Don’t count indies out
By Tom Paine -- Video Business,07/21/2006
JULY 21 | Shortly before I graduated from college, my favorite professor left us all with these words: “The only thing that will remain constant in our future is that life will continue to change at an accelerating pace, and we must do what’s needed to stay current.” Sound like our industry?
Paine
Much has been written or said lately portraying indie rentailers as a relic of the past. You would not have known it from this month’s VSDA show. There was constant conversation about how energized people seemed. Of course, some individual relics were there, but most dealers I talked with were savvy and forward-looking. They realize that most of the retail segment in the industry has turned to sell-through and the Internet has changed the marketplace and will continue to do so.
Nonetheless, video rental stores are hardly relics. DVD sales and rentals in the U.S. in 2005 were $24.3 billion, and 32% of that money was spent on rentals. Blockbuster has 7,000 stores worldwide, Movie Gallery has 4,800 in North America, and there are an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 independent rentailers in the U.S. All these stores rent movies to customers who prefer renting and watching movies in the privacy of their homes.
This is not news for studio execs. They know they are getting a huge portion of the $8.9 billion in rental and previously-viewed disc sales in the U.S. Sure, rentailers do not carry the weight we once did, but we still serve markets and pocketbooks that cannot be served any other way. Everyone must know that.
So, despite all the chatter about friction in the industry—which, by the way, has existed since day one—the movie rental industry is still a big market and, despite the hype of alternate delivery, isn’t going away any time soon.
Indies are resilient, and our tenacity built this industry along with studios. That resiliency created rental outlets on every street corner, it fought in the Supreme Court for the right to rent, it fights in other courts for a level playing field and, like any other business, shops for the best prices, buying even from competitors.
Rentailers know their customers and bring in product that serves them. We know we are in a service industry and providing a quality experience keeps customers coming back. We know that the rental model is the one that works in convenience outlets and selling new product will always be ancillary in these outlets.
Finally, rentailers are thankful for the movie industry and the studios who market their movies to the public. As the studios look for new sources of revenue, video stores will continue to serve customers who prefer renting instead of buying, watching movies on a TV instead of a laptop and browsing our shelves instead of the Internet.
Tom Paine is owner of six-store DVDNow! in Redmond, Wash.
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| Submitted by: | ilusha shamalov 9/15/2006 8:48:38 AM PT |
I know I am a little late posting this comment, but If you think about what is going on in the Video industry, you will see that it is embarresing. <br>
We have the major studios who don't want to deal with the little guys as much as they want to deal with the big guys(netflix, blockbuster and other huge stores).<br>
In my opinion, the future of the movie business in general is in big trouble. The big hit movies will always be out there, and there will always be people who will rent and purchase them, besides that is what the business thrives on. But we forget about the small movies. The movies that do not make it to the movie theatre. Movies that don't get the budget like others do. Movies that are known only through word of mouth. Movies that fill up the video stores walls. Movies that people look for when the big budget titles are all rented out.<br>
If netflix accomplishes what it wants to do, which is take over the country and make the video store "extinct", all those small budget titles will not be made.<br><br>
Why, you might ask?<br><br>
The answer is simple. The only reason why people watch these movies is because they are out there on the shelves where customers can pick up the box and read them. Customer of netflix will NEVER do that. They will always have their list of movies they want to watch, and wait for those movies to come in by mail.<br>
Let's say netflix will buy Indie films, it will still not pay for the small studios to make them, because it will not be worth for netflix to purchase as many copies as they would buy big budget titles. Let's not forget at that point the "video store" will be extinct, and it will not be worth it for small studios to put out those movies. So what will happen is the movie industry will shrink, there will be more actors looking for work, and eventually the industry as we know it will really be extinct.
| Submitted by: | Bob Achille (777@snet.net) 8/20/2006 3:17:57 PM PT |
| Location: | Shelton, CT. |
| Occupation: | Owner of Video 7 Entertainment |
Hey Tom,<br>
I know you've been around awhile just as I have by your comments. My store is in year 23. Good to read fact and not fiction in articles. I roasted T.K. Arnold 2 weeks ago with a letter responding to a column he wrote speaking about how indies live in fantasy land and have no clue what we're doing. Those always piss me off. If you want to read my response to his stupidity, let me know. Good Job.<br>
Bob
| Submitted by: | CANDACE P. CURRY 8/18/2006 11:18:47 AM PT |
| Location: | CURRYS VIDEO PLUS |
| Occupation: | OWNER/MANAGER |
TOM,<br>
ALL I CAN SAY IS THIS IS THE FIRST TIME IN A LONG TIME THAT I"VE HEARD SOMEONE STICK UP FOR THE INDIES!!!! DON'T COUNT US OUT YET IS RIGHT... POSITIVE THINKING GOES A LONG LONG WAY. I TRULY THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTARY.
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