producer of independent films industry film founded 2007 headquarters 117 winston street suite 306 los angeles california united states products motion pictures owners linda nelson michael madison parent nelson madison films est. 2003 website indierights.com indie rights inc. is an american distributor of independent films based in los angeles california . indie rights is a subsidiary of nelson madison films and was incorporated in 2007 to act as distributor for other independent filmmakers . 1 the corporation began as a private myspace group where the makers of independent films could get information about the changing face of film distribution ; founders linda nelson and michael madison created indie rights so that distribution contracts could be signed by a legal entity . the corporation distributes films largely through video on demand services though more recently it has overseen such theatrical releases as we are kings and fray both in 2014 . nelson madison films has produced three features bigger than live 2002 shifted 2006 and delivered 2011 . 2 3 contents 1 history 1.1 background 1.2 lawsuit and recovery 1.3 film distribution 1.4 filmmaking 2 films 3 see also 4 references 4.1 footnotes 4.2 sources 5 external links history edit background edit linda nelson is a former investment banker and computer systems analyst based in los angeles since 1980 ; 2 michael madison moved there in 1999 from duncanville texas to work as an actor and film producer . 4 they first partnered in 2000 to create and distribute the nsync concert film bigger than live for imax theaters . in 2003 they formed their own company 1 with the goal of making independent features using local talent . madison acts and handles writing producing and directing duties ; nelson writes and produces 4 while developing distribution plans for other filmmakers . lawsuit and recovery edit bigger than live broke even during its theatrical run but nelson and madison failed to tie up the necessary rights in our initial contract and lost home video distribution in a lawsuit that shut down their production office . they moved into more humble digs and tried again with the crime thriller shifted learning the ins and outs of distribution while attending film festivals . 3 nelson soon discovered that the chances of getting a film seen at a major festival such as sundance or cannes without having connections in the industry are slim to nothing . 5 the company began a private group on myspace called indie co op where filmmakers could get details on self distribution including attendance at smaller festivals where films are likely to benefit from local coverage and reviews . 6 nelson believed that film distributors didn t have any systems for accountability in place 2 and that they tended to buy the rights to entire catalogs rather than individual films 7 so she and madison decided to do it themselves . since they needed a legal entity to make distribution contracts valid 3 they incorporated indie rights in 2007 . 8 nelson said doing both film production and distribution gives them a greater understanding of the challenges that filmmakers face than would a company that focuses only on distribution . 9 film distribution edit by 2013 indie rights had built up enough name recognition that video on demand providers began approaching the corporation for information on available independent films rather than waiting to be contacted . 10 those features are steered mostly to such platforms as amazon unbox google play hulu and itunes 11 where the filmmakers can earn up to 50 percent of the revenue . 12 innovations include searchable film rentals on youtube and through video game consoles allowing filmmakers new sources of income in 2011 indie rights had little films making five grand a month on playstation . 13 in 2014 the company was the first independent studio included on m go a subscription service supported by all six of the major studios that offers films for home viewing that are still playing in theaters . 14 filmmaker and baylor university professor christopher hansen turned to indie rights in 2015 when his film where we started failed to make the major festival circuit . after a short run at the arena cinema hollywood led to favorable reviews the film was released via digital platforms . 15 theatrical releases by indie rights also include 9 full moons 2013 featuring amy seimetz and harry dean stanton ; 16 we are kings the feature film debut of america s got talent winner bianca ryan ; 17 and druid peak starring spencer treat clark and winner of best feature film at the 2014 omaha film festival . 18 indie rights became part of the independent online distribution alliance in 2008 . 19 nelson and madison also conduct seminars for independent filmmakers looking to build an audience through social networking . 20 documentarytelevision.com said nelson really gets what it takes to win with facebook . 21 filmmaking edit starting in 2010 the budgetary constraints of independent film making required that nelson madison films go tapeless . delivered their second crime thriller was their first to utilize red digital cinema cameras and adobe cs5 production software . 22 madison directed and played the lead role in an uneven performance where at times he s spot on . 23 films edit by mid 2015 indie rights had distributed a catalog of more than 300 films . the list includes american songwriter michael altman s award winning 2012 documentary that spawned a sequel 24 butterfly crush the 2010 australian film that won multiple best feature awards on the u.s. independent film circuit 25 26 char ac ter 2009 a documentary about the life and craft of acting featuring dabney coleman peter falk and charles grodin 27 delivered winner for best supporting actress alana stewart and of the special jury award action adventure at the 44th worldfest houston international film festival 28 dreams on spec a 2007 documentary featuring interviews with james l. brooks nora ephron and carrie fisher 29 entwinement 2013 multiple award nominee at the madrid international film festival and london portobello film festival 30 flesh on fire addicted to a dream winner of the 2014 la film tv & webisode festival audience award for best documentary 31 32 fools on the hill a 2012 political documentary featuring ed begley jr. and dean cain 27 fray 2012 best feature film winner at both the uk film festival 33 and the arizona international film festival 34 shifted 2006 the company s first production featuring jeris poindexter jill wagner and vanessa johansson 35 skid row a 2008 documentary starring pras credited as pras michel of fugees 36 the story of lovers rock 2012 featuring maxi priest 27 tovarisch i am not dead a documentary by stuart urban first screened in theaters in 2007 27 transatlantic coffee winner of seven awards including first place feature film and best directing at the spring 2012 los angeles new wave international film festival 37 see also edit film distribution film portal references edit footnotes edit a b graser marc april 12 2009 . osiris adds to its indie library . variety . retrieved september 27 2014 . a b c thompson anne april 13 2007 . anne thompson on hollywood independent films going online . variety . retrieved september 27 2014 . a b c courshon jerome . interview with indie rights . the secrets to distribution . retrieved september 26 2014 . a b meyer john p. february 2 2007 . dvd review and commentary shifted by nelson madison films . the dallas morning news . retrieved september 29 2014 . parks 2007 p. 89 . parks 2007 p. 87 88 . parks 2007 p. 87 . indie rights inc glendale ca business profile . dun & bradstreet . retrieved october 12 2014 . minding vod windows 3 00 3 05 . new vod platforms 4 34 4 52 . kendrick tommy g. january 2014 . 047 atp intro to vod distribution with linda nelson . actors talk . retrieved september 29 2014 . levy emanuel april 13 2007 . indie filmmakers use internet to sell their films . emanuel levy cinema 24 7 . retrieved october 13 2014 . pond steve may 9 2011 . youtube s rental service flexible and searchable says provider . thewrap . retrieved october 12 2014 . minding vod windows 27 26 28 43 . kosek jane kelly june 19 2015 . q & a with christopher hansen writer director of where we started . all about indie filmmaking . retrieved july 14 2015 . 9 full moons . indiewire . retrieved september 27 2014 . rechtshaffen michael september 19 2014 . review we are kings has heart of blues but misses art of filmmaking . los angeles times . retrieved september 19 2014 . results from the 2014 off . omaha film festival . retrieved july 21 2016 . hoffman jessica june 26 2008 . ioda expands video and film distribution network onto amazon . marketwired . retrieved october 20 2014 . industry panels downtown film festival los angeles . eventbrite . retrieved october 21 2014 . a day of free industry panels and seminars . burbank international film festival . retrieved october 21 2014 . hamilton peter june 19 2015 . vod marketing five mission critical secrets for cable netflix amazon hulu and more . documentarytelevision.com . retrieved july 14 2015 . blair iain october 20 2010 . special delivery using red cameras adobe cs5 and social networking sites like facebook and youtube delivered could be the next model for indie film . hdvideopro . retrieved september 26 2014 . bell mark february 15 2012 . delivered . film threat . retrieved october 8 2014 . yeghiayan michael august 8 2013 . glendale ready for its close up . crescenta valley weekly . retrieved october 1 2014 . 2011 2nd annual reel independent film extravaganza event recap . reel independent film extravaganza . 2011 . retrieved november 20 2014 . 2011 indie gathering winners . indie gathering international film festival . 2011 . retrieved november 20 2014 . a b c d indie rights movies & tv . amazon.com . retrieved september 26 2014 . parks louis b. april 18 2011 . banquet brings worldfest to close . houston chronicle . retrieved september 29 2014 . dreams on spec . indiepix unlimited . retrieved september 26 2014 . entwinement . solarus films . retrieved september 28 2014 . awards . la film tv & webisode festival . retrieved september 29 2014 . flesh on fire addicted to a dream . gofobo . entertainment printing services . retrieved october 8 2014 . awards . uk film festival . retrieved july 21 2016 . 2012 arizona international film festival best of category . arizona international film festival 2012 . retrieved september 27 2014 . shifted . amazon.com . retrieved october 8 2014 . skid row . indiepix unlimited . retrieved september 26 2014 . los angeles new wave international film festival fall 2011 spring 2012 festival winners . lanewwave.com . retrieved september 26 2014 . sources edit parks stacey 2007 . the insider s guide to independent film distribution . focal press . isbn 9780240809229 . cited as parks 2007 . parks stacey september 11 2014 . startup film school presented by filmspecific.com minding vod windows with linda nelson of indie rights . libsyn.com . retrieved october 17 2014 . cited as minding vod windows . parks stacey july 17 2013 . startup film school presented by filmspecific.com new vod platforms and revenue streams an interview with linda nelson of indie rights . libsyn.com . retrieved october 17 2014 . cited as new vod platforms . external links edit official website indie rights on facebook indie rights at the internet movie database v t e cinema of the united states films films by year awards and events national board of review award 1909 academy awards 1929 new york film critics circle 1935