Let's Talk About... Sales Agents & Producer's Reps for Your Film: When to Get Them and Do You Need Them?

And a list of resources for those of you considering sales agents in this week's subscriber post. Plus: the real reason Apple is investing in film, the Gold Rush in Vertical Shorts & what I'm reading

Marketing & PR for Indie Films is a reader supported publication: if you’d like to upgrade your subscription for $5/mo or $50 a year, or to learn more about marketing and PR for your #IndieFilm and work with me, click here.

The Real Reason Apple is Investing in Film + Television

Photo by Bangyu Wang on Unsplash

I wanted to start this week’s post sharing a screen grab from an interview Apple did with Variety about why they’re investing into film and television:

… the perfect vehicle to affect culture with the soft power of a movie…

Hmmm….. where have we heard that before???

Again…. I link back to my Substack article in February of 2025:

Let's Talk About... "Captain America Must Die": why filmmakers should care about international audiences now. Plus YouTube & AVOD strategies you should think about when releasing your indie film.

Again, soft power. People know the immense power that film and television have to influence people around the world. You all know I’m a huge supporter of indie film because I don’t believe that that power should rest solely in the hands of a few studios making $200MM movies. (And yes, I’m super nervous about the injection of private equity into indie film because private equity kills everything it touches.)

So hopefully, the indie film business, and I mean the truly indie film business, will find a revenue stream to continue to make films that tell stories of underrepresented communities and individuals because it’s more important than ever.

The Microdrama Gold Rush - Here Come the Verticals

I’ve seen a series of articles make the rounds in the trades lately discussing the vertical format and I know that there’s a huge PR push from these studios to seed the trades with articles extolling this kind of storytelling.

One of the episodes was placed on YouTube so being the curious person that I am… I watched it. And let me say… um… well you can take a look yourself and let me know what you think.

I see this as nothing more than a cash grab at the moment and I expect this bubble to burst. I asked myself: could I write something like this? Could I make something like this? It goes against everything I was taught in screenwriting school and about the craft of filmmaking. I suppose that if it were life or death, then yes, I could. But this type of content doesn’t even have the slow burn of soap opera shows of yore and something about it just feels yucky to me.

I suppose if it’s keeping people employed and roofs over their heads, I can’t be too dismissive of the business model, as long as they keep their business practices to be non-exploitative of their cast and crew. But in all honesty, I don’t expect this to be the type of filmmaking (if we’re calling it that) that does more than line the pockets of a few well-funded, early adopters who are able to cash in before it fizzles out.

We shall see, but remember, when you chase trends, you’re already behind.

What I’m Reading This Week

• 13 Young Gen Z-ers on Whether America’s Best Days Are Behind It

• Instagram Wants Gen Z. What Does Gen Z Want From Instagram?

• After 35 years, Milestone Films co-founders give company away — in order to ensure its survival

• Kickstarter-funded films are coming to Tubi

• Tim Cook Reveals Apple’s Vision for Movies and TV: Why Spending Millions on Blockbusters Like ‘F1’ Is About More Than Selling iPhones

• The 24 Months Between Seasons is Killing Your Shows -

  The Entertainment Strategy Guy

• Meta’s AI Feed Is Public: Revealing all of your private searches

• The Simpsons has always been a wholesome show—even if some critics didn’t necessarily understand that.

• Tubi Pacts With Kickstarter to Distribute Fan-Favorite Films and Invest in FilmStream Collective Fund

Now Let’s Talk About… Sales Agents & Producer's Reps for Your Film: When to Get Them and Do You Need Them?

There’s two schools of thinking when it comes to getting a sales rep and/or a producer’s rep. I’m going to break down the instances in which you might want to look for one and detail times when you definitely do not in this week’s paid post.

We’ll talk about:

1. The Myth of the Sales Rep

2. The Myth of the Producer’s Rep

3. When You Should Look to Bring On a Sales Rep

4. When You Should Definitely NOT Bring One On

5. A list of resources for you to continue your exploration

Subscribers, read on! And if you’ve been considering a subscription, what are you waiting for? A subscription is $5/mo or $50/year and could save you time and money.

Marketing & PR for Indie Films is a reader supported publication: if you’d like to upgrade your subscription for $5/mo or $50 a year, or to learn more about marketing and PR for your #IndieFilm and work with me, click here.

Okay, let’s dive in.