The Future of VOD for Independents featuring Pierre-Alexandre Labelle

In this episode Alex Stolz sits down with Pierre-Alexandre (Alex) Labelle, co-founder of Under the Milky Way, the global digital distribution company helping studios, filmmakers and rights holders bring their films to VOD platforms worldwide.

Alex shares his journey in the film industry, from the early days of digital distribution to working with major platforms like Apple, Google, and Amazon. He dives into the industry's evolving landscape, discussing the rise of SVOD, the ongoing relevance of transactional VOD, and the growing impact of AVOD and FAST channels (although cautioning that this may be less than has been claimed!).

The conversation also explores Claudia, Under the Milky Way’s latest initiative, designed to streamline the distribution process for independent filmmakers through automation and strategic insights. Alex emphasizes the importance of data in shaping film distribution strategies and how AI could revolutionize industry decision-making.

Closing with a fascinating analogy comparing the predicting the future to a game of Tetris, Alex leaves listeners with thought-provoking insights on how filmmakers and distributors can adapt to a constantly shifting digital environment.

 

🎬 Key Takeaways:

• The transition to digital distribution was inevitable, but industry shifts—like the dominance of SVOD—came as a surprise.
• Transactional VOD remains relevant, particularly for back-catalog titles and films not available on major streaming services.
• FAST channels and AVOD present opportunities but are not the game-changers many expected.
• Claudia is Under the Milky Way’s answer to empowering independent filmmakers, automating where it helps while keeping human insight where it matters.
• AI and data-driven insights will shape the next wave of film distribution innovation.

About Pierre-Alexandre Labelle

Pierre-Alexandre Labelle graduated from McGill University in 2000 and moved to France to work as a derivatives trader for Cargill (2001-2004). He then became an entrepreneur in the film industry through the creation and development of UniversCiné (2005-2008). In parallel, in 2007, he launched the Glitner Project (collaborative platform for European VoD rights-holders). After a tenure as Deputy Manager of the European Producers Club in 2009, he co-founded Under The Milky Way in 2010.

 

About Under the Milk Way

Under The Milky Way is an international digital film distributor.

The company distributes feature films on VoD Platforms on behalf of studios such as StudioCanal, Mattel, Pathé and Gaumont as well as many independent distributors across the world.

Under The Milky Way works with many VoD Platforms such as Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Rakuten, Netflix, Tubi, Pluto TV and was also awarded the global Apple “preferred aggregator” status in 2011. The company is fully operational on more than 100 territories out of 13 regional offices in Europe, Asia, North and Latin America.

Since 2011, Under The Milky Way develops and operates software solutions known as “The Library Intelligence”.  It includes a complete suite of applications customised to its activities.

In 2024, Under The Milky Way launched Claudia; a solution for independent producers to distribute their films on major VoD platforms around the world. https://claudia.underthemilkyway.com/.