LOS ANGELES (AP) — Amazon has launched a self-publishing platform for video creators, a move that could make money for the company and budding filmmakers in the same way YouTube has created a community of online celebrities.
Amazon Video Direct, which kicked off Tuesday, shares money with video creators through the method they choose: ads, subscriptions, rentals, or simply by the number of hours streamed to tens of millions of subscribers of Amazon Prime, its two-day shipping service.
Amazon keeps about half the revenue, or if the video is restricted to Prime, it pays a set fee of 15 cents per hour viewed in the U.S.
Several production companies made videos available Tuesday including Baby Einstein, Pro Guitar Lessons and Conde Nast.
The service allows creators to publish videos in the U.S., Great Britain, Germany, Japan and Austria.
