Withoutabox is a monopoly that is causing serious harm to independent film using unfair business practices to drive up entry fees and making it harder than ever for film festivals to survive.
Unfortunately, because Withoutabox has a complete monopoly on festival submissions, it is nearly impossible for a festival to survive without using their website.
Here are some things you may not have known about Withoutbox. This information is taken directly from the brochure that they email to festivals.
1. They demand 18%!!! of the entry fees that they get from the festivals. This causes festivals to dramatically raise their prices to make up for this incredibly greedy commission.
2. They charge a mandatory set-up fee just for a festival to be listed on the site, ranging from $500 to $2000. Again, this causes festivals to jack up their entry fees to compensate for these costs.
3. They force festivals to buy a "Marketing Package", the cheapest of which starts at $750 and goes all the way up to $3,500 per month. Most festivals can barely survive as it is without having to be forced to buy "marketing packages."
4. For non-profit festivals that do not have entry fees, Withoutabox charges $2000!!! to be listed on their site. From non-profits!
5. They force festivals to place a link on the festivals' website as prominently as the festivals' own Call For Entries link so that they can take submissions from traffic that originates from outside of Withoutabox.
From their rules: "A link to the Withoutabox submission form must be placed prominently on partner websites, call for entries materials, and any related email announcements. Placement of wabLINKs on partner websites must be as prominent or more prominent than any in-house submission method options"
6. Withoutabox stifles competition and severely limits the options of filmmakers by requiring complete exclusivity from film festivals.
"Withoutabox partnerships are exclusive so no other third-party submission sites may be utilized concurrently."
This drastically restricts competition and perpetuates a monopoly where festivals are forced to charge higher and higher entry fees to make up for these severely encumbering rules.
7. By the time festivals pay all the mandatory fees and the nearly 20% commission, it is highly likely that Withoutabox will have made more money than the festivals who work tirelessly to promote and foster independent film.
8. Withoutabox forces festivals to give mandatory "discounts" to filmmakers that pay Withoutabox membership fees. This causes festivals to raise their entry fees to compensate, which is passed on directly to the filmmakers. They then require filmmakers to pay costly membership fees directly to them in order to have access to these so called "discounts."
9. Withoutabox holds the festivals entry fees they receive for up to 45 days so they can earn interest on the fees before paying festivals their share.
10. Withoutabox does not allow festivals to offer entry fee coupons or discounts to filmmakers that might undercut the prices offered on Withoutabox.
Here is what you can do to help support independent film:
1. SUBMIT DIRECTLY to the festivals. Most festivals have online entry forms that makes submitting and uploading projects directly through their sites very simple.
2. Let festival staff and festival directors know that you do not support Withoutabox's unfair business practices and encourage them to stop working with them.
3. Cancel your Withoutabox account.
4. Tell your friends, fellow filmmakers and screenwriters to always SUBMIT DIRECT, share this page, and BOYCOTT WITHOUTABOX.
5. Write to your congress people and local authorities and demand an antitrust investigation into the unfair and monopolistic business practices of Withoutabox.
Thank you for supporting independent film and the opinion of this site!
