Vimeo’s new product lets creators build and monetize their own streaming services

Vimeo is enhancing its SVOD business with a new solution that aims to address common creator frustrations. The name of that product is Vimeo Streaming, and it’s designed for creators who are looking to launch and monetize dedicated subscription services for their content.

A visit to the Vimeo Streaming homepage reveals that the platform’s app-building tools have already been used to launch more than 5,400 apps, which have collectively attracted over 13 million subscribers while hauling in $429 million in annual revenue. Notable Vimeo Streaming entries include Dropout, The Try Guys’ 2nd Try, and Sidemen XIX.

Vimeo’s history as a monetization solution for creators dates back more than a decade. The pay-per-view hub known as Vimeo On Demand was once used to distribute Oscar-worthy fare and indie favorites, as well as plenty of creator-led productions. After acquiring digital distribution platform VHX, Vimeo made a more concerted move toward the streaming world with a hub called Vimeo OTT.

The new Vimeo Streaming product brings the platform’s distribution technology in line with contemporary trends. Creators are now building their own subscription services and producing their own premium shows, and many of them can find uses for an intuitive, no-code solution packed with coveted features like piracy protection, analytics, and AI translations. Vimeo Streaming users can add multiple subscription tiers to their hubs, allowing them to put live events, merchandise, and special videos behind paywalls.

These days, Vimeo’s struggles make the news as often as its successes. Over the years, the platform has struggled to square its status as an artist-friendly hub with the monetization needs of creators. Vimeo Streaming looks to add a new chapter to that story by providing creators with a multifaceted monetization suite while still affording them control over their work.

“Vimeo is proud to serve the professional creator. With our new Vimeo Streaming release, we are giving creators more ways to connect with and gain a deeper understanding of their audiences, more ways to monetize their content, and higher grade security,” said Vimeo CEO Philip Moyer. “We believe creators should be in control of their work and how they are paid; so we’re taking the technologies that are usually only afforded by the biggest platforms and putting it in the hands of our customers, at a fraction of the cost.”

In a statement of his own, Dropout CEO Sam Reich said that his team has used Vimeo Streaming to power a product that is “far and away our biggest revenue driver.” Like YouTube, Vimeo understands the financial potential of subscription services, but as per usual, the indie darling of the online video world is approaching that trend with artists in mind. Creator content can finally keep up with the big-budget offerings of traditional media — does that mean it’s time for a Vimeo resurgence? Moyer and co. are hoping that their new streaming product will be part of that renaissance.