Vimeo Officially Expands Monetization Tools With Launch Of On Demand

Over the past few month, Vimeo has rolled out a tip jar feature and pay-to-view options, both of which are helping it become a potent force for moneymaking in addition to retaining its title as YouTube’s hipster little brother. The pay-to-view service has now been extended to all creators, allowing anyone to monetize their videos while maintaining complete creative control.

Users are encouraged to charge whatever they want for their videos, and they can also set the time period over which users can make a purchase. Unless you’re super cool, you’re going to want to make your video available for as long as possible. Of course, this being Vimeo, you probably are super cool. A clever introduction from Vimeo’s staff shows all the roles that one person can play through the On Demand service.

Vimeo On Demand is debuting with the screening of a new Don Hertzfeldt film at SXSW. “Vimeo is committed to empowering creators with tools to display and distribute their work in beautiful HD quality,” said Vimeo CEO Kerry Trainor. “With the addition of Vimeo On Demand, creators can now use Vimeo to control the way they earn revenue and retain a significant portion of the proceeds.”

Of course, this feature is still one step short of a true pay what you want service, which is where I hope Vimeo will end up eventually. Still, the current model provides an enticing alternative to YouTube partnership for creators who are too inexperienced/independently-minded to deal with the partner program.