Your own streaming service
Self-distribute your film.
The practical checklist, from rights to launch week.
Self-distribution means you sell the film to viewers yourself, from a shop you control, instead of licensing it to a distributor. You keep the price, the money and the buyers' emails. You also take on the jobs a distributor would have done: clearing rights, preparing files, setting prices and finding viewers. This is the checklist.
Video hosting for filmmakers · 5 GB free · Paid plans from USD 9/month
By uncompressed.io · Updated October 2026
Short answer
How do you self-distribute a film online?
Clear the rights, prepare the files, open a streaming shop under your own name, set prices, and launch to the audience you already have. On uncompressed.io the shop, purchases, rentals and memberships are included with paid plans at 0% commission, and buyers pay into your own payment account.
- Clear music, archive and likeness rights for online sale
- Prepare the master, a trailer, captions and artwork
- Open a shop under your own name or domain
- Offer a rental, a purchase and a download
- Launch to the audience you already have
- 0% commission on uncompressed.io
Before the shop
Rights and files
that a distributor would have checked
A distributor's delivery list exists for a reason. Self-distributing does not remove these jobs; it makes them yours.
Music
Festival licences often exclude commercial release. Check every cue is cleared for online sale and download, worldwide or in the territories you will sell.
Archive and likeness
Archive footage, photos and on-screen people need releases that cover sale, not only festival screening.
Existing deals
List every contract: territory, rights, dates, exclusivity. A shop must not sell where someone else holds exclusive rights.
The master
Export the version you want people to pay for. It streams as exported on uncompressed.io, so export it once, carefully.
Trailer and preview
A trailer for social media, and a free preview cut on the shop page so viewers can judge before paying.
Captions and artwork
Captions widen your audience and help accessibility. A poster and a still frame make the shop page and shares look finished.
The money
Flat plan or percentage
on a USD 12 purchase
A platform that takes 10% of one-time sales keeps USD 1.20 of every USD 12 sale. A flat plan costs the same whether you sell one copy or a thousand.
0%
uncompressed.io share
of any purchase, rental or membership
8 sales
Lite plan breaks even
against a 10% share, in a month (USD 9 plan)
33 sales
Pro plan breaks even
against a 10% share, in a month (USD 39 plan)
80%
Filmhub to filmmaker
of what Filmhub receives from channels
The 10% rate is Uscreen Starter's published fee on one-time sales, read 12 October 2026. Card processing applies on every platform and is left out so the comparison stays like for like. For how to choose the price itself, see sell your film online.
uncompressed.io for creators, in one table
Read from the live price list. Verified 2026-10.
| Commission on sales | 0 percent, at any volume. Buyers pay into your own payment account; your card processor's fee applies. |
|---|---|
| What you can sell | Purchases (stream forever), downloads, rentals with a viewing window, memberships with monthly or yearly tiers, bundles and series. |
| Member tools | Free trials per tier, coupon codes, gift memberships, refunds and free access from your earnings page. |
| Your storefront | A shop under your name at yourname.uncompressed.io/on-demand, or on your own domain. Buyers need no account. |
| Picture quality | Films stream as you exported them: no re-encode of video or audio, with an optional lighter copy for slow connections. |
| Viewing hours included | Lite 1,000, Pro 5,000, Max 15,000, Studio 25,000 hours a month, then USD 29 per extra 20,000-hour block. Playback never pauses. |
| Plans | Starter free (5 GB, one film at a time); Lite USD 9, Pro USD 39, Max USD 99, Studio USD 219 a month; yearly is one month free. |
| Leak Shield (optional) | Every buyer gets their own invisibly marked copy; the open web and torrent indexes are searched; a confirmed leak names and blocks the buyer and sends the takedown. USD 99 a month or USD 1,188 a year, any paid plan. |
| Inclusion window | The streaming platform is included with every paid plan for members who switch it on before 31 December 2026, and stays included for them afterwards; after that date new activations add USD 39 a month. |
Plans and add-ons: pricing. The whole cluster starts at the creator platform guide.
Launch
Opening the shop
in the order that works
Build the shop
Upload the master, set a rental with a viewing window, a purchase and a download price, and add the preview cut.
Set country rules
Turn off territories under exclusive contract. Turn them back on when the deal ends.
Tell your list first
Your mailing list, crowdfunding backers and festival contacts get the link and a launch-week coupon.
Bring in partners
Organisations that care about the subject share their own coupon code; the analytics hub shows which referrer sells.
The streaming platform is included with every paid plan for members who switch it on before 31 December 2026, and stays included for them afterwards; after that date new activations add USD 39 a month.
Viewing hours and protection
Questions
Frequently asked
How do I self-distribute my film?
Clear the rights for online sale, prepare a master, trailer and captions, open a streaming shop under your name, set rental, purchase and download prices, and launch to your mailing list, festival audiences and press. Keep country rules ready for any territory you license to someone else later.
How much does it cost to self-distribute a film?
The platform is a monthly plan or a share of each sale, plus card processing. On uncompressed.io there is no share: plans start at Lite USD 9 a month, with the streaming platform included. Your larger costs are usually marketing and any rights clearances.
Can I self-distribute after a festival run?
Yes, and that is the usual order. Many festivals restrict public availability before they screen a film, so keep it private during the run and open the shop when festival rules no longer apply.
Do I need E&O insurance to self-distribute?
Broadcasters and many distributors require errors and omissions insurance. Selling directly from your own shop may not require it contractually, but you are still responsible for every rights clearance in the film. Ask a media lawyer if you are unsure.
How do I stop people sharing my self-distributed film?
No method makes a leak impossible. Leak Shield (USD 99 a month or USD 1,188 a year) gives every buyer their own invisibly marked copy and searches the open web and torrent indexes, so a confirmed leak names and blocks the buyer and a takedown notice is sent. It reduces risk and makes leaks traceable; it cannot guarantee a film never leaks.
When is self-distribution the wrong choice?
When you have no audience and no time to build one, or when a distributor offers a deal with money up front that you are happy with. Self-distribution pays most per viewer, but only for the viewers you bring.
Self-distribute with 0% commission.
Start free with 5 GB. Purchases, rentals, downloads and memberships come with every paid plan (Lite USD 9, Pro USD 39, Max USD 99, Studio USD 219 a month), paid into your own payment account.
Sources
- 1.Uscreen pricing (10% of one-time sales on Starter) (read 12 October 2026)
- 2.Filmhub revenue share, Filmhub help centre (read 12 October 2026)