Metacafe’s Producer Rewards® Program
- Overview
- Producer Rewards Program Terms
- Requirements
- Trends Exhausted
- FAQ - Submission
- FAQ - Rights
- FAQ - Acceptance / Rejection
- FAQ - Payments
- FAQ - Mechanics
- Tips for Success
Overview
The Metacafe Producer Rewards® program pays video producers for creating and submitting exceptionally entertaining original works.
Any creator of an original video that meets the program requirements may submit it for consideration. We pay $2 for every 1,000 views a video accepted into the program receives in the United States. Your video will be evaluated for acceptance into the program after it receives 20,000 worldwide views. Payments are processed monthly for producers whose total earnings equal or exceed $100.
Producer Rewards Program Terms and Conditions
Eligibility Requirements – How Do I Qualify?
General requirements are as follows:
- You must be the exclusive owner of the video and all rights therein – including all content, music and images – and be willing to give Metacafe a non-exclusive license to your video.
- Your video must be suitable for a mainstream audience – no adult, erotic, violent or hateful content. Metacafe’s general content standards explain the difference between 13+ and 18+ content. 13+ videos are eligible for Producer Rewards®. 18+ videos are not.
- Your video must not exploit children, depict cruelty to animals, disclose any personally identifying information beyond a first name about any person, disseminate personal information about another individual for malevolent purposes or violate the legal rights of others in any way.
Specific reasons that videos will be rejected from the Metacafe Producer Rewards® program include:
Audience Reaction
- Fewer than 20,000 Views in 6 Months: Producer Rewards® videos must be broadly appealing to a large and diverse audience. To qualify, your video must receive at least 20,000 views within 6 months of submission to Metacafe.
- VideoRankTM Less than 3.00: Producer Rewards® videos must prove entertaining to Metacafe viewers. Our VideoRankTM system gauges each viewer’s reactions to every video – taking dozens of behavioral indicators into account when calculating the number between 1 (low) and 5 (high) that indicates just how entertaining a video is. To qualify for Producer Rewards, your video must have a VideoRank TM of at least 3.00 when it crosses the 20,000 views threshold.
- Trend Exhausted: The Producer Rewards® program is meant to encourage and celebrate creativity. When we receive a number of videos featuring a common theme and get community feedback about the resulting viewer fatigue, we retire that theme and stop accepting such videos into the program. We encourage all video creators to check the Trends Exhausted section before producing their video or submitting it to Metacafe.
Content
- Too Similar: Videos that are substantially similar to another video already in Producer Rewards® are not accepted into the program.
- Unsuitable Content: Producer Rewards® videos are meant to entertain a large and diverse audience. Videos that have sexual arousal as their primary purpose and videos that instruct viewers how to do something unsavory or potentially harmful to others are not accepted into the Producer Rewards® program.
- No Entertainment Value: Videos that merely feature a person who is not doing anything entertaining or exceptional are not accepted into the Producer Rewards® program. Videos that do not contain any exceptional action or entertaining storyline are not accepted into the Producer Rewards® program.
- Promotional Vehicle: Videos that have as their primary purpose promoting other products or services, rather than entertainment, are not accepted into the Producer Rewards® program.
- Not English Language: To qualify for Producer Rewards®, your video must be in English. As Metacafe grows and we add staff who can properly evaluate videos submitted in other languages, we may ease this requirement.
Basics
- Rights Not Cleared: Producer Rewards® videos must be original works, and the video creator must prove that he or she has all the necessary clearances for the images, music and people featured in the video.
- Low Tech Quality: Videos that are exceedingly dark or grainy, have missing frames or a low frame rate, or are of poor audio quality are not accepted into the Producer Rewards® program.
- Packaging Abuse: Videos with thumbnails, tags, titles or descriptions that are misleading, inaccurate, not descriptive, or over-use sexual imagery or language to promote the video are not accepted into the Producer Rewards® program. If such information is added after a video is accepted into the program, the video will be removed from Producer Rewards®.
- Too Short: To qualify for Producer Rewards®, your video must be at least 30 seconds long.
- Not a Video: Metacafe is a video entertainment site, so anything that is not an entertaining video is not accepted into the Producer Rewards® program. This includes items such as a series of computer screen captures, slideshows, photo compilations, fractals and optical illusions.
Metacafe reserves the right to reject or remove any video from the Producer Rewards® program at any time.
We also reserve the right to make exceptions for exceptional videos.
Trends Exhausted
The Producer Rewards® program is meant to encourage and celebrate creativity. When we receive a number of videos featuring a common theme and get community feedback about the resulting viewer fatigue, we retire that theme and stop accepting videos submitted after the trend was exhausted.
Creators who submitted their work to the Producer Rewards® program prior to the public communication of an exhausted trend will not be impacted. So please check this list before you submit.
As of February 11, 2008, videos on the following themes are ineligible for the Producer Rewards® program:
- Videos demonstrating exercise or stretching techniques
- Videos depicting the appearance of a “ghost”
- Videos featuring airplanes or remote-controlled airplanes
- Videos filmed at an exhibition, such as an auto show
- How-to videos in the following categories:
- Instructional videos on various massage techniques
- Instructional videos on how to care for a CD or DVD (e.g., clean, repair, remove scratches)
- Videos demonstrating how to solve puzzles, games or mathematical equations
- Instructional videos on folding paper or learning origami techniques
- Videos on how to do bar tricks using items such as coins, paper money, cards, bottles, glasses, alcohol, cigarettes, matches, etc.
As of March 24, 2008, videos on the following themes are ineligible for the Producer Rewards® program:
- Videos showing how to amplify or tinker with your wireless device or it’s signal strength.
- Videos depicting an allegedly haunted house or mysterious paranormal activity.
Submissions – Common Questions
1. What file formats does Metacafe accept?
You can submit files with any of these file extensions: 3gp, flv, mp4, mov, qt, asf, avi, divx, mpa, mpe, mpeg, mpg, m1v, mkv, wmf and wmv.
2. How do I submit videos to Producer Rewards®?
Simply select the “Submit” tab and upload your video. After providing information about your video, check “Yes, I want to submit my video to Producer Rewards®.”
3. What if I submitted my video using Metacafe Pro?
Just log in to your Metacafe account, go to “Submitted Videos” within your User Channel, select the video, and click “Submit to Producer Rewards.”
4. How do I submit a video to Producer Rewards® that I already uploaded to Metacafe?
Log into your Metacafe account, locate the video under “Submitted Videos” within your User Channel, and click on the “Submit to Producer Rewards®” button. Views accumulated from this point forward count toward payment. Views accumulated previously do not.
5. Do I have to live in the United States to enter Producer Rewards®?
No – Metacafe accepts Producer Rewards® submissions from video creators based anywhere in the world.
Rights – Common Questions
6. Do I still own the rights to my videos?
Yes – the Producer Rewards® contract is non-exclusive, which means you can license the same video to other companies. That said, your participation in the program gives Metacafe a perpetual and irrevocable license to market your video to any other media.
7. Can I use music with a Creative Commons license?
It depends: which version of the Creative Commons license did the music creator select? Some versions don’t allow derivative use of the work, meaning that it can only be distributed exactly as the creator made it. Some versions require crediting the creator, which would make it ineligible for Producer Rewards®. And if the creator selected a “Non-Commercial Use” license, you absolutely cannot use it to make money in Producer Rewards®. You can only use the music if the creator gave you the right to use it for commercial purposes and for distribution to other media channels without credit.
8. If the music composer has been dead for more than 60 years, the music is now royalty free, isn’t it?
The original composition may be royalty-free, but the performance might not be. The performer and the record label might collect royalties, even if they’re playing music composed more than 60 years ago.
9. What if my friend gave me permission to use her music? Will she have to sign something?
If your friend wrote, played and recorded the music – and she gave you the rights to use the music, profit from it, and sub-license it to other media types… then you can use the music in your video. When you receive the contract, sign the statement saying that you hold all the rights for the video and its content and provide written authorization from your friend.
10. If I use copyrighted music but I credit the copyright holder, will my video be accepted?
If the copyright holder requires credit, the video is ineligible for Producer Rewards®. If the copyright holder does not require credit, but you want to credit her, that’s fine. Bear in mind also that providing credit for copyrighted music is not sufficient to give you permission to use that music. You still need permission from the publisher of that music and the person performing it to include it in your video.
11. If a person appears in my video and I can’t get their signature, what should I do?
If the person is recognizable, then their rights may be infringed by you posting the video on Metacafe. Unless we are sure you hold all the rights associated with your video, we will not accept it into the program.
Acceptance/Rejection – Common Questions
12. When and how will I know if my video has been accepted into Producer Rewards®?
Once your video passes 20,000 views, we will review it within 3 business days. If your video is accepted into the program, you’ll receive a contract by e-mail. Each video accepted into Producer Rewards® gets its own contract. You can also check the status of your video on your Metacafe User Channel.
13. If my video is rejected, can I change it, re-submit it and get credit for all the previous views?
No – once a video has been rejected from the program, you can’t recapture the views it scored earlier. You are, however, welcome to change the video to meet the requirements of the Producer Rewards® program and re-submit it for consideration after it gains 20,000 views.
Payments – Common Questions
14. If my video is accepted into the program, how will I get paid?
Once you’ve signed your Producer Rewards® contract, you can select one of these three payment options:
- Direct transfer to a Paypal account
- A Metacafe-branded pre-paid MasterCard that operates as an ATM card
- Direct deposit to a U.S. bank account
15. When will I receive payment?
After you’ve signed your contract and selected your payment method, your videos must earn at least $100 combined to generate a payment. Otherwise, the amount due will be carried over to the next month. Payments are transferred by the 10th of each month. Once the payment is transferred, you will see the transaction details in the “Payment Log” within your Metacafe User Channel. Note that due to bank policies, it may take up to 14 working days before you see the actual payment in your bank account.
16. I didn’t receive payment from Metacafe this month. What should I do?
We don’t make individual payments of less than $100, so the most likely reason you didn’t get paid is that your videos didn’t accumulate $100 since your last payment.
17. I’m under 18. Can I still make money on Metacafe?
Yes, but you’ll need a parent or legal guardian to sign the Producer Rewards® contract on your behalf.
Mechanics – Common Questions
18.i. When do my video’s views begin to count?
Views start counting the moment you click the button submitting your video to Producer Rewards®.
18.ii. Does the site show worldwide or U.S. views next to my video?
The view counter shown on the web site represents worldwide views. Over the coming months, we will be updating our systems so that U.S. views and the corresponding Producer Rewards® earnings will appear in your Metacafe account payment log.
19. My video has already been seen thousands of times, but I edited it to improve the quality. Can you switch the re-edited video with the old one and let me keep the existing views?
No – we do not switch videos. If you do re-edit your video, be sure to let us know – we can remove the existing version so that you can upload the new and improved one. But the views counter will start over at zero.
20. Can I have more than one account for submitting videos to Producer Rewards®?
Yes, but you cannot receive Producer Rewards® earnings from two different Metacafe accounts to one payment account. If you open two Metacafe accounts and have videos in each that are accepted into the program, you will have to register twice for payment, supplying different payment account information each time.
21. Does the requirement prohibiting disclosing “any personally identifying information beyond a first name about any person” mean I can’t have credits for actors and crew at the end of my video?
No, if you have permission from your actor and crew to do so, you may identify them in the credits.
Tips for Success
Be sure to visit the Studio section often – there, you’ll find articles on how to improve your production skills and increase the likelihood of success on Metacafe. A few to get you started:
