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Aziz Ansari releases DRM-free standup special for $5

azizansari.com

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Re: Aziz Ansari releases DRM-free standup special for $5

#81

Post by Trufa »

tdoggette wrote: post #13
rkudeshi wrote: post #2

I know Louis CK was successful in this model, but at the time I expressed hesitation about others following his lead. He made a good amount of money, but given Louis CK is probably the most popular working comedian today, it didn't seem like ENOUGH money to justify the entire business model (assuming no one else would make as much doing the same). But now Aziz Ansari is doing it. Jim Gaffigan has announced plans to d…

I liked Louis CK from before his $5 special. When he released it, I read all about what the deal was, bought it, and thought it was at least five bucks worth of funny. I also like Aziz Ansari, so when I saw this, I skipped the reading part-- I skimmed the copy on my way through the checkout process to make sure everything was cool (it was) and paid my money. I'll keep doing that as long as artists I like keep releasi…

I really really hope this trend catches on!

Re: Aziz Ansari releases DRM-free standup special for $5

#82

Post by sbov »

sstrudeau wrote: post #67
michaelbuckbee wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The profanity in the order form was refreshing as well: "Confirm email (Don't Fuck This Up)" I'm guessing they didn't AB Test profane and clean copy on the forms.

I'm also guessing that someone offended by the profanity would likely not be a happy customer. Which highlights an interesting potential limit of A/B testing for conversions. It may take some time after the point of sale to determine whether you've created a happy (and therefor loyal, returning) customer or not. So imagine in this case that profanity is likely to turn away 2 customers but presence of profanity will t…

This is something about A/B tests that always bothers me. They always seem to assume that if variation A is best for a proxy stat (signups, views, etc) it's also best for what I'm really interested in (longterm value). I still use them though - not sure there's much you can do about it anyways.

Re: Aziz Ansari releases DRM-free standup special for $5

#83

Post by sirch »

rkudeshi wrote: post #2

I know Louis CK was successful in this model, but at the time I expressed hesitation about others following his lead. He made a good amount of money, but given Louis CK is probably the most popular working comedian today, it didn't seem like ENOUGH money to justify the entire business model (assuming no one else would make as much doing the same). But now Aziz Ansari is doing it. Jim Gaffigan has announced plans to d…

I'm pretty sure Louis CK thought it was more than enough money to justify the business model.

He released the numbers on his website after it had sold 250k "copies" within 11 days.

Production costs + website: $250k Revenue: $1M Profit: $750k ROI: 300%

He says that $250k was about how much he would have been paid by HBO or Comedy Central if he let them produce it. So his new model tripled his profit compared to the old model.

Which is probably why he ended up choosing to keep $220k for himself and giving the rest of the profit ($530k) to charity and to his staff.

Louis CK: "That leaves me with 220k for myself. Some of that will pay my rent and will care for my childen. The rest I will do terrible, horrible things with and none of that is any of your business. In any case, to me, 220k is enough out of a million."

Source: https://buy.louisck.net/news

Re: Aziz Ansari releases DRM-free standup special for $5

#84

Post by saturdaysaint »

untog wrote: post #7

It's interesting that all this has come from comedians. Perhaps not surprising, given that TV shows are owned by networks, and bands are largely indebted to record labels- I never thought about it before, but a comedian is far more of a "free agent" than anyone else- for instance, Aziz is one of the main stars in a hit NBC comedy (well, as much of a hit as NBC gets these days), but he's free to do stuff like this as…

Agreed, I've taken a raised interest in comedians since the whole podcast thing has turned into a movement and something of an artform. I've seen three comedians in the last month - I don't think I'd seen more than one per year before this.

But really, musicians have been doing the equivalent - selling albums at a flat/reasonable rate - on Bandcamp for years now. For most of them, being on a label is more about getting exposure in the right channels (getting reviewed on high profile sites, being in premier showcases, etc.) and showing that they live up to curated tastses, which is more difficult than the comedy world.

Exposure seems easier in comedy. A comedian can generate/distribute brand new material (jokes) on twitter or on a podcast at a clip that musicians can't compete with. Subjectively, there seems to be fewer comedians than bands, which is more amicable to cooperation.

Re: Aziz Ansari releases DRM-free standup special for $5

#87

Post by darkane »

prg318 wrote: post #80
untog wrote: post #7

It's interesting that all this has come from comedians. Perhaps not surprising, given that TV shows are owned by networks, and bands are largely indebted to record labels- I never thought about it before, but a comedian is far more of a "free agent" than anyone else- for instance, Aziz is one of the main stars in a hit NBC comedy (well, as much of a hit as NBC gets these days), but he's free to do stuff like this as…

> I very much doubt a band would be able to get away with that. This seems to be the rule in most cases. However, some exceptions include: 1. Radiohead - "In Rainbows" -- Was recorded independently by Radiohead and released under a "Pay what you want" basis along with a hard copy that included a vinyl hardcopy and CD. 2. Nine Inch Nails - Year Zero (2007)-- This album was released by Reznor as a free digital download…

Those are more anomalies than exceptions, as neither group was beholden to a recording contract at the time of those releases.

Re: Aziz Ansari releases DRM-free standup special for $5

#89

Post by vibrunazo »

iscrewyou wrote: post #70
vibrunazo wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you set your video to unlisted on youtube (only those with links can see it), then setup a paypal/google wallet account that automatically mails the link when someone pays you. Then all you'll be paying for is the paypal/google wallet fee. Wouldn't have a sexy landing page. But would also save ~ $200k (how much Loius CK said he payed for his website).

But once that link is online, anyone can reach to it. Even the people who didn't pay for it. Correct me if I'm wrong. They need a link generator for every payment. Or have the video show up in my not yet developed "Paid Videos" section on my youtube profile.

I would need to share my link with someone else. Just like I can share the non DRM video I downloaded from Loius CK. The whole concept is that people will rather pay for it even if they can get it for free, if they think it's worth it. And it has been working so far.

So you shoulnd't need to create artificial blocks to try to stop people from pirating. I mean, look at the humble bundle, you can just click that you don't want to pay for and download the games. But people pay anyway and they make millions off it. So why would you create artificial blocks that pisses people off?

http://www.humblebundle.com/

Re: Aziz Ansari releases DRM-free standup special for $5

#90

Post by blafro »

Nrsolis wrote: post #69
untog wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's probably a lot to be said for comedians generally acting alone or in pairs. Even when you get a group of four together you're considerably less flexible.

I did stand-up comedy for a while. Allow me to offer my own experience about the entrepreneurial streak you're seeing from the comedy sector: 1. As a comedian, you have no choice BUT to get creative. Nobody is going to give you stage time as a no-name comic so your choices are either (booked) open mics or starting your own show. 2. There isn't an "agent" culture for comics like there is for bands or actors. You write…

"The money stinks as a comic" A classic case of oversupply perhaps. Far too people quitting their day jobs to do stand-up full-time because someone in the office laughed at their jokes.
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