Partnership Announcement: Glass House Distribution

ALLIANCE ENTERTAINMENT / DISTRIBUTION SOLUTIONS ANNOUNCE MEDIA PARTNERSHIP WITH GLASS HOUSE DISTRIBUTION

Distribution Solutions, a division of Alliance Entertainment, is pleased to announce a digital and physical media partnership with Glass House Distribution.

Distribution Solutions will handle digital and physical sales, distribution, and marketing of Glass House Distribution sell-through releases in the US and Canada.

“What Glass House Distribution brings to the table with their extensive catalog of feature films and television has us thrilled to partner in business with them,” states Distribution Solutions President, Ben Means. “They are a company founded by filmmakers, so their depth of knowledge into representing quality film and TV is unparalleled.”

Glass House Distribution has a wide-ranging collection of films and television including comedies Me, Myself, and Di, About Hope, and Canadian Strain, dramas Skipping Stones, Shuttlecock, and Gutterbug, and horrors La Patasola, If She Screams, and Infrared Dreams, in addition to thriller, science fiction, family, and documentary genres.

“We’re very excited to work with Distribution Solutions and to be able to allow films to reach more platforms and a bigger audience,” says President and Co-Founder Tom Malloy.

The first Glass House Distribution release distributed by Distribution Solutions hits the marketplace on January 7, 2021.

About Glass House Distribution

Based in New York and Los Angeles and founded by Tom Malloy and Bryan Glass in 2015, Glass House Distribution is an international sales & distribution company focused on feature films, television, & series.

The simple guiding motto of “Full Transparency,” (hence the Glass House), as well as a high bar for quality movies of all genres has catapulted Glass House into a major player in the world of film and TV sales, attending markets at Berlin, Cannes, Toronto, MipCom and AFM in Los Angeles.

In addition to Skipping Stones, current and upcoming Glass House Distribution releases include thriller The Security of Fear starring Jean-Marc Barr, Brad Dourif, William Baldwin, Laura Cayouette and John Robinson, Brit comedy Me Myself & Di starring Lucy Pinder, James Lance, Wim Snape, Will Mellor and Katy Clayton, and horror La Patisola inspired by a Columbian legend and starring Luciana Faulhaber, Patrick Walker and Naja Bradley. Glass House’s original series “Dropping the Soap” won an Emmy for Star Jane Lynch for Best Actress in a web series or comedy.

Glass House Distribution is a member of IFTA, the International Film and Television Alliance.

Find out more at www.glasshousedistribution.com.

Top Taglines of 2021

To communicate a film’s unique story that differentiates it from the rest is no small feat; How do you represent a film in a statement (or less) which doesn’t dive too far into the premise, and hooks a viewer it was meant for? Enter the wonderful world of taglines!

We find ourselves keen on quick, witty, and often pun-worthy comedic remarks that lure us into the story behind the cover.

Taglines have become an essential component to the success and marketability of a film of any kind, regardless of its genre and target demographic. Whether the intent is to give you heebie-jeebies, tickle the back of your thrill-seeking brain, or comfort you on a Friday night because you weren’t invited to that party (you didn’t want to go anyway, right?), we can all agree that sometimes our first impression is what made us press play.

Here’s a look at some of our favorite taglines developed in-house by the DS team here at Alliance Entertainment in 2021.

12 Hour Shift | Magnolia | “Pull Your Shift Together”

Death Ranch | 4Digital | “The Family That Slays Together Stays Together”

Pasture | Mill Creek | “Fear is a Prison of the Mind”

Alfred | ITN | “Your Mind is his Playground”

The Nest | ITN | “Don’t Let the Bed Bugs Bite”

Funhouse | Magnolia | “Break the Internet – or It Will Break You”

Tooth Fairy: The Last Extraction | ITN | “Get Ready to Open Wide”

About Distribution Solutions

Distribution Solutions, a division of Alliance Entertainment, is the largest aggregator and downstream distributor of independent film labels in North America. We are a premier partner for home entertainment sales and distribution, with capabilities including Physical Distribution, Digital Sales/Delivery, and SVOD/Linear Licensing for over 60 content providers, including Mill Creek Entertainment, RLJ Entertainment, and Cinedigm.

Distribution Solutions offers comprehensive in-house Post-Production Services, Consumer Marketing, Design Services, and Turnkey Operations Management—everything it takes to set our partners up for success.

For more information, visit www.ds.aent.com.

Pluto TV Deal with Alliance / Distribution Solutions

Distribution Solutions, a division of Alliance Entertainment, is thrilled to announce a new partnership with Pluto TV to begin content distribution through their industry-leading free streaming television service across the US.

“We are excited to partner with Pluto TV,” stated Ben Means, President of Distribution Solutions. “Through this partnership, premium independent content from our label partners will be available to their impressive audience of 52 million monthly active users.”

Over 450 hours of content from Distribution Solutions’ label partners will be available for streaming on Pluto TV, curated to plug into the Pluto TV channels that viewers turn to for their favorite entertainment genres.

Notable titles coming to Pluto TV include family favorites (The Cat in the Hat, Benji), cult classics (Gone in 60 Seconds (1974), the Andy Sidaris films and Gumby), true crime (Becoming Evil docuseries), and recent indie horror hits (Hostile, Open 24 Hours).

“We are thrilled to welcome Alliance Entertainment and its expansive collection of top-quality content to the world of Pluto TV,” said Will Gurman, VP Global Content Partnerships for Pluto TV. “With this partnership, we look forward to bringing our viewers an even wider array of genres and programming to lean back and enjoy, ranging from reality to history, kids content, and more — all for free.”

Content from Distribution Solutions will begin appearing on Pluto TV channels starting Fall 2021. Pluto TV is available anywhere you can stream content – mobile, desktop, smart TVs, and more.

About Pluto TV

Pluto TV, a Viacom CBS Company, is the leading free streaming television service, delivering hundreds of live and original channels and thousands of on-demand movies in partnership with major TV networks, movie studios, publishers, and digital media companies. Pluto TV has a global audience of nearly 52 million monthly active users and an international footprint that spans three continents and 25 countries throughout the US, Europe and Latin America.

Pluto TV is available on all mobile, web and connected TV streaming devices where millions tune in each month to watch premium news, TV shows, movies, sports, lifestyle, and trending digital series. Headquartered in Los Angeles, Pluto TV has offices across the United States, Europe and Latin America.

For more information, visit www.pluto.tv.

About Distribution Solutions

For more information, visit www.ds.aent.com.

About Alliance Entertainment

Alliance Entertainment is the largest wholesale distributor of physical home entertainment consisting of audio and video software in the United States, as well as newly added video games, selling to mass merchant retail, brick and mortar stores, internet retailers, independent store owners offering vendor-managed or 3PL services.

With more than thirty years of distribution experience, Alliance Entertainment serves customers of every size, providing a robust suite of services to resellers and retailers worldwide.

Alliance Entertainment is a One-Stop solution for all entertainment product needs. As a solutions-based operation, Alliance Entertainment drives sales for companies with unparalleled selection and cost-efficient processing. Alliance Entertainment is headquartered in Sunrise, FL, with offices located throughout the U.S.

Visit http://www.aent.com for additional information on Alliance Entertainment.

Media Inquiries: Allie Mosley

Three Key Steps

“Connect content to consumers” is a marketing team mantra here at Distribution Solutions. And nowhere is that connection to consumers so delightfully direct as it is on digital platforms.

As the digital age pushes forward, Austrian scientist Dr. Florian Kaps endeavors to save the last Polaroid factory, hoping to preserve the art of analog photography…and to encourage people to slow down and reconnect with nostalgic “real” things.

In fact, when it comes to digital platforms, we believe a holistic consideration of creative elements is essential, as it provides the opportunity to formulate a cohesive approach to the assets and messaging used to reach the intended audience for the content.

While each film or episodic property represents unique artistic expression, each follows the same DS process, an evaluation gauntlet designed to assess a title’s strengths and opportunities and to navigate around any challenges to success.

Our marketing focus is upon the three key moments of consumer evaluation, each a step in the short journey that a viewer takes from “browse” to “transact” on a digital platform:

Optimized Key Art. We evaluate art against the competition at large and other similar content to see how it stacks up. Does the title treatment pop? Can a viewer ascertain the genre at a glance, based on imagery? Are we leveraging any emerging (and relevant) trends in the marketplace? In short: we ask ourselves pointed questions, in order to identify and modify key art to ensure it is arresting enough to get someone to want to learn more.
A Supercharged Synopsis. This is where we hook ’em. Sell it don’t tell it, as they say. Our copywriters love a challenge–and one of our favorites is converting a feature-length viewing experience into a precisely worded, dynamic selling tool–in both 140 and 250 character lengths. Our success here prompts a consumer to click the almighty “watch trailer” link, where budding viewing decisions come to blossom (or wither).
A Powerful Trailer. This is it, the big time. We strive for a trailer that leaves the viewer wanting more. The aim is clear story-telling, that hits upon all the key marketing angles (great cast! important director! award wins!) that draw in the target genre audience. Here is where the excitement builds and turns a ‘maybe’ into ‘sold’ as the consumer decides there is no need to look any further.

When it comes to the “Creative Trifecta” as described above, we don’t reserve this approach for just a subset of Distribution Solutions’ label partners. This is a basic deliverable, served up regularly during the course of the collaboration, in order to build the best marketing presences possible on platforms.

Want to learn more about DS and our services? Try us at studios@ds.aent.com today!

Stream Big.

There’s probably nothing left to be said about the proliferation of streaming services and the enormous appetite to be filled in these unprecedented times. Consumers looking for content, and so much content to be had… it’s a timeless love story…

*“Oh hey…I should totally watch everything there is.”*

Beyond the biggies (Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Hulu) the streaming choices have exploded–and consumers are game to expand their consumption like never before. (Exhibit A: This Flixd article, which lists over 200 options available. Enjoy the rabbit hole.)

At Distribution Solutions, this niche-rich environment is right up our alley. Vice President of Digital Sales, Kelly McGee, and her sales team have grown our list of platform partners across all formats–SVOD, AVOD, TVOD–to capture as much of this new landscape as possible. Her game plan: create a ridiculous number of opportunities for the diverse independent film and tv content we represent for our label partners…and grow that revenue!

Yep. Our partners’ content offers a broad array of genres, directors, and unique perspectives and voices…aaaand it just so happens that the marketplace is going crazy with opportunities for accessing content, beautifully organized by interest and subgenre. It’s a glorious time to be where we are–and we are up for the challenge!

The team’s approach to getting content to consumers isn’t a one-size-fits-all deal. For starters, we watch every movie we are going to pitch. (This sounds uber-basic, but that isn’t always the case in this industry.) This “screen everything” pledge gives us the foundation to understand the content and identify the target audience(s) and the platforms on which they may be found.

Once our team gets to know what a film is (and is not), consults with commercial planning, reviews with marketing, pulls comps, and determines likely performance potential, and takes at least one full breath, then we recommend a customized Go To Market strategy. Our aim is always to work closely with our label partner to help the content reach its full potential in the marketplace.

Stay tuned to the newsletter for future snapshots of our successes on digital and streaming platforms.

Don’t want to wait for some future post? Please contact us at PR@aent.com if you’d like to connect with our team.