14 DAY TRIAL // There is an old adage about a tree falling in the woods and nobody being around to hear it and it applies perfectly to the case of the first full-length feature movie ever to premiere via digital distribution on iTunes.
Even most iTunes users will scratch their heads and say something along the lines of "wait? what?" after reading this, and rightfully so. The fact of the matter is that, indeed, "Purple Violets," Ed Burns' film was the first such movie to premiere in such a way, but this landmark event has come and gone without anyone but the Apple news sites noticing. It has taken quite a few years for artists to realize that they don't need the major labels, that they can go with smaller independent labels, or even skip labels altogether thanks to the power of digital distribution. The launch of this movie could have been of great historical importance, a point in time when the world was shown that, much like in the case of music, the digital age can give us quality movies for affordable prices without the need for the current distribution networks and the cooperation of the behemoths of the industry. Instead, we are left with a small footnote in the iTunes timeline.
Looking at why "Purple Violets" is not, the landmark event that could have stirred up the industry, several things stand out. For starters, the price of the movie is a whooping $12.99. Considering the fact that the quality of iTunes movies is nothing to write home about and the fact that downloading and storing such media can take quite some time and bytes, it is not surprising that many are reluctant. Even die-hard Apple fans that want to support the idea behind the distribution of this movie are finding the price a little steep. Another key factor is the lack of availability. Only people inside the US can actually purchase this, a small percentage of the iTunes using population, everyone else being locked outside due to the lack of availability of both movie and TV shows in their area. Last but not least, the movie only has limited appeal. Romantic comedies are not the most universally liked movie genre and between this and the large amount of money that the movie costs, many simply bypass this 'chick flick.'
It is highly unlikely that Apple was not fully aware of all these factors, so the question is just why did they through with it. If this will sell as poorly as it looks to be doing, the studios will have proof that online distribution 'doesn't work' and it will only further hinder Apple in its efforts in this area. With luck, "Purple Violets" is actually doing better than it seems to be and will only be the first of many such movies, if not, online movie distribution may have taken a big step back.