Amazon.com To Sell Indie Filmmaker Video

Amazon.com, the leading e-tailer, has announced the expansion of its Advantage program to allow independent filmmakers to sell their video through its Web site. The Advantage program has already proven successful for unsigned book authors and musicians.As part of Amazon.comís program - www.amazon.com/advantage - filmmakers will be able to see their works through individual sites created by Amazon.com and target the companyís estimated 10 million customers with their titles. Fifteen filmmakers reportedly have already signed up the service.Titles are included in Amazon.comís catalog for free, but the individual distributors pay for shipping and handling. Amazon.com stocks the titles and creates an individual Web site that includes cover art and reviews for each title. The e-tailer collects a percentage of the sales, and roughly 55 percent of the sales go back to the filmmakers.""We give filmmakers the opportunity to put a video or DVD in our catalog right next to studio releases,"" said Jason Kilar, Group Product Manager for Amazon.comís video division.