If it’s free, then how do you make money?

7 months after allowing audiences to view her animated musical feature Sita Sings The Blues, for free, director Nina Paley learned something potentially valuable: the more the audience freely shares the film, the more they purchase DVDs, theatre admissions and merchandise, and the more opportunities there are for income.

Below are the cold hard numbers, courtesy of the Wall Street Journal:

• Total donations from people who appreciate her giving out free content: $23,000
• Profits from her online store which sells merchandise and DVDs: $19,000
• Theatrical distribution revenues: $3,000 (out of total box office tally of $22,350)
• Additional DVD distribution: $3,000
• Broadcast television distribution: $3,000
• Revenue from Central Cinema in Seattle which showed the film: $4,000
• Grand total: $55,000

She claims to have not paid a penny to market the film, since the freely distributable film is its own form of promotion.

Of course, the above $55,000 total doesn’t take into account how much it cost her to actually create the film, so she may actually still be in the red.

However, maybe she’s onto something here, and there’s a lesson for all indie filmmakers to learn.

Filmmakers – thoughts?

Watch her 20-minute presentation below: