Vimeo: “We are a B2B solution, not the indie version of YouTube.”
Vimeo: “We are a B2B solution, not the indie version of YouTube.”

Vimeo: “We are a B2B solution, not the indie version of YouTube.”

2022-03-17
3 mins read

It appears that Vimeo issues ultimatums for independent creators. Filmmakers claim that Vimeo demands them to pay thousands of dollars or their videos will be deleted. That’s because of a business shift Vimeo declared on. As stated by Vimeo: “Today we are a technology platform, not a viewing destination. We are a B2B solution, not the indie version of YouTube”. This announcement indicates that Vimeo is not the home of independent creators anymore. 

Vimeo
Vimeo

$3,500 per year or your videos will be deleted

“I was already paying $200 a year, which I think is pretty expensive,” said Lois van Baarle to The Verge. “But I thought, well, it’s a quality platform.” She’s uploaded 117 subscriber-only videos so far, and each one only gets around 150 views on average. Her most viewed video has around 815 views. So the notice Vimeo sent van Baarle on March 11th shocked her. Her bandwidth usage was within the top 1 percent of Vimeo users, the company said, and if she wanted to keep hosting her content on the site, she’d need to upgrade to a custom plan. Her quoted price: $3,500 a year. She was given a week to upgrade her content, decrease her bandwidth usage, or leave Vimeo. Other filmmakers were forced to pay thousands of dollars per year, or their videos will be deleted.

Vimeo Paid and Basic accounts
Vimeo Paid and Basic accounts

Vimeo is getting rid of indie creators

Back then we’ve reported on cases in which Vimeo’s users were surprised to discover that their videos were deleted after switching from a Premium account to a Basic account. This situation forced users to continue and pay Vimeo to keep their videos alive. Vimeo said that it is due to storage, feature development, and more factors. As stated by Vimeo: “ Most video platforms that offer free storage are financially supported by in-stream advertising. Vimeo, on the other hand, is a proudly ad-free and subscriber-supported video platform. The cost of our Plus, PRO, Business, and Premium memberships covers the expenses of all of the services we provide, including feature development, uploading and conversion, video storage, and video playback. Because video storage and delivery are ongoing costs to our business, there is a limit to how much storage we can offer to our free members”. However, even ‘light’ users (not the ‘heavy’ ones) needed to pay a vast amount of money in order to keep their videos on the platform.

The cost of our Plus, PRO, Business, and Premium memberships covers the expenses of all of the services we provide, including feature development, uploading and conversion, video storage, and video playback.

Vimeo

Pray that your audiences will not watch your videos in 4K

This is how Vimeo describes the basics of bandwidth usage: “As a general rule, we do not limit or impose overages on the amount of bandwidth that someone on our platform is using. However, this is subject to fair use. If the bandwidth usage reaches unusually high levels (i.e., in the 99th percentile of users when it comes to bandwidth consumption, which starts at 2 TB per month), we do require that they work with our team to transition to a custom plan. If this occurs on your Vimeo account, someone on our team will reach out to you about the next steps. It’s worth noting that most accounts on Vimeo never reach this threshold”. Hence, you don’t want your audiences to watch your videos in 4K, since it’ll elevate the bandwidth, and you’ll have to adapt a ‘Custom’ plan that can cost thousands of dollars.

Vimeo 2022 Annual Shareholder Letter
Vimeo 2022 Annual Shareholder Letter

Vimeo: “We are not the indie version of YouTube.”

The ultimatums to indie video creators come as Vimeo is shifting focus toward large corporate clients, leaving longtime Vimeo users to scramble for an alternative. As stated in the Vimeo 2022 Annual Shareholder Letter: “Today we are a technology platform, not a viewing destination. We are a B2B solution, not the indie version of YouTube”. Therefore, Vimeo clearly states that it’s not the home of independent creators anymore.

If so, what’s Vimeo?

10 months ago, Vimeo spun out of IAC as its 11th independent publicly-traded company and the first SaaS business born from its formidable portfolio. Vimeo went public during a pandemic, experienced a share of growing pains, and ultimately did not achieve the ambitions it set for the year. “All of this has made us stronger, more self-aware, and more disciplined” the company states. Also, Vimeo has elaborated on its identity. As stated in the Annual Shareholder Letter: “The majority of our potential customers don’t yet know the answer to this question, largely because Vimeo has evolved so materially over the last few years. Today we are a technology platform, not a viewing destination. We are a B2B solution, not the indie version of YouTube”.

We are a B2B solution, not the indie version of YouTube.

Vimeo

Final thoughts

So there you go. Vimeo has turned/pivoted to be a B2B company. It’s not an alternative to YouTube. As such, if you are an independent creator, filmmaker, or videographer, Vimeo is NOT for you. There’s no reason to use the Vimeo platform for filmmaking. It’s slow, un-friendly (from a GUI perspective), very pricy, and inferior to YouTube, which offers better quality, faster speed, and much higher exposure to potential audiences.

Are your videos still on Vimeo?

Yossy is a filmmaker who specializes mainly in action sports cinematography. Yossy also lectures about the art of independent filmmaking in leading educational institutes, academic programs, and festivals, and his independent films have garnered international awards and recognition.
Yossy is the founder of Y.M.Cinema Magazine.

3 Comments

  1. I paid about $250 for a Vimeo pro plan just so I could publish a recent fan tribute movie montage. It was blocked by YouTube for copywriter infringement so I didn’t know any better alternative. If Vimeo ever decides to ask me for more money, my future montages will have no home I’m afraid.

  2. People that think things are always free forever without thinking that behind a bussines you have real humans with families needs and dreams. If you can’t afford it you don’t need it. In 2022 being an independent filmmaker means also you have a real business plan for your production and your movie distribution otherwise you are juste a clown.
    You have many platforms to share a movie or a video art work even alternative way like peertube if you like to be out of the commerical system.
    But just complain that a business want to gain some money is just pathetic.

  3. Vimeo has been slowly going down hill for years and years.

    One day I woke up to all my videos (800) deleted and my account banned by vimeo. All in the claim of music copyright. None of my videos were public and all private with passwords and with copyrighted music. These were videos for major brands that we had complete copyright to music as we were the ones hired to do it. They never had anyway of letting us prove it and just flipped the switch overnight to turn on copyright.

    So F**K vimeo and hope this latest idea helps them go even more downhill.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Get the best of filmmaking!

Subscribe to Y.M.Cinema Magazine to get the latest news and insights on cinematography and filmmaking!

Get the best of filmmaking!

Subscribe to Y.M.Cinema Magazine to get the latest news and insights on cinematography and filmmaking!

Canon Newest Patent Implies on a New Cinema Flagship (C700 Mark II?)
Previous Story

Canon’s Newest Patent Implies a New Cinema Flagship (C700 Mark II?)

Sony VENICE and Fujinon Cinema Box Lens Supercharged Cinematic Look of the Super Bowl Halftime Show
Next Story

Sony VENICE and Fujinon Cinema Box Lens Supercharged Cinematic Look of the Super Bowl Halftime Show

Latest from News

Apple Announces M4 MacBook Pro

Apple Announces M4 MacBook Pro

A few hours after the introduction of the M4 Mac mini, Apple announced the new MacBook Pro armed with the powerful M4 chips. With an advanced 12MP Center Stage camera, Thunderbolt 5…
Apple Introduces a New M4 Mac mini

Apple Introduces a New M4 Mac mini

Apple has just introduced its all-new Mac mini, which is more powerful and compact and was designed for Apple Intelligence. The compact, “do-it-all” desktop now features the power of M4 and M4…
Go toTop

Don't Miss

Christopher Nolan Will Use a New IMAX Technology in His Upcoming Movie

Christopher Nolan Will Use a New IMAX Technology in His Upcoming Movie

It appears that Christopher Nolan and IMAX are about to raise the bar for cinematic innovation once again. In a recent interview, IMAX…
Top-Selling Mirrorless Cameras of 2024: Sony, Canon, and Nikon Face Off

Top-Selling Mirrorless Cameras of 2024: Sony, Canon, and Nikon Face Off

The mirrorless camera market in 2024 has seen remarkable advancements and intense competition. Dominated by giants Sony, Canon, and Nikon, the race to…