What does a Producer’s Rep Do Anyway?
Outside of the film industry, few people understand what a producer does. Inside of the indusrt, the jargon gets even deeper. This article examines the difference between Agents, Executive Producers, Producer’s of Marketing and Distribution, and Producer’s reps, as well as their roles and responsibilities.
As stated in the article What's the difference between a sales agent and a distributor, one of the most common questions I get is What does a producer’s Rep Do? Since that post teaches the major distribution players are by type, (you should read it first.) I will now thoroughly answer what a producer’s rep does.
Simply put, a Producer’s rep is a mix between a PMD and an executive producer. A Producer’s Rep takes on a lot of the business development jobs for a film. We wear a lot of hats. Most often we'll connect filmmakers with completed projects to sales agents and negotiate the best possible deal. We're skilled negotiators with a deep knowledge of the film distribution scene, and entrenched connections there.
Would you rather watch or listed to a video instead of reading an article? Check out this video on my youtube channel for most of the same information.
If a producer's rep comes on in the beginning, we’ll do the job of an executive producer. We'll help you finance the film in the best way possible. not just through equity investment, but planning proper utilization of tax incentives, pre-sales, crowdfunding, occasional product placement, and sometimes helping to connect you to some of our angel contacts. That said, if we’ve never met, you have no track record and want us to start raising money for you, that probably won’t happen.
Not all producer’s reps will work with first-time directors and producers, I will, but generally only on completion or near the end of post-production. I will not help someone who I have not worked with before garner investment for their projects, except in very limited circumstances. I will help filmmakers get their financial mix in order. If a rep makes connections for investment, we need to know if the filmmakers I'm working with can deliver a quality product and get our investment contacts their money back.
A Good Producer’s Rep will also be able to act as a PMD, or at least refer you to a good one. We don't just work in traditional distribution, but we can help plan and implement other tactics including proper use of VOD. We’ll help you plan your marketing and distribution, then we’ll tell you how to implement it, helping you along the way. We’ll help you develop the best package in order to mitigate the risk taken by our investors. If we do bring on investors, you’d best believe we’re with you through the end of the project, to make sure that everyone ends up better off. We’ll check in and act as a coach to help you grow to the next level.
In a lot of ways, we’re agents for producers and films. Good reps, like good agents, won’t just think about this project, they’ll help you use your projects to move to the next step in your career.
So how do you pay a Producer’s Rep? Since the services we offer are so varied, our pay scale is as well. Some things are based primarily on commission. Sometimes that commission will come with a small[ish] non-refundable deposit that would be things like connecting to distribution. That commission is generally around 10%, but can range between 5-15%. Some things [like document and plan creation] are a flat fee, others are hourly plus commission on completion. That would apply primarily to packaging.
It is worth noting that not all producers reps are trustworthy. There are some that charge 5 figures upfront with no guarantee of performance. Admittedly, no one can guarantee they can sell your film, or get it financed investment. If they guarantee it and ask for a large upfront payment, you should be very wary of them. However, there are some with a strong track record of doing so. Just as you would when talking with sales agents, talk to people who have worked with them in the past.
Most reps will give you a discount based on doing multiple services. Remember to check last week's post for an idea of what each major player in indiefilm distribution Does!
If reading this made you think you want a producer’s rep, check out the Guerrilla Rep Media Services section!
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What’s the Difference between a Sales Agent and Distributor?
Too few filmmakers understand distribution. Even something as basic as the disfference between each industry stakeholder is often lost in translation. This blog is a great place to start
As a Producer’s Rep, one of the questions I get asked the most is what exactly do I do? The term is somewhat ubiquitous and often mean different things to different people. So I thought it might be a good idea to settle the matter. In this post, I’ll outline what a producer’s rep is, and how we interact with sales agents, investors, filmmakers, and direct distribution channels. But first, we need a little background on some of the terms we’ll be using, and what they mean. These terms vary a bit depending on who you ask, but this is what I’ve been able to gather.
Would you rather watch/listen than read? Here’s a video on the same subject from my Youtube Channel.
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DISTRIBUTOR / BUYER
A distributor is someone who takes the product to an end user. This can be anything a buyer for a theater chain, a PayTV channel, a VOD platform, to an entertainment media buyer for a large retail chain like Wal-Mart, Target, or Best Buy. The rights Distributors take are generally broken up both by media type and by territory.
For Instance, if you were to sell a film to someone like Starz, they would likely take at least the US PayTV and SVOD rights, so that it could stream on premium television and their own app which appears on other SVOD services like Amazon Prime, or Hulu. They make take additional territories as well.
Conversely, it’s not uncommon to sell all of France or Germany in one go. It should are often sold by the language, so sometimes French Canada will sell with France. This is less common as of late.
Generally, these entities will pay real money via a wire transfer, and almost deal directly only with a sales agent. Although sometimes to a producer’s rep, and VOD platforms will generally deal with an aggregator. The traditional model of film finance is built around presales to these sorts of entities, but that presale model has recently shifted.
Recently, more sales agents have begun distributing in their territory of origin. XYZ is a good example of this. Some distributors have branched out into international sales. This is something that we did while I was at the Helm of Mutiny Pictures, to allow us to deal with filmmakers directly in a more comprehensive way.
Sales Agents
A Sales agent is a person or company with deep connections in the world of international sales. They specialize in segmenting and selling rights to individual territories. Often, they will be distributors themselves within their country of origin. This business is entirely relationship based, and the sales agents who have been around a while have very long-term business relationships with buyers all around the world. That’s why they travel to all of the major film markets.
Examples on the medium-large end would be Magnolia Pictures international, Tri-Coast Entertainment, and Multivissionaire. WonderPhil is up and coming as well, as is OneTwoThree Media. Lionsgate and Focus Features would also be considered distributors/sales agents, but they’re very hard to approach. They also both focus on Distribution over sales.
Generally, these sales specialists will work on commission. They may offer a minimum guarantee when you sign the film but that is not common unless you have names in your movie. Generally, they will charge recoupable expenses which mean you won’t see any money until after they’re recouped a certain amount. In general, these expenses will range between 10k and 30k, with the bulk falling between 20 and 25k. If it’s higher than 30k without a substantial screen guarantee, you should probably find another sales agent. There are ways around this, but I’ll have to touch on this in a later blog [or book].
A sales agent commission will be between 20% and 35%, this is variable depending on several factors, but generally 25% or under is generally good, and over 30% is a sign you should read more into this sales agent. Lately, this has been trending towards 20% with a slight uptick in expenses.
Aggregators
Aggregators are companies that help you get on VOD platforms. The most important service they provide is helping you conform to technical specifications required by various VOD platforms. This job is not as easy as you would think it is, which is why they charge so much. Additionally, they have better access to some VOD platforms than others. These days, it’s very difficult to get on iTunes or most platforms other than Amazon’s Transactional section without one.
Generally, aggregators charge a not insubstantial fee to get you on these platforms, and they offer little to help you market the project. Companies like this include Bitmax and arguably filmhub or IndieRights.
There are merits to going this this route, but they can be expensive, often costing about one thousand USD upfront and growing from there. If they operate on a commission like Filmhub or Indierights, they won’t help you with marketing so you’ll have to spend a decent amount there in order to get your film seen.
Producer of Marketing & Distribution (PMD)
In the words of Former ICM agent Jim Jeramanok, PMDs are worth their weight in gold. A PMD is a producer who helps you develop your marketing and social media strategy, your Festival strategy, and your distribution strategy. They’re also quite likely to have some connections in distribution. They’re there to give your film the best possible chance at making money when it’s done.
Generally, they’re paid just as any other producer would be, but if they’re good, they’re worth every penny. With a good PMD on board, your project’s chances for monetary success are exponentially better.
If you’re an investor reading this, you want any film you invest in to at least have access to a PMD or Producer’s Rep, if not a preferred sales agent or at least domestic distribution. (Not Financial Advice)
Executive Producer (EP)
In the independent film world, these are producers who are hyper-focused on the business of independent film. They either help raise money to make the film, or they help bring money back to those who put money into it in the first place. As such, the traditional definition in of an indiefilm executive producer is someone who helps you package projects by attaching, bankable talent, investors, or other forms of financing. They’ll also help you design a beneficial financial mix, [I.E. where can you best utilize tax incentives, presales, brand integration, and equity, and gap debt.] in order to help your project have the best chance of success. They can also play a significant role in distribution. The latter is where most of my EP credits come from.
Often, they’ll take a percentage of what they raise or what they bring in. sometimes they’ll require a retainer, but most of the time they should have some degree of deliverables such as business plans, decks, or similar as part of that. These fees should not be huge, but they will be enough to give you pause due to the amount of specialized work involved in doing these jobs.
Producer’s Reps
I’ll go into this much more deeply next week, But Producer’s Reps are essentially a connector between all of these sorts of people and companies. Producer’s Reps will connect you do sales agents, aggregators, buyers, and investors. But more than that, a good one will help you figure out how and when to contact each one. Most often, they’re credited as an executive producer or a consulting producer as the PGA does not have a separate title that applies to this particular skillset. For a more detailed analysis of what exactly a Producer's Rep does, Check out THIS BLOG!
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