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Louis CK inspires Jim Gaffigan to sell comedy special for $5 online

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Re: Louis CK inspires Jim Gaffigan to sell comedy special for $5 online

#2
Currently, there is a huge incentive for performers and artists to follow this route of distributing their content. It is still seen as novel and championed by fans, resulting in increased exposure that wouldn't of happened if they would of chosen a normal route for selling their products.

Don't get me wrong, it's good to see this stuff happening but I think the more we see of it the less effective it will be for the artists and they may have a tougher time doing so well.

Re: Louis CK inspires Jim Gaffigan to sell comedy special for $5 online

#4
While I'm glad to see this, I still think he's missing the point. The part where he asks people not to steal his stuff is unnecessary. Of course this will be passed around by friends and pirated on P2P networks. But: the pirates don't count, his customers do. If there's one pirate, how much money do you make? $0. It there are 1,000,000 pirates, how much? Still $0. So don't sweat the pirates. This new system is good because it gives the producers control, and a much more direct relationship with their fans. It's really got nothing to do with levels of piracy.

Re: Louis CK inspires Jim Gaffigan to sell comedy special for $5 online

#5

Currently, there is a huge incentive for performers and artists to follow this route of distributing their content. It is still seen as novel and championed by fans, resulting in increased exposure that wouldn't of happened if they would of chosen a normal route for selling their products. Don't get me wrong, it's good to see this stuff happening but I think the more we see of it the less effective it will be for the…

Yup, the novelty will wear off over time, just like the "pre-ordering of PC games" space after Minecraft was released.

Minecraft was a huge hit with that model, the others less so.

Re: Louis CK inspires Jim Gaffigan to sell comedy special for $5 online

#6
Even if the video is highly pirated, I wonder if he will make more with his $5 per distribution then with the $0.XX he would get otherwise. People say that the internet will destroy creative enterprise, but I think just the opposite. I think artists will be more empowered once they embrace the opportunities of this new medium and learn to cut out the middlemen.

Re: Louis CK inspires Jim Gaffigan to sell comedy special for $5 online

#7
post #4

While I'm glad to see this, I still think he's missing the point. The part where he asks people not to steal his stuff is unnecessary. Of course this will be passed around by friends and pirated on P2P networks. But: the pirates don't count, his customers do. If there's one pirate, how much money do you make? $0. It there are 1,000,000 pirates, how much? Still $0. So don't sweat the pirates. This new system is good b…

Steal in that context is a powerful word as it blatantly suggests he already accused all customers of being a thief of some sort. Not only that, he is trying to guilt people into buying his product with the follow up sentence, "why would you steal from a vet".

He is doing it wrong.

Re: Louis CK inspires Jim Gaffigan to sell comedy special for $5 online

#9
post #5

Currently, there is a huge incentive for performers and artists to follow this route of distributing their content. It is still seen as novel and championed by fans, resulting in increased exposure that wouldn't of happened if they would of chosen a normal route for selling their products. Don't get me wrong, it's good to see this stuff happening but I think the more we see of it the less effective it will be for the…

Yup, the novelty will wear off over time, just like the "pre-ordering of PC games" space after Minecraft was released. Minecraft was a huge hit with that model, the others less so.

Minecraft's success had very little to do with the model of "pre-ordering PC games", and very much to do with being an amazing product (even in it's pre-release state).

Delivery novelty may account for a fraction of the overall effect - it's certainly not the central reason for a commercial success.

Re: Louis CK inspires Jim Gaffigan to sell comedy special for $5 online

#10
post #8

I'm very interested in how this turns out. I personally have never heard of Jim Gaffigan and Louis CK has steadily been gaining mainstream popularity. When music artists did this, didn't their popularity have a significant part of their success?

Jim Gaffigan is a fairly well known comedian. Almost a million followers on Twitter, 11.5M views on his YouTube channel, Comedy Central specials, etc.
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