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Louis CK self-produces, self-publishes content on his webpage

buy.louisck.net

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Re: Louis CK self-produces, self-publishes content on his webpage

#141

Post by avar »

When you buy it you get directed to a page linking to:

    https://buy.louisck.net/account/download
Which is a redirect to:

    http://download.aws.louisck.net/Louis_CK_Beacon_1280x720.mp4?Expires=&Signature=&Key-Pair-Id=
Which can be downloaded e.g. with wget and is a:

    $ file Louis_CK_Beacon_1280x720.mp4 
    Louis_CK_Beacon_1280x720.mp4: ISO Media, MPEG v4 system, version 2

Re: Louis CK self-produces, self-publishes content on his webpage

#142

Post by collypops »

wwarkey wrote: post #134
tg3 wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

why not? He already got paid a significant sum by the ticketholders at beacon theater, so all he has to recoup is the cost of producing the special, which he did largely himself. The marginal cost of distributing an additional copy of his work is minimal, and his pricing reflects that, and makes people more likely to pay for it rather than steal it. Can you elaborate on why you don't think this is a general solution?

i'm guessing it's because of this monetization model wouldn't work for everyone, and so it's not a solution in any which way to the copyright problem. This works for him because you, and i, know and (probably) appreciate his humor, and he's going to make some money from it. It's not going to work for someone who's not quite as good, and rely more on having that product actively sold to you ...

I'd argue that if someone isn't 'quite as good', then they don't deserve anyone's money. The biggest problem with the music/movie/entertainment industry today is that all of the backing is behind 'sellable' artists, not talented ones. Take all that promotion and marketing and brainwashing away, and you have a group of entertainers being judged on their true merits. I think thats fair - I don't really understand how anyone else wouldn't.

Re: Louis CK self-produces, self-publishes content on his webpage

#143

Post by jakobe »

dangrossman wrote: post #93
Natsu wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Damn, I would've bought it if not for requiring PayPal. I don't have an account or want one.

You haven't needed a PayPal account to pay through PayPal since at least 2005. Unless the merchant disables "Account Optional", it's just a run-of-the-mill credit card payment form with an option to log in to the side.

But PayPal makes it as inconvenient as possible for non-members. The form is extremely long and if I recall correctly, doesn't work with Safaris Auto-Fill feature.

Re: Louis CK self-produces, self-publishes content on his webpage

#144

Post by ishi »

jakobe wrote: post #143
dangrossman wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You haven't needed a PayPal account to pay through PayPal since at least 2005. Unless the merchant disables "Account Optional", it's just a run-of-the-mill credit card payment form with an option to log in to the side.

But PayPal makes it as inconvenient as possible for non-members. The form is extremely long and if I recall correctly, doesn't work with Safaris Auto-Fill feature.

First world problems, huh?

Re: Louis CK self-produces, self-publishes content on his webpage

#145

Post by riordan »

tg3 wrote: post #120
tgrass wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Personal respect for the artist notwithstanding, this is not a replicable model for others. He makes it up in volume. This is not a general solution.

why not? He already got paid a significant sum by the ticketholders at beacon theater, so all he has to recoup is the cost of producing the special, which he did largely himself. The marginal cost of distributing an additional copy of his work is minimal, and his pricing reflects that, and makes people more likely to pay for it rather than steal it. Can you elaborate on why you don't think this is a general solution?

It's completely a generalizable solution. From upstart standups who tape their open night sets for YouTube to seasoned comics with tv shows and HBO specials like Louis CK and David Cross (who similarly self-produced his last special "Bigger and Blackerer" by asking his buddy to tape 2 of his sets, though he didn't self distribute), this model absolutely works.

Louie's just doing for comedy what have been doing for years, recording the concert and selling it at the end of the night or online for more than they'd have made otherwise through traditional distribution deals.

Re: Louis CK self-produces, self-publishes content on his webpage

#146

Post by jarin »

avar wrote: post #141

When you buy it you get directed to a page linking to: https://buy.louisck.net/account/download Which is a redirect to: http://download.aws.louisck.net/Louis_CK_Beacon_1280x720.mp4?Expires= &Signature= &Key-Pair-Id= Which can be downloaded e.g. with wget and is a: $ file Louis_CK_Beacon_1280x720.mp4 Louis_CK_Beacon_1280x720.mp4: ISO Media, MPEG v4 system, version 2

I'm still going to pay the 5 bucks, because far be it from me to take advantage of an honest comedian's technological incompetence.

Re: Louis CK self-produces, self-publishes content on his webpage

#147

Post by avar »

jarin wrote: post #146
avar wrote: post #141

When you buy it you get directed to a page linking to: https://buy.louisck.net/account/download Which is a redirect to: http://download.aws.louisck.net/Louis_CK_Beacon_1280x720.mp4?Expires= &Signature= &Key-Pair-Id= Which can be downloaded e.g. with wget and is a: $ file Louis_CK_Beacon_1280x720.mp4 Louis_CK_Beacon_1280x720.mp4: ISO Media, MPEG v4 system, version 2

I'm still going to pay the 5 bucks, because far be it from me to take advantage of an honest comedian's technological incompetence.

Oh that's not how I meant it. I've paid my $5 for it and downloaded it, and that link I posted will return a 403 without the right authorization.

I posted it because I was worried that I couldn't download it with wget before I bought it, I'm on a 3G connection through my phone and I wanted to download it to my server so I could download it later from a more capable connection.

I sent the below E-Mail to their support address (support@louisck.net) and I'd encourage others who bought this to send something similar do the same. I think it's important to tell artists that this sort of distribution is appreciated:

    Thanks for making this show available in non-DRM format. I haven't
    watched it yet, but I bought it and downloaded it already.
    
    My friends and I have been following your work for a while, I've
    watched both your HBO TV shows and downloaded a bunch of your
    standups. But since I don't live in the US and don't want to buy DRM
    content I haven't paid you for any of this.
    
    However I'm happy to be able to when you offer something in this
    format. I can pay for it even if I don't live in the US, and I don't
    have to buy something like a DVD or subscribe to something like iTunes
    where I'll effectively be getting a worse service by locking the media
    I buy into some corporation's proprietary distribution platform.
    
    But if you keep offering things in this way in the future I'll be sure
    to pay for them.
    
    It's not that I'm cheap. I make a very good living, and I'm happy to
    pay for things. I just think it's unethical to pay for media when part
    of the proceeds go to conglomerates like the MPAA which are actively
    working towards reducing freedom on the Internet.

Re: Louis CK self-produces, self-publishes content on his webpage

#148

Post by swombat »

jakobe wrote: post #143
dangrossman wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You haven't needed a PayPal account to pay through PayPal since at least 2005. Unless the merchant disables "Account Optional", it's just a run-of-the-mill credit card payment form with an option to log in to the side.

But PayPal makes it as inconvenient as possible for non-members. The form is extremely long and if I recall correctly, doesn't work with Safaris Auto-Fill feature.

Holy shit. Typing in your address is hard work. Fuck that guy, who does he think he is, asking me to use PayPal to buy his shit? What an asshole.

Re: Louis CK self-produces, self-publishes content on his webpage

#149

Post by davesims »

flipp wrote: post #130
davesims wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

WTF is the best comedy podcast out there, hands-down. The 2-part with Louis is worth the price of admission alone, but there's many more that are as well. If you like comedy at all and a contrarian, alternative point of view, I can't recommend it highly enough.

Little bit off topic but WTF, while awesome, isn't really a comedy podcast because it isn't funny. If you're looking for something like that check out Comedy Bang Bang or something.

I dunno, it sticks pretty close to the style and tone of Maron's own stand-up, which like Louis's is deeply personal and raw and itself challenges what constitutes 'comedy' to some degree. I'd say it's funny in the same way Maron himself is funny.

Re: Louis CK self-produces, self-publishes content on his webpage

#150

Post by Apfel »

bobds wrote: post #52
icey wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How much bandwidth do you think $5 buys?

I think it's on AWS. So whatever that buys you on Amazon. The 2 download limit made me worry about disconnecting or restarting the download. I also can't make my download manager open more than one connection, in case that locks me out of the content I just bought. I think it should be higher, but I understand that he can't give away too much bandwidth without cutting into his profits.

You really don't need to worry too much about disconnects.

I disconnected twice while downloading and emailed the customer support address and they just replenished my downloads.

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