.edu>
434-924-3812

On Jul 1, 2011, at 2:45 PM, "Meredith Miller" 
mailto:mered...@icarusfilms.com>> wrote:

Hi Matt,

We’ll play! By my calculations your offer means, based on your purchases from 
us last year, that you are ready to order 290 titles from us for $60 each (and 
without PPR).  Our only stipulations would be a) no titles from this or last 
year, and b) place your order before Labor Day!

Deal?

Meredith Miller
Icarus Films
32 Court St, 21st Floor
Brooklyn, NY 11201
P: 1.718.488.8900
F: 1.718.488.8642
E: <mailto:mered...@icarusfilms.com> 
mered...@icarusfilms.com<mailto:mered...@icarusfilms.com>
www.icarusfilms.com
www.twitter.com/icarusfilms<http://www.twitter.com/icarusfilms>
www.facebook.com/icarusfilms<http://www.facebook.com/icarusfilms>







From: 
videolib-boun...@lists.berkeley.edu<mailto:videolib-boun...@lists.berkeley.edu> 
[mailto:videolib-boun...@lists.berkeley.edu] On Behalf Of Ball, James (jmb4aw)
Sent: Friday, July 01, 2011 12:39 PM
To: mailto:videolib@lists.berkeley.edu>>
Subject: Re: [Videolib] How do you know when you¹ve become an artist?]

Just got my first offer from a distributor who wants to work on flexible 
pricing.  Who else is interested?

Matt

__
Matt Ball
Media and Collections Librarian
University of Virginia
<mailto:mattb...@virginia.edu>mattb...@virginia.edu<mailto:mattb...@virginia.edu>
434-924-3812

On Jul 1, 2011, at 12:36 PM, "Ball, James (jmb4aw)" 
<<mailto:jmb...@eservices.virginia.edu>jmb...@eservices.virginia.edu<mailto:jmb...@eservices.virginia.edu>>
 wrote:
"If the library community wants to figure out a way to assure distributors they 
will literally sell 10 times the number of copies if they sell titles at $30 a 
pop, I guarantee you distributors would jump at the chance."


It's not up to the library community to make assurances for the distributors, 
but together we can figure out a pricing model that's mutually beneficial.  It 
is interesting that you mention Kino because they are one of the few 
distributors I know of that do follow my suggested pricing model, around $30.00 
with no PPR, and I can tell you that I bought a lot more from them last year 
than I did from the other distributors.


As for the 10 times guarantee, I just made that very promise.  And I'm even 
flexible on the price.  How about $60.00 with no PPR?


Erika's offer looks pretty interesting too.  Anybody want to take a test drive?


Matt




__
Matt Ball
Media and Collections Librarian
University of Virginia
<mailto:mattb...@virginia.edu>mattb...@virginia.edu<mailto:mattb...@virginia.edu>
434-924-3812

On Jul 1, 2011, at 11:33 AM, "Jessica Rosner" 
<<mailto:jessicapros...@gmail.com>jessicapros...@gmail.com<mailto:jessicapros...@gmail.com>>
 wrote:
Trust me, educational distributors would be thrilled if they could sell copies 
at $30 and basically make the same sum at selling it at $300, but it will never 
happen. I don't doubt you and James will buy a copy of films you would not 
otherwise, but  many educational titles deal with very specialized subjects and 
they are not going to sell 2.000 copies. Keep in mind that it would also 
require a lot more time & money from a company and the real kicker is they 
would still have to only do direct sales, nearly all to institutions. In order 
for a film to be really retail they would have to sell 20 times as many copies 
since wholesalers would take up to 50% of the price.
Years ago I did a little experiment at Kino to see if there could be a middle 
ground. I curated a 3 title collection of silent films directed by women. I 
believe it was something  $50 for institutions and $25 for individuals per 
title with a discount for the set. Sold about 200   at $50 each( or less as a 
set) did come close to covering the costs and a few dozen to individuals. 
Luckily there had been a TV sale which allowed me to fund the project. I 
thought $50 and $125 seemed like a nice middle ground but in truth had I sold 
them two or three times that, they would have made more money. Most of the 
institutions would still have purchased them and more than made up for some 
that would not have.

If the library community wants to figure out a way to assure distributors they 
will literally sell 10 times the number of copies if they sell titles at $30 a 
pop, I guarantee 

Re: [Videolib] How do you know when you¹ve become an artist?]

[Meredith Miller]

Hi Matt, 

 

We’ll play! By my calculations your offer means, based on your purchases
from us last year, that you are ready to order 290 titles from us for $60
each (and without PPR).  Our only stipulations would be a) no titles from
this or last year, and b) place your order before Labor Day! 

 

Deal? 

 

Meredith Miller

Icarus Films

32 Court St, 21st Floor

Brooklyn, NY 11201

P: 1.718.488.8900

F: 1.718.488.8642

E: mered...@icarusfilms.com

www.icarusfilms.com

 <http://www.twitter.com/icarusfilms> www.twitter.com/icarusfilms

 <http://www.facebook.com/icarusfilms> www.facebook.com/icarusfilms

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From: videolib-boun...@lists.berkeley.edu
[mailto:videolib-boun...@lists.berkeley.edu] On Behalf Of Ball, James
(jmb4aw)
Sent: Friday, July 01, 2011 12:39 PM
To: 
Subject: Re: [Videolib] How do you know when you¹ve become an artist?]

 

Just got my first offer from a distributor who wants to work on flexible
pricing.  Who else is interested?

 

Matt

__ 

Matt Ball

Media and Collections Librarian

University of Virginia

mattb...@virginia.edu

434-924-3812


On Jul 1, 2011, at 12:36 PM, "Ball, James (jmb4aw)"
 wrote:

"If the library community wants to figure out a way to assure distributors
they will literally sell 10 times the number of copies if they sell titles
at $30 a pop, I guarantee you distributors would jump at the chance."





It's not up to the library community to make assurances for the
distributors, but together we can figure out a pricing model that's mutually
beneficial.  It is interesting that you mention Kino because they are one of
the few distributors I know of that do follow my suggested pricing model,
around $30.00 with no PPR, and I can tell you that I bought a lot more from
them last year than I did from the other distributors. 





As for the 10 times guarantee, I just made that very promise.  And I'm even
flexible on the price.  How about $60.00 with no PPR?  





Erika's offer looks pretty interesting too.  Anybody want to take a test
drive?





Matt







__ 

Matt Ball

Media and Collections Librarian

University of Virginia

mattb...@virginia.edu

434-924-3812


On Jul 1, 2011, at 11:33 AM, "Jessica Rosner" 
wrote:

Trust me, educational distributors would be thrilled if they could sell
copies at $30 and basically make the same sum at selling it at $300, but it
will never happen. I don't doubt you and James will buy a copy of films you
would not otherwise, but  many educational titles deal with very specialized
subjects and they are not going to sell 2.000 copies. Keep in mind that it
would also require a lot more time & money from a company and the real
kicker is they would still have to only do direct sales, nearly all to
institutions. In order for a film to be really retail they would have to
sell 20 times as many copies since wholesalers would take up to 50% of the
price. 
Years ago I did a little experiment at Kino to see if there could be a
middle ground. I curated a 3 title collection of silent films directed by
women. I believe it was something  $50 for institutions and $25 for
individuals per title with a discount for the set. Sold about 200   at $50
each( or less as a set) did come close to covering the costs and a few dozen
to individuals. Luckily there had been a TV sale which allowed me to fund
the project. I thought $50 and $125 seemed like a nice middle ground but in
truth had I sold them two or three times that, they would have made more
money. Most of the institutions would still have purchased them and more
than made up for some that would not have. 

If the library community wants to figure out a way to assure distributors
they will literally sell 10 times the number of copies if they sell titles
at $30 a pop, I guarantee you distributors would jump at the chance.
Filmmakers would be especially happy because there films would be seen by
more people. Sadly it is just not realistic for the vast majority of
educational films and small distributors are not going to cherry pick one
mildly popular title try to sell it for a lot less.

On Fri, Jul 1, 2011 at 10:36 AM, Peterson, Erika Day - petersed
 wrote:

Hear, Hear.

 

Jessica is correct in saying that there's a limited market for the films
independent distributor's deal with.  We, the librarians, know that better
than anyone because there's limited viewership for those titles once they're
in our collection.  It's impossible for me to justify purchasing a film for
my collection that costs $200, $300, $400 or more just because *I* think it
looks like a worthy title.  It has to be for a direct and immediate academic
need.  Then there's the added temptation once we do have it, to lock-it up
like it's the Hope Diamond, because we paid a small fortune for it.  Thus,
even further reducing the film's exposure to a broader 

Re: [Videolib] How do you know when you¹ve become an artist?]

[Williams, Alex O.]

We at AFD/Typecast Films are always open to negotiating discounts to help
libraries or individuals work within tight budgets—especially when multiple
titles are ordered. Just give me a call!

Though we do have quite a few titles available only with PPR (more obscure
titles that folks aren't clamoring for in the Home Video market), we've also
got many titles available without PPR for between $20-$30. These are usually
titles that had formally been available only at the higher institutional
rate with PPR, but I haven't really seen these $20-$30 non-PPR copies being
picked up by college/university libraries at 10-times (or even 5-times) the
rate they had been when they were available only with PPR. It would be great
if they were though!

Happy 4th of July holiday ~

Alex
_

Alex O. Williams
Institutional Sales

AFD / Typecast Films
Seattle, WA . USA
ph: 206.322.0882 x.202 | fx: 206.322.4586

arabfilm.com | typecastfilms.com



On Fri, Jul 1, 2011 at 10:35 AM,  wrote:

> We're all interested, Matt
>
> By the way, flexible doesn't mean basing pricing on institutional
> enrollment or FTE metrics.
>
> gary
>
>
>
> > Just got my first offer from a distributor who wants to work on flexible
> > pricing.  Who else is interested?
> >
> > Matt
> >
> > __
> > Matt Ball
> > Media and Collections Librarian
> > University of Virginia
> > mattb...@virginia.edu
> > 434-924-3812
> >
> > On Jul 1, 2011, at 12:36 PM, "Ball, James (jmb4aw)"
> > mailto:jmb...@eservices.virginia.edu>>
> > wrote:
> >
> > "If the library community wants to figure out a way to assure
> distributors
> > they will literally sell 10 times the number of copies if they sell
> titles
> > at $30 a pop, I guarantee you distributors would jump at the chance."
> >
> > It's not up to the library community to make assurances for the
> > distributors, but together we can figure out a pricing model that's
> > mutually beneficial.  It is interesting that you mention Kino because
> they
> > are one of the few distributors I know of that do follow my suggested
> > pricing model, around $30.00 with no PPR, and I can tell you that I
> bought
> > a lot more from them last year than I did from the other distributors.
> >
> > As for the 10 times guarantee, I just made that very promise.  And I'm
> > even flexible on the price.  How about $60.00 with no PPR?
> >
> > Erika's offer looks pretty interesting too.  Anybody want to take a test
> > drive?
> >
> > Matt
>
VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of issues 
relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic control, 
preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in libraries and 
related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as an effective 
working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of communication 
between libraries,educational institutions, and video producers and 
distributors.

Re: [Videolib] How do you know when you¹ve become an artist?]

[Jessica Rosner]

HEY I HAVE THE SOLUTION. Let's do our own Groupons. Say a distributor has a
new film about the women fighting for the right to drive in Saudi Arabia (
or any subject you want) They put it  up on their site two months before
release for pre-orders at $30 each and it "tips"  750 copies. If they can
get the pre-orders than indeed everyone gets them at $30, if not they take
it down and sell it to 80  institutions  that will buy it at $250 because
they have a specific need for it in their courses.

On Fri, Jul 1, 2011 at 1:21 PM, Deborah Benrubi  wrote:

> **
> For what it's worth I say the same. I do not buy PPR for the library unless
> there's no option. Bullfrog, WMM, et al., I would buy 10 $30 DVDs with no
> PPR for every $300 DVD I buy now -- currently just a few a year.
>
> Debbie Benrubi
> Associate Librarian
> University of San Francisco
>
>
> On 7/1/2011 7:36 AM, Peterson, Erika Day - petersed wrote:
>
>  Hear, Hear.
>
>  Jessica is correct in saying that there's a limited market for the films
> independent distributor's deal with.  We, the librarians, know that better
> than anyone because there's limited viewership for those titles once they're
> in our collection.  It's impossible for me to justify purchasing a film for
> my collection that costs $200, $300, $400 or more just because *I* think
> it looks like a worthy title.  It has to be for a direct and immediate
> academic need.  Then there's the added temptation once we do have it, to
> lock-it up like it's the Hope Diamond, because we paid a small fortune for
> it.  Thus, even further reducing the film's exposure to a broader audience.
>
>  If I could purchase films for $30, no PPR, I would buy a lot more titles
> and be marketing them to my academic community much more aggressively.
>
>  In fact I'm willing to pinky swear that I will spend the same amount of
> money OR MORE this fiscal year as my average over the last five years with
> any distributor that will make this deal.
>
>  Erika
>  * *
> * *
> * *
> Erika Peterson
> Director of Media Resources
> Carrier Library,  James Madison University
> (540) 568-6770
> http://www.lib.jmu.edu/media
>
>   From: James Ball 
> Reply-To: 
> Date: Fri, 1 Jul 2011 14:13:23 +
> To: "" 
> Subject: Re: [Videolib] How do you know when you’ve become an artist?]
>
>   A lot of the collecting I do is based on faculty requests but they're
> requesting Glee and Twilight.  An equally large chunk of the collecting I
> do, though, is based on what I think we *should* have to support broader
> curricular needs, and a lot of that comes from distributors like Bullfrog,
> Icarus, Women Make Movies, etc.  But those titles are so expensive that I
> can only afford to buy a few per year.
>
>  However, if independent documentary filmmakers sold their films for
> $30.00 each I would increase my total purchases from them times ten,
> probably more.  I'm not kidding.  Nothing would make me happier than
> flipping through catalogs with a shiny red marker circling all of the titles
> I would love to have.  For me, I would be getting amazing content at a cost
> that aligns with a pricing model that's supportable under the constraints of
> my institution's collection development strategies and budget priorities.
>  For the filmmakers and distributors it means that I would be buying more
> titles, possibly multiple copies, of videos that I wouldn't have even
> considered before, and if I'm willing to do that then I bet there are at
> least four other media librarians who'd do the same.
>
>  There, the filmmakers are still making money (maybe more) and the
> visibility of their films has increased five-fold.  Or is it four?  Anyway,
> you see my point.
>
>  Elizabeth, Meredith, Karen, are you interested?  $30.00 per title, no
> PPR, and I promise to buy at least 10 times the number of titles I bought
> last year.
>
>  Or perhaps there's another mutually beneficial pricing model out there...
>
>  Matt
>
> __
> Matt Ball
> Media and Collections Librarian
> University of Virginia
> mattb...@virginia.edu
> 434-924-3812
>
> On Jun 24, 2011, at 8:13 PM, "Jessica Rosner" 
> wrote:
>
>  As someone who works with independent documentary filmmakers, let me tell
> you they would be THRILLED to sell their films at $25 or $30 if they had a
> chance in hell of selling 5 times as many as they would at $250. The subject
> matter is generally geared towards the academic community or at least not to
> the popular topics that sell in the thousands and they have a lot of
> expenses to recoup and it is a bitch to distribute. These are simply not the
> same as the more popular $19.95 to $29.95 videos you will find at the retail
> level and keep in mind the distributor only gets back 60% or so on thing
> sold through third parties like Amazon. I assure you if 1500 institutions
> would actually buy a wonderful series of films on the post genocide justice
> system in Rwanda or even one on Gerrymandering ( to plug the ones I d

Re: [Videolib] How do you know when you¹ve become an artist?]

[Deborah Benrubi]

  
  
I am! Definitely.

On 7/1/2011 9:38 AM, Ball, James (jmb4aw) wrote:

  
  Just got my first offer from a distributor who wants to work
on flexible pricing.  Who else is interested?
  
  
  Matt

__
Matt Ball
Media and Collections Librarian
University of Virginia
mattb...@virginia.edu
434-924-3812
  
  
On Jul 1, 2011, at 12:36 PM, "Ball, James (jmb4aw)" 
wrote:

  
  

  "If the library community wants to figure out a
  way to assure distributors they will literally sell 10
  times the number of copies if they sell titles at $30 a
  pop, I guarantee you distributors would jump at the
  chance."
  

  It's
  not up to the library community to make assurances for the
  distributors, but together we can figure out a pricing
  model that's mutually beneficial.  It is interesting that
  you mention Kino because they are one of the few
  distributors I know of that do follow my suggested pricing
  model, around $30.00 with no PPR, and I can tell you that
  I bought a lot more from them last year than I did from
  the other distributors. 
  

  As
  for the 10 times guarantee, I just
  made that very promise.  And I'm even flexible on the
  price.  How about $60.00 with no PPR?  
  

  Erika's
  offer looks pretty interesting too.  Anybody want to take
  a test drive?
  

  Matt
  

  

__
Matt Ball
Media and Collections Librarian
University of Virginia
mattb...@virginia.edu
434-924-3812
  
  
On Jul 1, 2011, at 11:33 AM, "Jessica Rosner" 
wrote:

  
  
Trust me, educational distributors would be thrilled if
  they could sell copies at $30 and basically make the same
  sum at selling it at $300, but it will never happen. I
  don't doubt you and James will buy a copy of films you
  would not otherwise, but  many educational titles deal
  with very specialized subjects and they are not going to
  sell 2.000 copies. Keep in mind that it would also require
  a lot more time & money from a company and the real
  kicker is they would still have to only do direct sales,
  nearly all to institutions. In order for a film to be
  really retail they would have to sell 20 times as many
  copies since wholesalers would take up to 50% of the
  price.
  
  Years ago I did a little experiment at Kino to see if
  there could be a middle ground. I curated a 3 title
  collection of silent films directed by women. I believe it
  was something  $50 for institutions and $25 for
  individuals per title with a discount for the set. Sold
  about 200   at $50 each( or less as a set) did come close
  to covering the costs and a few dozen to individuals.
  Luckily there had been a TV sale which allowed me to fund
  the project. I thought $50 and $125 seemed like a nice
  middle ground but in truth had I sold them two or three
  times that, they would have made more money. Most of the
  institutions would still have purchased them and more than
  made up for some that would not have.
  
  
  If the library community wants to figure out a way to
  assure distributors they will literally sell 10 times the
  number of copies if they sell titles at $30 a pop, I
  guarantee you distributors would jump at the chance.
  Filmmakers would be especially happy because there films
  would be seen by more people. Sadly it is just not
  realistic for the vast majority of educational films and
  small distributors are not going to cherry pick one mildly
  popular title try to sell it for a lot less.
  
  On Fri, Jul 1, 2011 at 10:36 AM,
Peterson, Erika Day - petersed

wrote:

  

  
Hear, Hear.


J

Re: [Videolib] How do you know when you¹ve become an artist?]

[Deborah Benrubi]

  
  
For what it's worth I say the same. I do not buy PPR for the library
unless there's no option. Bullfrog, WMM, et al., I would buy 10 $30
DVDs with no PPR for every $300 DVD I buy now -- currently just a
few a year.

Debbie Benrubi
Associate Librarian
University of San Francisco

On 7/1/2011 7:36 AM, Peterson, Erika Day - petersed wrote:

  
  

  Hear, Hear.
  
  
  Jessica is correct in saying that there's a limited
market for the films independent distributor's deal with.
 We, the librarians, know that better than anyone because
there's limited viewership for those titles once they're in
our collection.  It's impossible for me to justify
purchasing a film for my collection that costs $200, $300,
$400 or more just because *I*
think it looks like a worthy title.  It has to be for a
direct and immediate academic need.  Then there's the added
temptation once we do have it, to lock-it up like it's the
Hope Diamond, because we paid a small fortune for it.  Thus,
even further reducing the film's exposure to a broader
audience.
  
  
  If I could purchase films for $30, no PPR, I would buy a
lot more titles and be marketing them to my academic
community much more aggressively.  
  
  
  In fact I'm willing to pinky swear that I will spend the
same amount of money OR MORE this fiscal year as my average
over the last five years with any distributor that will make
this deal.
  
  
  Erika
  
*
  *
  * *
  * *
Erika Peterson
Director
of Media Resources
Carrier
Library,  James

Madison University
(540)
568-6770
http://www.lib.jmu.edu/media
  

  
  
  
  

  From: James Ball 
  Reply-To: 
  Date: Fri, 1 Jul 2011
  14:13:23 +
  To: ""
  
  Subject: Re:
  [Videolib] How do you know when you’ve become an artist?]




  

  A lot of the
  collecting I do is based on faculty requests but
  they're requesting Glee and Twilight.  An equally
  large chunk of the collecting I do, though, is based
  on what I think we *should* have to support broader
  curricular needs, and a lot of that comes from
  distributors like Bullfrog, Icarus, Women Make Movies,
  etc.  But those titles are so expensive that I can
  only afford to buy a few per year.  
  
  
  
  However, if independent documentary filmmakers sold
their films for $30.00 each I would increase my total
purchases from them times ten, probably more.  I'm not
kidding.  Nothing would make me happier than flipping
through catalogs with a shiny red marker circling all of
the titles I would love to have.  For me, I would be
getting amazing content at a cost that aligns with a
pricing model that's supportable under the constraints
of my institution's collection development strategies
and budget priorities.  For the filmmakers and
distributors it means that I would be buying more
titles, possibly multiple copies, of videos that I
wouldn't have even considered before, and if I'm willing
to do that then I bet there are at least four other
media librarians who'd do the same.  
  
  
  There, the filmmakers are still making money (maybe
more) and the visibility of their films has increased
five-fold.  Or is it four?  Anyway, you see my point.
  
  
  Elizabeth, Meredith, Karen, are you interested?
 $30.00 per title, no PPR, and I promise to buy at least
10 times the number of titles I bought last year.
  
  
  Or perhaps there's another mutually beneficial
pricing model out there...
  
  
  Matt
  
  __
  Matt Ball
  Media and Collections Librarian
  

Re: [Videolib] How do you know when you¹ve become an artist?]

[Jessica Rosner]

I remain a cynic. I don't want to be, but I know the financial situation
behind small docs often on rarefied subjects. You may have some success with
titles that could have a wider audience, but the majority of "educational"
films are on very specialized subjects. The numbers really are that a
distributor would in most cases have sell at least 10 times the current
number to get the same amount of money, especially considering you will have
a lot more work involved from invoicing to duplicating. I fully understand
institutions are under huge financial pressures and I am afraid I see a
future where most small distributors are gone and any filmmaker that can't
get some fat grants or  a rich sponsor has to abandon their dream of making
a film on a subject without enough commercial appeal to sell on Amazon, or
do one that has a subject matter that cant be made in a month, close to home
using a cheap camera and sold to friends and relatives. Everyone seems to
think new technology in both film making and distribution will increase the
number of documentaries and for sheer numbers it might, but not for the
kinds of films many of us love  and that are important. Again filmmakers
lucky enough to get support from HBO or the Soros Foundation etc, will be
able to  make movies, those who hoped to cover their costs by selling them
for academic use had better start thinking of making a film about a Gay
Jewish child of a Holocaust survivor who becomes a crusader against the
evils of agribusiness because only popular subjects will sell.

On Fri, Jul 1, 2011 at 12:38 PM, Ball, James (jmb4aw) <
jmb...@eservices.virginia.edu> wrote:

>  Just got my first offer from a distributor who wants to work on flexible
> pricing.  Who else is interested?
>
>  Matt
>
> __
> Matt Ball
> Media and Collections Librarian
> University of Virginia
> mattb...@virginia.edu
> 434-924-3812
>
> On Jul 1, 2011, at 12:36 PM, "Ball, James (jmb4aw)" <
> jmb...@eservices.virginia.edu> wrote:
>
>   "If the library community wants to figure out a way to assure
> distributors they will literally sell 10 times the number of copies if they
> sell titles at $30 a pop, I guarantee you distributors would jump at the
> chance."
>
>  It's not up to the library community to make assurances for the
> distributors, but together we can figure out a pricing model that's mutually
> beneficial.  It is interesting that you mention Kino because they are one of
> the few distributors I know of that do follow my suggested pricing model,
> around $30.00 with no PPR, and I can tell you that I bought a lot more from
> them last year than I did from the other distributors.
>
>  As for the 10 times guarantee, I just made that very promise.  And I'm
> even flexible on the price.  How about $60.00 with no PPR?
>
>  Erika's offer looks pretty interesting too.  Anybody want to take a test
> drive?
>
>  Matt
>
>
>
> __
> Matt Ball
> Media and Collections Librarian
> University of Virginia
>  mattb...@virginia.edu
> 434-924-3812
>
> On Jul 1, 2011, at 11:33 AM, "Jessica Rosner" < 
> jessicapros...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>   Trust me, educational distributors would be thrilled if they could sell
> copies at $30 and basically make the same sum at selling it at $300, but it
> will never happen. I don't doubt you and James will buy a copy of films you
> would not otherwise, but  many educational titles deal with very specialized
> subjects and they are not going to sell 2.000 copies. Keep in mind that it
> would also require a lot more time & money from a company and the real
> kicker is they would still have to only do direct sales, nearly all to
> institutions. In order for a film to be really retail they would have to
> sell 20 times as many copies since wholesalers would take up to 50% of the
> price.
> Years ago I did a little experiment at Kino to see if there could be a
> middle ground. I curated a 3 title collection of silent films directed by
> women. I believe it was something  $50 for institutions and $25 for
> individuals per title with a discount for the set. Sold about 200   at $50
> each( or less as a set) did come close to covering the costs and a few dozen
> to individuals. Luckily there had been a TV sale which allowed me to fund
> the project. I thought $50 and $125 seemed like a nice middle ground but in
> truth had I sold them two or three times that, they would have made more
> money. Most of the institutions would still have purchased them and more
> than made up for some that would not have.
>
> If the library community wants to figure out a way to assure distributors
> they will literally sell 10 times the number of copies if they sell titles
> at $30 a pop, I guarantee you distributors would jump at the chance.
> Filmmakers would be especially happy because there films would be seen by
> more people. Sadly it is just not realistic for the vast majority of
> educational films and small distributors are not going 

Re: [Videolib] How do you know when you ¹ ve become an artist?]

[Kristin Cooney]

, 2011 at 10:36 AM, Peterson, Erika Day - petersed <
>>> <mailto:peter...@jmu.edu>  <mailto:peter...@jmu.edu> peter...@jmu.edu>
>>> wrote:
>>>> Hear, Hear.
>>>> 
>>>> Jessica is correct in saying that there's a limited market for the films
>>>> independent distributor's deal with.  We, the librarians, know that better
>>>> than anyone because there's limited viewership for those titles once
>>>> they're in our collection.  It's impossible for me to justify purchasing a
>>>> film for my collection that costs $200, $300, $400 or more just because *I*
>>>> think it looks like a worthy title.  It has to be for a direct and
>>>> immediate academic need.  Then there's the added temptation once we do have
>>>> it, to lock-it up like it's the Hope Diamond, because we paid a small
>>>> fortune for it.  Thus, even further reducing the film's exposure to a
>>>> broader audience.
>>>> 
>>>> If I could purchase films for $30, no PPR, I would buy a lot more titles
>>>> and be marketing them to my academic community much more aggressively.
>>>> 
>>>> In fact I'm willing to pinky swear that I will spend the same amount of
>>>> money OR MORE this fiscal year as my average over the last five years with
>>>> any distributor that will make this deal.
>>>> 
>>>> Erika
>>>> * * * * * *
>>>> Erika Peterson
>>>> Director of Media Resources
>>>> Carrier Library,  James Madison University
>>>> (540) 568-6770 
>>>>  <http://www.lib.jmu.edu/media>  <http://www.lib.jmu.edu/media>
>>>> http://www.lib.jmu.edu/media
>>>> 
>>>> From: James Ball < <mailto:jmb...@eservices.virginia.edu>
>>>> <mailto:jmb...@eservices.virginia.edu> jmb...@eservices.virginia.edu>
>>>> Reply-To: < <mailto:videolib@lists.berkeley.edu>
>>>> <mailto:videolib@lists.berkeley.edu> videolib@lists.berkeley.edu>
>>>> Date: Fri, 1 Jul 2011 14:13:23 +
>>>> To: "< <mailto:videolib@lists.berkeley.edu>
>>>> <mailto:videolib@lists.berkeley.edu> videolib@lists.berkeley.edu>" <
>>>> <mailto:videolib@lists.berkeley.edu>  <mailto:videolib@lists.berkeley.edu>
>>>> videolib@lists.berkeley.edu>
>>>> Subject: Re: [Videolib] How do you know when you¹ve become an artist?]
>>>> 
>>>> A lot of the collecting I do is based on faculty requests but they're
>>>> requesting Glee and Twilight.  An equally large chunk of the collecting I
>>>> do, though, is based on what I think we *should* have to support broader
>>>> curricular needs, and a lot of that comes from distributors like Bullfrog,
>>>> Icarus, Women Make Movies, etc.  But those titles are so expensive that I
>>>> can only afford to buy a few per year.
>>>> 
>>>> However, if independent documentary filmmakers sold their films for $30.00
>>>> each I would increase my total purchases from them times ten, probably
>>>> more.  I'm not kidding.  Nothing would make me happier than flipping
>>>> through catalogs with a shiny red marker circling all of the titles I would
>>>> love to have.  For me, I would be getting amazing content at a cost that
>>>> aligns with a pricing model that's supportable under the constraints of my
>>>> institution's collection development strategies and budget priorities.  For
>>>> the filmmakers and distributors it means that I would be buying more
>>>> titles, possibly multiple copies, of videos that I wouldn't have even
>>>> considered before, and if I'm willing to do that then I bet there are at
>>>> least four other media librarians who'd do the same.
>>>> 
>>>> There, the filmmakers are still making money (maybe more) and the
>>>> visibility of their films has increased five-fold.  Or is it four?  Anyway,
>>>> you see my point.
>>>> 
>>>> Elizabeth, Meredith, Karen, are you interested?  $30.00 per title, no PPR,
>>>> and I promise to buy at least 10 times the number of titles I bought last
>>>> year.
>>>> 
>>>> Or perhaps there's another mutually beneficial pricing model out there...
>>>> 
>>>> Matt
>>>> 
>>>> _

Re: [Videolib] How do you know when you¹ve become an artist?]

[Elizabeth Sheldon]

Dear All,

As I said in my earlier note, many of our films are available without PPR for 
$30. For new releases, many of which we will be announcing over the coming 
weeks as they open in theaters, we will be asking $149 without PPR but if you 
want to place an order of more than five films from Kino Lorber Edu, I am 
willing to offer discounts based on number of titles and meet you somewhere 
around halfway.

Just drop me a note and I will get back to you. Matt, you are definitely one of 
our top customers and we have room for more (lots of room for many more). In 
fact, I up the ante and whichever library doubles their purchase on a dollar 
basis from last year with the fiscal year ending December 31, 2010, there will 
be a prize. And whoever spends the most in total dollars at Kino Lorber Edu, 
there will be another prize.

How is that for suspense? 

Best,

Elizabeth

Elizabeth Sheldon
Vice President
Kino Lorber, Inc.
333 W. 39th St., Suite 503
New York, NY 10018
(212) 629-6880

www.kinolorberedu.com

On Jul 1, 2011, at 12:32 PM, Ball, James (jmb4aw) wrote:

> "If the library community wants to figure out a way to assure distributors 
> they will literally sell 10 times the number of copies if they sell titles at 
> $30 a pop, I guarantee you distributors would jump at the chance."
> 
> It's not up to the library community to make assurances for the distributors, 
> but together we can figure out a pricing model that's mutually beneficial.  
> It is interesting that you mention Kino because they are one of the few 
> distributors I know of that do follow my suggested pricing model, around 
> $30.00 with no PPR, and I can tell you that I bought a lot more from them 
> last year than I did from the other distributors. 
> 
> As for the 10 times guarantee, I just made that very promise.  And I'm even 
> flexible on the price.  How about $60.00 with no PPR?  
> 
> Erika's offer looks pretty interesting too.  Anybody want to take a test 
> drive?
> 
> Matt
> 
> 
> 
> __
> Matt Ball
> Media and Collections Librarian
> University of Virginia
> mattb...@virginia.edu
> 434-924-3812
> 
> On Jul 1, 2011, at 11:33 AM, "Jessica Rosner"  
> wrote:
> 
>> Trust me, educational distributors would be thrilled if they could sell 
>> copies at $30 and basically make the same sum at selling it at $300, but it 
>> will never happen. I don't doubt you and James will buy a copy of films you 
>> would not otherwise, but  many educational titles deal with very specialized 
>> subjects and they are not going to sell 2.000 copies. Keep in mind that it 
>> would also require a lot more time & money from a company and the real 
>> kicker is they would still have to only do direct sales, nearly all to 
>> institutions. In order for a film to be really retail they would have to 
>> sell 20 times as many copies since wholesalers would take up to 50% of the 
>> price. 
>> Years ago I did a little experiment at Kino to see if there could be a 
>> middle ground. I curated a 3 title collection of silent films directed by 
>> women. I believe it was something  $50 for institutions and $25 for 
>> individuals per title with a discount for the set. Sold about 200   at $50 
>> each( or less as a set) did come close to covering the costs and a few dozen 
>> to individuals. Luckily there had been a TV sale which allowed me to fund 
>> the project. I thought $50 and $125 seemed like a nice middle ground but in 
>> truth had I sold them two or three times that, they would have made more 
>> money. Most of the institutions would still have purchased them and more 
>> than made up for some that would not have. 
>> 
>> If the library community wants to figure out a way to assure distributors 
>> they will literally sell 10 times the number of copies if they sell titles 
>> at $30 a pop, I guarantee you distributors would jump at the chance. 
>> Filmmakers would be especially happy because there films would be seen by 
>> more people. Sadly it is just not realistic for the vast majority of 
>> educational films and small distributors are not going to cherry pick one 
>> mildly popular title try to sell it for a lot less.
>> 
>> On Fri, Jul 1, 2011 at 10:36 AM, Peterson, Erika Day - petersed 
>>  wrote:
>> Hear, Hear.
>> 
>> Jessica is correct in saying that there's a limited market for the films 
>> independent distributor's deal with.  We, the librarians, know that better 
>> than anyone because there's limited viewership for those titles once they're 
>> in our collection.  It's impossible for me to justify purchasing a film for 
>> my collection that costs $200, $300, $400 or more just because *I* think it 
>> looks like a worthy title.  It has to be for a direct and immediate academic 
>> need.  Then there's the added temptation once we do have it, to lock-it up 
>> like it's the Hope Diamond, because we paid a small fortune for it.  Thus, 
>> even further reducing the film's exposure to a broader audience.
>> 
>> If I 

Re: [Videolib] How do you know when you¹ve become an artist?]

[Ball, James (jmb4aw)]

Just got my first offer from a distributor who wants to work on flexible 
pricing.  Who else is interested?

Matt

__
Matt Ball
Media and Collections Librarian
University of Virginia
mattb...@virginia.edu
434-924-3812

On Jul 1, 2011, at 12:36 PM, "Ball, James (jmb4aw)" 
mailto:jmb...@eservices.virginia.edu>> wrote:

"If the library community wants to figure out a way to assure distributors they 
will literally sell 10 times the number of copies if they sell titles at $30 a 
pop, I guarantee you distributors would jump at the chance."

It's not up to the library community to make assurances for the distributors, 
but together we can figure out a pricing model that's mutually beneficial.  It 
is interesting that you mention Kino because they are one of the few 
distributors I know of that do follow my suggested pricing model, around $30.00 
with no PPR, and I can tell you that I bought a lot more from them last year 
than I did from the other distributors.

As for the 10 times guarantee, I just made that very promise.  And I'm even 
flexible on the price.  How about $60.00 with no PPR?

Erika's offer looks pretty interesting too.  Anybody want to take a test drive?

Matt



__
Matt Ball
Media and Collections Librarian
University of Virginia
mattb...@virginia.edu
434-924-3812

On Jul 1, 2011, at 11:33 AM, "Jessica Rosner" 
<jessicapros...@gmail.com>
 wrote:

Trust me, educational distributors would be thrilled if they could sell copies 
at $30 and basically make the same sum at selling it at $300, but it will never 
happen. I don't doubt you and James will buy a copy of films you would not 
otherwise, but  many educational titles deal with very specialized subjects and 
they are not going to sell 2.000 copies. Keep in mind that it would also 
require a lot more time & money from a company and the real kicker is they 
would still have to only do direct sales, nearly all to institutions. In order 
for a film to be really retail they would have to sell 20 times as many copies 
since wholesalers would take up to 50% of the price.
Years ago I did a little experiment at Kino to see if there could be a middle 
ground. I curated a 3 title collection of silent films directed by women. I 
believe it was something  $50 for institutions and $25 for individuals per 
title with a discount for the set. Sold about 200   at $50 each( or less as a 
set) did come close to covering the costs and a few dozen to individuals. 
Luckily there had been a TV sale which allowed me to fund the project. I 
thought $50 and $125 seemed like a nice middle ground but in truth had I sold 
them two or three times that, they would have made more money. Most of the 
institutions would still have purchased them and more than made up for some 
that would not have.

If the library community wants to figure out a way to assure distributors they 
will literally sell 10 times the number of copies if they sell titles at $30 a 
pop, I guarantee you distributors would jump at the chance. Filmmakers would be 
especially happy because there films would be seen by more people. Sadly it is 
just not realistic for the vast majority of educational films and small 
distributors are not going to cherry pick one mildly popular title try to sell 
it for a lot less.

On Fri, Jul 1, 2011 at 10:36 AM, Peterson, Erika Day - petersed 
<peter...@jmu.edu>
 wrote:
Hear, Hear.

Jessica is correct in saying that there's a limited market for the films 
independent distributor's deal with.  We, the librarians, know that better than 
anyone because there's limited viewership for those titles once they're in our 
collection.  It's impossible for me to justify purchasing a film for my 
collection that costs $200, $300, $400 or more just because *I* think it looks 
like a worthy title.  It has to be for a direct and immediate academic need.  
Then there's the added temptation once we do have it, to lock-it up like it's 
the Hope Diamond, because we paid a small fortune for it.  Thus, even further 
reducing the film's exposure to a broader audience.

If I could purchase films for $30, no PPR, I would buy a lot more titles and be 
marketing them to my academic community much more aggressively.

In fact I'm willing to pinky swear that I will spend the same amount of money 
OR MORE this fiscal year as my average over the last five years with any 
distributor that will make this deal.

Erika
* * * * * *
Erika Peterson
Director of Media Resources
Carrier Library,  James Madison University
(540) 568-6770
http://www.lib.jmu.edu/media

From: James Ball 
<jmb...@eservices.vi

Re: [Videolib] How do you know when you¹ve become an artist?]

[Ball, James (jmb4aw)]

"If the library community wants to figure out a way to assure distributors they 
will literally sell 10 times the number of copies if they sell titles at $30 a 
pop, I guarantee you distributors would jump at the chance."

It's not up to the library community to make assurances for the distributors, 
but together we can figure out a pricing model that's mutually beneficial.  It 
is interesting that you mention Kino because they are one of the few 
distributors I know of that do follow my suggested pricing model, around $30.00 
with no PPR, and I can tell you that I bought a lot more from them last year 
than I did from the other distributors.

As for the 10 times guarantee, I just made that very promise.  And I'm even 
flexible on the price.  How about $60.00 with no PPR?

Erika's offer looks pretty interesting too.  Anybody want to take a test drive?

Matt



__
Matt Ball
Media and Collections Librarian
University of Virginia
mattb...@virginia.edu
434-924-3812

On Jul 1, 2011, at 11:33 AM, "Jessica Rosner" 
mailto:jessicapros...@gmail.com>> wrote:

Trust me, educational distributors would be thrilled if they could sell copies 
at $30 and basically make the same sum at selling it at $300, but it will never 
happen. I don't doubt you and James will buy a copy of films you would not 
otherwise, but  many educational titles deal with very specialized subjects and 
they are not going to sell 2.000 copies. Keep in mind that it would also 
require a lot more time & money from a company and the real kicker is they 
would still have to only do direct sales, nearly all to institutions. In order 
for a film to be really retail they would have to sell 20 times as many copies 
since wholesalers would take up to 50% of the price.
Years ago I did a little experiment at Kino to see if there could be a middle 
ground. I curated a 3 title collection of silent films directed by women. I 
believe it was something  $50 for institutions and $25 for individuals per 
title with a discount for the set. Sold about 200   at $50 each( or less as a 
set) did come close to covering the costs and a few dozen to individuals. 
Luckily there had been a TV sale which allowed me to fund the project. I 
thought $50 and $125 seemed like a nice middle ground but in truth had I sold 
them two or three times that, they would have made more money. Most of the 
institutions would still have purchased them and more than made up for some 
that would not have.

If the library community wants to figure out a way to assure distributors they 
will literally sell 10 times the number of copies if they sell titles at $30 a 
pop, I guarantee you distributors would jump at the chance. Filmmakers would be 
especially happy because there films would be seen by more people. Sadly it is 
just not realistic for the vast majority of educational films and small 
distributors are not going to cherry pick one mildly popular title try to sell 
it for a lot less.

On Fri, Jul 1, 2011 at 10:36 AM, Peterson, Erika Day - petersed 
<peter...@jmu.edu> wrote:
Hear, Hear.

Jessica is correct in saying that there's a limited market for the films 
independent distributor's deal with.  We, the librarians, know that better than 
anyone because there's limited viewership for those titles once they're in our 
collection.  It's impossible for me to justify purchasing a film for my 
collection that costs $200, $300, $400 or more just because *I* think it looks 
like a worthy title.  It has to be for a direct and immediate academic need.  
Then there's the added temptation once we do have it, to lock-it up like it's 
the Hope Diamond, because we paid a small fortune for it.  Thus, even further 
reducing the film's exposure to a broader audience.

If I could purchase films for $30, no PPR, I would buy a lot more titles and be 
marketing them to my academic community much more aggressively.

In fact I'm willing to pinky swear that I will spend the same amount of money 
OR MORE this fiscal year as my average over the last five years with any 
distributor that will make this deal.

Erika
* * * * * *
Erika Peterson
Director of Media Resources
Carrier Library,  James Madison University
(540) 568-6770
http://www.lib.jmu.edu/media

From: James Ball 
<jmb...@eservices.virginia.edu>
Reply-To: 
<videolib@lists.berkeley.edu>
Date: Fri, 1 Jul 2011 14:13:23 +
To: 
"<videolib@lists.berkeley.edu>"
 
<videolib@lists.berkeley.edu>
Subject: Re: [Videolib] How do you know when you’ve become an artist?]

A lot of the collecting I do is based on faculty requests but they're 
reque

Re: [Videolib] How do you know when you¹ve become an artist?]

[Jessica Rosner]

Trust me, educational distributors would be thrilled if they could sell
copies at $30 and basically make the same sum at selling it at $300, but it
will never happen. I don't doubt you and James will buy a copy of films you
would not otherwise, but  many educational titles deal with very specialized
subjects and they are not going to sell 2.000 copies. Keep in mind that it
would also require a lot more time & money from a company and the real
kicker is they would still have to only do direct sales, nearly all to
institutions. In order for a film to be really retail they would have to
sell 20 times as many copies since wholesalers would take up to 50% of the
price.
Years ago I did a little experiment at Kino to see if there could be a
middle ground. I curated a 3 title collection of silent films directed by
women. I believe it was something  $50 for institutions and $25 for
individuals per title with a discount for the set. Sold about 200   at $50
each( or less as a set) did come close to covering the costs and a few dozen
to individuals. Luckily there had been a TV sale which allowed me to fund
the project. I thought $50 and $125 seemed like a nice middle ground but in
truth had I sold them two or three times that, they would have made more
money. Most of the institutions would still have purchased them and more
than made up for some that would not have.

If the library community wants to figure out a way to assure distributors
they will literally sell 10 times the number of copies if they sell titles
at $30 a pop, I guarantee you distributors would jump at the chance.
Filmmakers would be especially happy because there films would be seen by
more people. Sadly it is just not realistic for the vast majority of
educational films and small distributors are not going to cherry pick one
mildly popular title try to sell it for a lot less.

On Fri, Jul 1, 2011 at 10:36 AM, Peterson, Erika Day - petersed <
peter...@jmu.edu> wrote:

>   Hear, Hear.
>
>  Jessica is correct in saying that there's a limited market for the films
> independent distributor's deal with.  We, the librarians, know that better
> than anyone because there's limited viewership for those titles once they're
> in our collection.  It's impossible for me to justify purchasing a film for
> my collection that costs $200, $300, $400 or more just because *I* think
> it looks like a worthy title.  It has to be for a direct and immediate
> academic need.  Then there's the added temptation once we do have it, to
> lock-it up like it's the Hope Diamond, because we paid a small fortune for
> it.  Thus, even further reducing the film's exposure to a broader audience.
>
>  If I could purchase films for $30, no PPR, I would buy a lot more titles
> and be marketing them to my academic community much more aggressively.
>
>  In fact I'm willing to pinky swear that I will spend the same amount of
> money OR MORE this fiscal year as my average over the last five years with
> any distributor that will make this deal.
>
>  Erika
>  * * * * * *
> Erika Peterson
> Director of Media Resources
> Carrier Library,  James Madison University
> (540) 568-6770
> http://www.lib.jmu.edu/media
>
>   From: James Ball 
> Reply-To: 
> Date: Fri, 1 Jul 2011 14:13:23 +
> To: "" 
> Subject: Re: [Videolib] How do you know when you’ve become an artist?]
>
>   A lot of the collecting I do is based on faculty requests but they're
> requesting Glee and Twilight.  An equally large chunk of the collecting I
> do, though, is based on what I think we *should* have to support broader
> curricular needs, and a lot of that comes from distributors like Bullfrog,
> Icarus, Women Make Movies, etc.  But those titles are so expensive that I
> can only afford to buy a few per year.
>
>  However, if independent documentary filmmakers sold their films for
> $30.00 each I would increase my total purchases from them times ten,
> probably more.  I'm not kidding.  Nothing would make me happier than
> flipping through catalogs with a shiny red marker circling all of the titles
> I would love to have.  For me, I would be getting amazing content at a cost
> that aligns with a pricing model that's supportable under the constraints of
> my institution's collection development strategies and budget priorities.
>  For the filmmakers and distributors it means that I would be buying more
> titles, possibly multiple copies, of videos that I wouldn't have even
> considered before, and if I'm willing to do that then I bet there are at
> least four other media librarians who'd do the same.
>
>  There, the filmmakers are still making money (maybe more) and the
> visibility of their films has increased five-fold.  Or is it four?  Anyway,
> you see my point.
>
>  Elizabeth, Meredith, Karen, are you interested?  $30.00 per title, no
> PPR, and I promise to buy at least 10 times the number of titles I bought
> last year.
>
>  Or perhaps there's another mutually beneficial pricing model out there...
>
>  Matt
>
> _

Re: [Videolib] How do you know when you¹ve become an artist?]

[Peterson, Erika Day - petersed]

Hear, Hear.

Jessica is correct in saying that there's a limited market for the films 
independent distributor's deal with.  We, the librarians, know that better than 
anyone because there's limited viewership for those titles once they're in our 
collection.  It's impossible for me to justify purchasing a film for my 
collection that costs $200, $300, $400 or more just because *I* think it looks 
like a worthy title.  It has to be for a direct and immediate academic need.  
Then there's the added temptation once we do have it, to lock-it up like it's 
the Hope Diamond, because we paid a small fortune for it.  Thus, even further 
reducing the film's exposure to a broader audience.

If I could purchase films for $30, no PPR, I would buy a lot more titles and be 
marketing them to my academic community much more aggressively.

In fact I'm willing to pinky swear that I will spend the same amount of money 
OR MORE this fiscal year as my average over the last five years with any 
distributor that will make this deal.

Erika
* * * * * *
Erika Peterson
Director of Media Resources
Carrier Library,  James Madison University
(540) 568-6770
http://www.lib.jmu.edu/media

From: James Ball 
mailto:jmb...@eservices.virginia.edu>>
Reply-To: mailto:videolib@lists.berkeley.edu>>
Date: Fri, 1 Jul 2011 14:13:23 +
To: "mailto:videolib@lists.berkeley.edu>>" 
mailto:videolib@lists.berkeley.edu>>
Subject: Re: [Videolib] How do you know when you’ve become an artist?]

A lot of the collecting I do is based on faculty requests but they're 
requesting Glee and Twilight.  An equally large chunk of the collecting I do, 
though, is based on what I think we *should* have to support broader curricular 
needs, and a lot of that comes from distributors like Bullfrog, Icarus, Women 
Make Movies, etc.  But those titles are so expensive that I can only afford to 
buy a few per year.

However, if independent documentary filmmakers sold their films for $30.00 each 
I would increase my total purchases from them times ten, probably more.  I'm 
not kidding.  Nothing would make me happier than flipping through catalogs with 
a shiny red marker circling all of the titles I would love to have.  For me, I 
would be getting amazing content at a cost that aligns with a pricing model 
that's supportable under the constraints of my institution's collection 
development strategies and budget priorities.  For the filmmakers and 
distributors it means that I would be buying more titles, possibly multiple 
copies, of videos that I wouldn't have even considered before, and if I'm 
willing to do that then I bet there are at least four other media librarians 
who'd do the same.

There, the filmmakers are still making money (maybe more) and the visibility of 
their films has increased five-fold.  Or is it four?  Anyway, you see my point.

Elizabeth, Meredith, Karen, are you interested?  $30.00 per title, no PPR, and 
I promise to buy at least 10 times the number of titles I bought last year.

Or perhaps there's another mutually beneficial pricing model out there...

Matt

__
Matt Ball
Media and Collections Librarian
University of Virginia
mattb...@virginia.edu
434-924-3812

On Jun 24, 2011, at 8:13 PM, "Jessica Rosner" 
mailto:jessicapros...@gmail.com>> wrote:

As someone who works with independent documentary filmmakers, let me tell you 
they would be THRILLED to sell their films at $25 or $30 if they had a chance 
in hell of selling 5 times as many as they would at $250. The subject matter is 
generally geared towards the academic community or at least not to the popular 
topics that sell in the thousands and they have a lot of expenses to recoup and 
it is a bitch to distribute. These are simply not the same as the more popular 
$19.95 to $29.95 videos you will find at the retail level and keep in mind the 
distributor only gets back 60% or so on thing sold through third parties like 
Amazon. I assure you if 1500 institutions would actually buy a wonderful series 
of films on the post genocide justice system in Rwanda or even one on 
Gerrymandering ( to plug the ones I deal with) the directors would be over the 
moon to sell them for $25 knowing more people could see them. When good 
documentaries are carried by public libraries at a fraction of the rate of bad 
action movies then you will see a huge drop in prices, heck if just one in 
every 500 university libraries bought them you would see the same.

On Fri, Jun 24, 2011 at 7:31 PM, 
<ghand...@library.berkeley.edu>
 wrote:


 Original Message 
Subject:  Re: [Videonews] How do you know when you’ve become an artist?
From:  
ghand...@library.berkeley.edu
Date: Fri, June 24, 2011 4:31 pm
To:   "Video Library News" 
<