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When catalog holders and content creators think of new markets, they may not think of Mongolia. The landlocked democratic country of just over 3 million people is better known for its nomadic steppe traditions than its contemporary life. Yet it is an increasingly urbanized and connected society, with mobile phones and city amenities. And Mongols are hungry for films, music, and other content.
RightsIn, the international marketplace for film, music, and other intellectual property, is showing just how important small but growing markets like Mongolia can be to rights holders. CEO Ray Young has been working in the country, along with several other promising Asian markets such as Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam, to create on-the-ground sales teams, ready to promote international content from indie distributors like ITN Films. RightsIn is also helping these local creators get their content to bigger potential audiences.
“I had some professional contacts in Mongolia already, but I knew if we wanted to have deals be successful, we needed to do more than throw a marketplace online and hope for the best,” says Young. “I knew we needed to go in person and work directly with interested partners.” RightsIn is doing more than just making deals; it’s also training local representatives to broker future partnerships in the market.
The company’s Mongolia deals are diverse and promise to bring in far more potential revenue than a one-off license. In several recent trips, Young worked with a variety of partners to find good homes for independently distributed films and other content on RightsIn. The company is working directly with the local distributors of contents to consumers instead of sub-licensees to put more money into the content owners.
Some of these deals involve getting Mongolian content onto the international marketplace. Ulaanbaatar-based production house Mongol Nomad Films, for example, will place its catalog on RightsIn. “There’s interest around the world in Mongolian movies and shorts,” Young notes, “as several recent documentaries that got international notice have shown.”
In Mongolia itself, Young worked with the biggest cinema chain in the country, Urgoo Cinemas, to create a special catalog for VIP clients. Moviegoers can choose from a menu of American and other films distributed by ITN and licensed by RightsIn and arrange private viewings for friends or business associates. “This is a new concept for Mongolia,” notes Young. “We’re doing a revenue share deal, which will likely mean more income for rightsholders.”
One of the larger mobile carriers in Mongolia, Skymedia, also inked a deal with RightsIn that involves revenue shares. “Twenty films from ITN will be available to Skymedia subscribers a month, as pay per view and as video on demand,” Young explains. “RightsIn and its content partners will receive a share of the revenue when these videos are viewed.”
Mongolia is part of a broader, Asia-based strategy to expand markets for catalog and rights holders in the US. “We’re building teams in Malaysia, China, and Vietnam,” says Young. The mix of tech savvy and human expertise promises to create a truly global market for content.
About RightsIn
RightsIn is a comprehensive, international IP marketplace specializing in video, film, and music content. It connects buyers worldwide with rightsholders to facilitate mutually beneficial deals using a variety of technologically innovative pricing, sales, and analytical tools.