Why not make the download or BluRay available when they get released anyways? I wouldn't care. And I would have paid $30 to get this plus the playlists/script.
Because that's not how distributors work, I'd assume. They'll want exclusive rights in their territory.
He could buy the DVDs from the distributor at wholesale and send them out to his backers. This would flip the negotiation around since he'd be guaranteeing a certain number of sales.