What Is Prime Video Direct and How Does It Work

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Grace
October 27, 2023

Amazon’s Prime Video platform is not just limited to big studio movies; it also welcomes content from independent filmmakers, provided the film meets their quality standards. With Prime Video Direct, studios, distributors, and independent filmmakers can submit their content in a ‘self-service’ scheme and reach audiences worldwide. The good news for filmmakers is that there is no specific budget requirement to submit their work for consideration.

However, it’s essential to note that not every film that gets submitted is automatically approved; Amazon still exercises discretion in the selection process on Prime Video Direct. Nevertheless, this open approach provides a fantastic opportunity for independent filmmakers to showcase their talent and reach a broader audience on Amazon’s platform.

What is Prime Video Direct?

Prime Video Direct is a service offered by Amazon that allows content creators, including independent filmmakers, studios, and distributors, to publish and distribute their videos on the Amazon Prime Video platform. Through Prime Video Direct, content creators can reach a global audience and make their videos available for streaming on various devices, including Fire TV, phones, tablets, game consoles, Smart TVs, and the web.

Prime Video Direct helps content creators to monetize their videos by offering them for rent or purchase (TVOD) through Prime Video in select marketplaces, including the US, UK, Germany, Austria, and Japan.

In May 2016, Prime Video Direct was launched by Amazon in an effort to attract professional video creators and offer an alternative to other video-sharing platforms like YouTube. It provides a curated experience, and all submitted titles undergo manual and automated reviews to ensure they meet quality standards and adhere to Amazon’s content policies before being made available to the audience.

Is Prime Video Direct free?

Yes, Prime Video Direct is a free service to use. You can submit content or manage titles through the platform without any setup or recurring charges, which makes it an accessible and cost-effective option for content creators to reach a global audience.

Sell your films on Prime Video Direct

To sell your titles on Prime Video, your content will undergo a review process and require approval. Prime Video Direct generally licenses professionally produced, feature-length movies, and TV shows that have achieved recognition through theatrical releases, major TV network broadcasts, or selection by significant film festivals.

The platform offers rights holders the opportunity to present policy-compliant titles for rent or purchase (TVOD) through Prime Video. However, for content to be included with Prime (SVOD), unsolicited submissions are not accepted at this time. Additionally, Amazon Prime currently does not accept short films or documentaries through Prime Video Direct.

Categories that you can upload to Prime Video Direct

  • Movies
    Professionally produced content containing a storyline with a runtime of 40 minutes or more.
  • TV shows
    (Episodic titles only) Professionally produced content containing a storyline with episode runtimes that exceed 20 minutes.
  • Concerts and performances
    Content of a performer or group of performers presenting one or more works of art, including live performances.
  • Educational
    Content which is instructional or educational in nature.
  • Interviews
    Content containing one-on-one or one-to-many conversations in a question and answer forum.
  • Sporting events
    Content of a broadcast of sanctioned athletic or sporting events.

How much can you earn from Amazon Video Direct?

By publishing your title on Amazon, you open up the opportunity to earn revenue from viewers watching your video. This revenue can be generated through purchases or rentals of your title. According to the Compensation details of Prime Video Direct, content providers receive 50% of net revenue. 

Prime Video Direct: How does it work?

Before you can upload your videos, you will need to create an account with Prime Video Direct, which requires:

  1. Create a Company Profile including account and address information. If you’re setting up an account as an individual, enter your first and last name as the company name.
  2. Setup payment and banking information
  3. Submit tax information

After setting up your account, you can submit titles on Prime Video Direct for licensing consideration.

Once your title is approved and successfully published on Prime Video, you can start promoting your publication. Prime Video Direct provides a number of free resources that offer tips and suggestions to help promote titles and effectively drive engagement.

By logging into the Dashboard, you can monitor streaming performance, track revenue, and access payment history. Typically, payments are issued approximately 90 days after the end of the month in which the revenue event occurred if your earnings are above the threshold for wire payments.

Extra tip: How to download Amazon Prime Video titles to MP4?

Amazon Prime Video offers a wide range of acclaimed original series such as “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” and “Fleabag,” a vast movie library with over 10,000 titles, diverse TV shows, documentaries, and more. However, these titles are only available for streaming through the Prime Video app on compatible devices. While Prime Video allows offline downloads, there are limitations on the number of downloads and time restrictions on accessing downloaded content.

To overcome these limitations, Pazu Amazon Prime Video Downloader is a dedicated software designed for both Mac and Windows platforms. It enables you to download Prime Video movies and TV shows in MP4 or MKV format. With Pazu Amazon Prime Video Downloader, you can securely preserve your favorite content forever. The downloaded videos can be enjoyed on multiple devices without the need for the Prime Video app, providing the ultimate offline entertainment experience.

Features

  • Download Amazon Prime Video to MP4/MKV
  • Download movies and TV shows in up to 1080p.
  • Built-in Prime Video web player. No Prime Video app is required.
  • Multiple downloads at a time.
  • Keep any or all audio and subtitles.
  • Save subtitles as Embedded subtitles, Independent subtitles, or Hardcoded subtitles.
  • Keep Audio Description and Audio surround sound.
  • Multilingual interface: English, Deutsch, Español, Français, 日本語, 简体中文.

Step 1. Run Pazu Amazon Prime Video Downloader.

To get started, first you need to download, install and run the Pazu Amazon Video Downloader app on your Mac/Windows and sign in with your Amazon account.

Click the key icon and enter your registration code to unlock the full version if you have purchased a registration. If you haven’t, go ahead with the free trial version.

Step 2. Add Prime Video movies/TV shows 

Start typing the name of the movie or the TV show. Now browse through the results and find something you want to download.

Or you can copy-paste the link of the TV show or movie. Click the search icon to find the TV show or movie you’re looking for.

Step 3. Choose video format/quality

Before starting to download anything, you’ll need to choose the video quality setting. To do that, tap the Gear icon to open Settings. It is easy to select the output settings at this step using video formats, video codecs, audio languages, or subtitle languages.

  • Video format: MP4 or MKV
  • Video codec: H264 or H265
  • Audio language: English, French, German, Japanese, Spanish, Chinese
  • Keep Audio description and Audio surround sound or not
  • Subtitle language: English, French, German, Japanese, Spanish, Chinese
  • Subtitle type: Embedded subtitles, Independent subtitles, Hardcoded subtitles
  • Interface language: English, Deutsch, Español, Français, 日本語, 简体中文

Step 4. Click Download icon

Tap the download icon next to the movie or TV show you want to download.

If your selection is a movie, click icon next to it and the downloading begins.

If your selection is a TV show, click  icon next to it to select the episodes you want to download.

Before downloading, you can also click to choose subtitles and audio tracks for each episode. Audio and subtitle languages in Settings only show the 6 common languages. Here you can choose any language from whatever the movie or TV show provides.

Then click Download.

To find the content you’ve downloaded, click the History icon on the top.

Now you can locate the downloaded Prime Video MP4 videos and watch them offline anywhere you want.