Vurt Launches Platform for Indie Filmmakers to Embrace Vertical Video
Vurt, a new streaming platform, offers indie filmmakers a way to reach mobile audiences with vertical video content using an AVOD model.
Miami: TechCrunch reports that Vurt is a new streaming service where independent filmmakers can share their work using a vertical, mobile-first format. This means movies and shows appear in the tall orientation people use when holding phones.
Short videos on platforms like TikTok made companies such as Netflix, Disney+, and others explore shorter content. The company provides a space where filmmakers can upload micro-series or full-length films directly. Traditional services often use middlemen to distribute content, which takes longer. The company’s process allows creators to have their work available in just 48 to 72 hours.
Vurt uses an AVOD (advertising-based video on demand) model. Filmmakers earn money when ads play during their titles. They keep half of the ad revenue under a non-exclusive agreement, meaning they can share their work elsewhere too. More than 100 episodes of original micro-series, movies, and TV shows are already available, including projects with actors like Kevin Hart and Vivica A. Fox. New original content is released each week.
The founder, Ted Lucas, also started Slip-N-Slide Records, which worked with musicians like Rick Ross and Trina. He got the idea after facing tough distribution challenges with his own documentary, “Miami Kingpins.” Lucas said not every creator has the money or connections to overcome those hurdles, so he wanted to fix that problem with his platform.
His team includes Eric Tomosunas, founder of Swirl Films; director Mark A. Samuels; investor Hilmon Sorey; and Tarik Brooks, formerly with BET and REVOLT, who advises the company. Competing services like ReelShort and DramaBox also offer short vertical content. ReelShort was expected to earn about $1.2 billion this year, while DramaBox made $276 million last year. TikTok even launched its own micro-drama app in January.
Since many people, especially young viewers, watch most content on their phones, the move toward vertical storytelling is growing. Whether large streaming services will offer more vertical content remains uncertain.
“The way people consume content has already changed, and we’re building something that fits that future,” Lucas said.
The Vurt app is free and available on the App Store, Google Play, and online for devices that support vertical format.