Sell your unused video footage to AI companies for up to $4 a minute

The claim

Sell your unused video footage to AI companies for up to $4 a minute.

Covered by Semafor in October 2025 and PetaPixel and The Decoder in 2025 as AI firms seek licensed video.

How we checked

This is an evidence check, not a hands-on test. We reviewed platform rules and policies, published earnings data, regulator warnings and reporting: 3 sources, listed below.

Costs

Start-up cost

£0 if you already own the footage

Effort

low

What the evidence shows

AI companies are genuinely paying for unpublished video, typically $1–$4 per minute, through brokers such as Troveo and Calliope Networks. Ordinary creators' footage tends to fetch $1–$2 a minute, with 4K and drone footage paid more. The money goes mainly to creators with large archives: one creator earned $33,000 a year from licensing 1,000 hours of video. An industry executive quoted by PetaPixel expects the lucrative window to last only a couple of years.

Realistic earnings: If you have hundreds of hours of original, unpublished footage this can be a real one-off windfall; with a small library the per-minute rates add up to little. Sources don't show typical payouts for small creators.

Limitations

Earnings ranges are typical outcomes for a beginner, drawn from the sources; some people do far better or worse. Platform rules change often, so check the latest policy before you start.

Sources

1. The Decoder: companies including OpenAI and Google pay $1–$4 per minute for unpublished video via Troveo and Calliope; Troveo says it has paid creators over $5 million the-decoder.com
2. PetaPixel: regular creators typically get $1–$2 per minute; 4K and drone footage more; Wasserman executive says the window 'is not going to last that long' petapixel.com
3. Semafor (Oct 2025): creator Peter Hollens earned $33,000 a year licensing 1,000 hours of video; Troveo paid a handful of creators over $1 million each semafor.com