As the business of film distribution continues to evolve, a new Indian platform called VideoMart is exploring a relatively simple proposition: what if filmmakers could sell premium video directly to audiences?
For years, the central question for an independent filmmaker has been deceptively simple: Where will the film be seen?
The answer has changed dramatically over the years.
Theatrical releases once represented the ultimate destination. Then came satellite television, home video, YouTube and, eventually, the explosion of OTT platforms. Each new format created another opportunity for filmmakers to reach audiences.
But distribution has not necessarily become simpler.
For an independent filmmaker, particularly one working outside the conventional studio system, getting a film made can sometimes be easier than figuring out what to do with it afterwards.
A short film may find an audience on YouTube but generate little direct revenue. A documentary may have a highly relevant but relatively small audience that does not fit the economics of mainstream streaming. An independent feature may have festival recognition but struggle to secure an OTT acquisition.
And there is another question that is becoming increasingly relevant:
Does every film have to be monetised through advertising, subscriptions or acquisition deals?
This is where VideoMart, an Indian video-commerce platform, is experimenting with a different model.
Its proposition is relatively straightforward: filmmakers, production houses and other video producers can upload premium video content, decide its price and sell it directly to audiences through the platform’s transactional model. VideoMart describes itself as “The Marketplace for Premium Video Content.”
It is not positioned as another subscription OTT service.
And perhaps that distinction is the more interesting part of the story.
A marketplace rather than another OTT platform
The idea behind VideoMart emerged from a fairly familiar problem.
Asif, the company’s founder, had himself been involved in theatre, acting and filmmaking. After producing a zero-budget short film with a friend and releasing it on YouTube, the film crossed 10,000 views within a few months.
The audience was there.
The monetisation mechanism wasn’t.
That experience eventually led to a question that became the foundation of VideoMart:
Why can’t creators sell videos as easily as merchants sell products online?
The company’s broader thesis is built around a simple reframing: videos can be products, filmmakers can be merchants, and audiences can be customers.
That may sound like a small change in terminology, but it represents a meaningful change in the way a filmmaker could think about distribution.
Instead of asking only whether a platform will acquire a film, the filmmaker could potentially ask whether there is an audience willing to buy it.
That creates a different kind of distribution window.
What does that actually mean for a filmmaker?
In a conversation about the platform, Asif repeatedly comes back to one principle: VideoMart is not intended to replace existing distribution models.
A filmmaker could still pursue festivals, theatrical distribution, YouTube, OTT licensing or other commercial arrangements.
The idea is to add another option.
That makes the model particularly interesting for independent filmmakers whose content may have commercial value without necessarily fitting into the acquisition model of a large streaming service.
A documentary about a very specific subject, for example, may have a small but highly motivated audience.
A short film may have a strong following among a particular community.
An independent feature may have already completed its festival journey without finding a conventional OTT home.
A production house may have an older catalogue sitting largely unused.
For such content, transactional distribution could become an additional source of revenue rather than an either-or decision.
VideoMart’s current creator model allows video producers to upload premium video content, set their own prices, manage their video library and track sales and earnings through VideoMart Studio.
The platform’s stated pricing model currently offers creators 0% commission on their first ₹20,000 in sales or first six months, followed by a standard 20% commission, with no listing fees or hidden charges.
For a filmmaker, that makes the proposition relatively easy to understand:
Make something. Package it. Price it. Find the audience. Sell it.
The difficult part, of course, is still finding that audience.
VideoMart does not magically solve that problem.
But it changes what becomes possible once an audience exists.
Five questions with VideoMart founder Asif
Q. Isn’t this essentially another OTT platform?
Asif: “No. I don’t see VideoMart as another OTT platform. OTT platforms are primarily built around streaming and their respective subscription, advertising or acquisition models. Our thinking is closer to commerce.”
“We want premium video to behave more like a product that can be bought and sold. A filmmaker should be able to decide what to sell and how much to charge, rather than always waiting for a platform to decide whether the content fits its catalogue.”
That distinction is central to VideoMart’s positioning. Its internal product philosophy describes the platform as a video-commerce ecosystem, rather than an OTT, YouTube alternative or conventional course platform.
Q. Why would an established filmmaker need another platform?
Asif: “They may not need another platform. But they may want another revenue window.
“If a filmmaker already has theatrical distribution, television rights or an OTT arrangement, those relationships can continue. But there are also films and premium videos that remain commercially underutilised.
“We want to create another option for those works — particularly for independent filmmakers and smaller production houses.
“The idea isn’t to tell filmmakers to abandon what already works. It’s to give them another way to monetise what they have created.”
That may be the most practical way to view VideoMart at this stage.
Not as a replacement for the existing film-distribution ecosystem, but as another layer within it.
Q. Filmmakers are understandably protective about copyright. How does VideoMart approach that?
Asif: “Copyright cannot be treated as an afterthought when you’re dealing with professional video.”
VideoMart’s copyright framework requires uploaded material to be owned by the uploader, properly licensed, in the public domain with appropriate proof, or otherwise legally permissible. Unauthorised copyrighted material, piracy and OTT or YouTube rips are prohibited.
The platform’s documented process includes automated detection, manual review and a rights-holder complaint mechanism. In a copyright claim, the uploader is required to provide ownership or licensing documentation, after which VideoMart reviews the dispute.
The company also has provisions for situations where multiple distributors have rights to the same film, distinguishing between non-exclusive rights, exclusive rights and disputed rights.
For filmmakers, that may be more important than another flashy platform feature.
Knowing the rules before uploading a film matters.
Q. Can a filmmaker actually retain control over the work?
Asif: “That is fundamental to our philosophy. Technology should empower the filmmaker, not take ownership away from them.”
VideoMart’s founding principles explicitly include creator ownership and direct monetisation.
The platform’s creator infrastructure is designed around giving video producers control over their premium video catalogue and pricing.
That creates an interesting contrast with traditional distribution conversations, where the primary negotiation is often about who gets which rights, for how long and under what commercial terms.
VideoMart’s proposition is simpler:
The filmmaker brings the premium video. The marketplace facilitates the transaction.
The exact commercial and rights arrangements, naturally, depend on the filmmaker’s own existing contracts and ownership position.
Q. You use the word “democratise” quite often. What does that mean in practical terms?
Asif: “For me, democratization means reducing the number of things that can prevent a good film from becoming commercially viable.
“A filmmaker from Mumbai and a filmmaker from a small town should both be able to create a premium video product, price it and make it available to an audience.
“Distribution shouldn’t depend entirely on who you know, which gatekeeper says yes, or whether an algorithm decides to promote you.
“I don’t believe every film needs to become a blockbuster. I believe every good film should have an opportunity to find the audience that values it.”
That last sentence perhaps captures the philosophy behind VideoMart better than any product description.
The interesting possibility: films as digital products
There is a larger shift hiding underneath this model.
The internet has become extremely good at distributing digital products.
Books can be sold digitally.
Music can be purchased digitally.
Software can be bought online.
Courses can be packaged and sold.
But premium video has historically been dominated by a relatively small number of distribution structures.
VideoMart’s bet is that premium video can also become a commerce category in its own right.
Its product architecture currently includes transactional video, pay-per-view, creator channels, built-in payments, analytics and secure distribution infrastructure.
For filmmakers, this could mean another route to monetisation.
For production houses, it could mean another way to generate revenue from catalogues.
For independent producers, it could mean that a completed film does not necessarily have to sit indefinitely on a hard drive while waiting for a conventional acquisition opportunity.
And for audiences, the proposition is equally straightforward:
Find something you value. Pay for it. Watch it.
It isn’t only about films
There is another aspect of VideoMart that is easy to miss if one looks at it purely through the film-distribution lens.
The platform has been designed around two distinct modes: Entertainment Mode and Learning Mode.
The first is intended for filmmakers, production houses, web-series producers, musicians, performers, sports organisations and other premium entertainment producers.
The second is designed for course creators, coaches, consultants, trainers, technology experts, creative educators, institutions and other knowledge providers.
The underlying idea is the same in both cases:
Premium video can be something people consume for free, but it can also be something people are willing to pay for.
That makes the platform broader than a film-distribution experiment.
It is essentially testing whether a marketplace model can work for premium video experiences across both entertainment and knowledge.
A new window, not necessarily a new replacement
There is a tendency in technology to announce every new platform as the “future of” an existing industry.
VideoMart’s proposition is more interesting if viewed without that hype.
It doesn’t need to replace Netflix.
It doesn’t need to replace YouTube.
It doesn’t need to replace theatrical distribution.
It doesn’t even need every filmmaker to use it.
Its opportunity may simply be to establish another commercial window for video — particularly for work that doesn’t fit neatly into the existing distribution structures.
The company calls this ambition “the commerce layer for entertainment and knowledge.”
Asif believes this could eventually change the dynamics of the film industry by giving filmmakers more control over how their work reaches audiences and how it generates revenue.
Whether that happens at scale will depend on several things: audience acquisition, quality of the catalogue, filmmaker adoption, payment behaviour and, perhaps most importantly, whether audiences become comfortable with buying individual premium video experiences.
Those are not small challenges.
But neither was convincing Indian consumers that they would order groceries, meals, taxis and almost everything else through a phone.
The more interesting question may therefore not be whether VideoMart will replace existing film distribution.
It is whether the Indian video market is ready for another window.
And if it is, independent filmmakers may be among the first to benefit.
VideoMart
The Marketplace for Premium Video Content
Sell Videos. Not Just Views.
