Amazon has put another target in its crosshairs: YouTube.
The e-tailer announced a new feature to its Amazon Prime Video arm on Tuesday, known as Amazon Video Direct (AVD). This video-publishing platform will allow anyone to upload their own videos to share on the platform — and potentially earn money in the process. Unlike YouTube, however, the content will only be viewable on Amazon Video-capable devices and browsers.
With this new initiative, Amazon is taking on not only YouTube but also Facebook, which has been encouraging publishers to publish original videos and content to its site. Participants that have already signed on to AVD include Conde Nast Entertainment, HowStuffWorks, Samuel Goldwyn Films, The Guardian, Mashable, Mattel and Business Insider, among others.
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AVD content will be available for free to Amazon Prime subscribers, and as an add-on subscription with both one-time rental and purchase prices. Ad-supported versions will be available to all Amazon consumers.
Those who upload videos to AVD will have the ability to earn royalties based on minutes streamed, Amazon said, and viewing metrics will be available. The company is also sweetening the pot with its AVD Stars program. This incentivizing program will distribute a monthly bonus to the top 100 AVD titles in Prime Video, with the bonuses totaling $1 million each month.
