Chill Direct’s New Platform Empowers Artists to Distribute Content Directly to Fans

LOS ANGELES -- (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Chill (www.chill.com), the Web’s premier video discovery portal, today launched the entertainment industry’s first turnkey platform for artists to produce, own and distribute content directly to their fans, dubbed “Chill Direct.” The self-service platform is the first of its kind and makes it dead simple for artists to globally distribute premium video to all desktop, mobile and Internet connected televisions.

Chill Direct is a fully socially integrated platform that allows any filmmaker, comedian, musician, or artist to directly release premium video to the fans who love them. Building on the success of content creators who have made specials and albums directly available to audiences for personal download, Chill Direct expands on this emergent model, empowering artists to engage their fan bases and build full-scale customizable community hubs where fans and artists can interact.

Unlike releasing content through app stores, music stores, a broadcast network or film studio, Chill Direct imbues artists with creative control and flexibility over their material and allows them full ownership of Intellectual Property. Chill Direct also helps artists build powerful social communities around their work through integration with Facebook and Twitter and world-class page creation tools.

Chill Direct launches with an exclusive slate of premium content creators including:

• MARIA BAMFORD: THE SPECIAL SPECIAL SPECIAL! – On-sale Nov. 29 (exclusively on Chill)
  Hour-long comedy special written by and starring comedian Maria Bamford and produced by Chill. Executive Producers: Maria Bamford, Bruce Smith, Marc Hustvedt, Brian Norgard and Jesse Albert.

• PLEASE SUBSCRIBE – Pre-order Nov. 29; On-sale early 2013 (exclusively on Chill)
  Documentary film about following the lives of several top YouTube stars including Hannah Hart, Mitchell Davis, Grace Helbig, MysteryGuitarMan, Dan Brown, SeaNanners and more, directed by Dan Dobi.

• THANK YOU FOR JUDGING – On-sale Nov. 29 (exclusively on Chill)
  Documentary feature film from actor-director Michael Urie (Ugly Betty, Partners) about the world of competitive high school forensic speech and debate.

• THE NEW KIND – Pre-order the first episode Nov. 29; On-sale Dec. 7 (exclusively on Chill)
  Anime inspired sci-fi series set in our near future where a young couple’s psychic love holds the key to our evolutionary transformation. Over 200 artists from 29 different countries have collaborated to construct Writer/Director Peter Hyoguchi’s vision of this post-economic collapse world.

• BATTLEFIELD OF THE MIND – Pre-order Nov. 29; On-sale early 2013 (exclusively on Chill)
  Documentary feature film about America’s homeless veterans and those suffering from PTSD. Directed and produced by Fran Strine. Co-produced by Aaron Lewis, front man of rock band Staind and narrated by legendary Megadeth bassist, David Ellefson.

• ARI SHAFFIR COMEDY SPECIAL – (Feb. 2013)
  Original hour-long comedy special by comedian Ari Shaffir, produced by Chill

• JULIEN & CLAIRE – On-sale Nov. 29 (exclusively on Chill)
  Narrative feature film about an American dancer who meets a French musician on the streets of Paris, directed by Adam Neustadter.

• UNKNOWN SENDER – On-sale Nov. 29 (exclusively on Chill)
  Critically acclaimed suspense series from writer-producer Steven E. de Souza (48 Hours, Commando, Die Hard 1 & 2, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider), with all-new, never-before-seen episodes and exclusive behind-the-scenes videos.

“Chill is a critical step towards an ecosystem where artists are finally in control of their creative destiny. For filmmakers, comedians and musicians it will soon become essential to be able to distribute their best work directly to fans,” said Chill Co-Founder Brian Norgard. “We’re going to make it easy for anyone with a creative vision to distribute their work to millions of people. Amazing work should have no boundaries.”

To maximize sales, revenue and engagement with audiences, Chill Direct also features the most real-time, back-end analytics platform available in the marketplace. Artist are given a real-time look at who their customers are, where they are coming from and what’s impacting sales.

“We see massive potential for Chill Direct to create new market opportunities for artists to directly distribute and premiere content straight to their fans,” said Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers partner, Chi-Hua Chien. “Chill Direct is poised to change the digital content market in ways artists never before thought possible.”

Video on the service is viewable on multiple devices including iOS, Android, Windows 8, PC, Mac, etc. For more information, to browse all of Chill Direct’s content or to create your own content destination, please visit www.Chill.com/Store.

About Chill

Chill is the premier video discovery portal with more than 20M unique users every month, combining viral content with premier access for artists to distribute first-release content direct to fans. Based in Los Angeles, CA, the company is backed by venture funding from William Morris Endeavor (WME), Kleiner, 500 Startups, Redpoint Ventures, Crunchfund, Science Media, Troy Carter and Atlas Venture. Chill is founded by Brian Norgard and Daniel Gould.