With members contributing their efforts to New Day's success, overhead can be kept low, making the co-op affordable for everyone. New Day's modest operating costs are split between the members, with a sliding scale of costs based on the incomes their titles earn. New Day members decide what to spend money on, and the profits come directly to them. To attract customers, each New Day member must spend some of that income on mailings and other promotional efforts, but where and how it is spent is up to the producer. Every year, New Day welcomes applications from independent producers who have films and videos to offer to the educational market and are interested in being part of a co-op.
Prospective members fill out an application form and submit several cassette copies of their titles.
These are screened and discussed by New Day members, and if the title seems appropriate for New Day's collection, an interview with the producer is arranged. Because New Day members are actively involved in promoting New Day titles and in determining the policies and plans of the co op, choosing dedicated, responsible, and cooperative members is as important as choosing good films and videos. In New Day, the members control all financial decisions, decide how to promote their own films, and freely share information, helping each other learn everything from how to choose effective mailing lists to how to use the World Wide Web to promote their titles. In The Golden Years is my most recent independent film, and the only one distributed through New Day Films. Four other companies handle the older ones, and the difference is enormous.