Clip Store

An online shop where individual videos are offered for purchase or download, usually sorted by creator and category. Unlike on a fan platform, the audience does not buy access to a profile there, but a specific clip. The clip store handles payment processing, hosting, and delivery and retains a share in return.

How selling works in practice

You upload a finished clip and assign a title, description, keywords, thumbnail, and price. It then sells for as long as it remains in the shop, without you having to communicate continuously. This is the key difference from a subscription: A clip store does not require a fixed publishing schedule or much messaging, but it does reward good discoverability. Descriptions and keywords help determine whether a clip appears in the shop search at all.

Many creators use both in parallel: a clip store to sell individual, longer-form content and a fan platform for regular interaction. You must check whether either platform requires exclusivity for certain content.

Checks before uploading

Reputable clip stores verify the identity and legal age of everyone shown in a clip before approving it. For you as the provider, this means you need proof of age with an ID and a signed Model Release from every person involved, specifically permitting this use. Without these documents, the clip will be rejected or blocked later.

Keep these documents permanently and in an organized manner. The documentation obligation does not end with the upload, and you can only respond to a later inquiry from the shop with complete documentation. The article on proof of age and documentation explains how productions handle this on set.

What may and may not be placed in the shop

A clip store may contain only material for which you hold the exploitation rights: self-produced content and content for which written permission has been granted. Scenes from commissioned productions almost never fall into this category. The production acquired the rights and exploits them itself. Anyone who places such scenes in a shop without permission risks having their account deleted and facing claims from the production.

Secondary exploitation may be permitted if the production expressly allows it, for example after an exclusivity period has expired. This must be agreed in writing, specifying the platform, period, and scope.

Revenue and accounting

The shop retains a share of the sales price, and the remainder is transferred according to its payout terms. Depending on the provider, the shares range from 25 to 90 percent. Check the minimum payout amount, payout interval, and whether chargebacks are deducted from your balance. All income is business income and belongs in your bookkeeping.

Organization that pays off later

Read the content guidelines before registering, because clip stores exclude certain depictions and sometimes block clips without warning. Create an entry in your archive for every clip: recording date, people involved, documents, and platforms. If a clip later appears elsewhere, you will immediately know what belongs to you and who is authorized to take action.