Aziz Ansari releases DRM-free standup special for $5

Post by mikecane » Tue, Mar 20, 2012, 5:30 PM UTC

bksenior wrote: post #65

mikecane wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>>>It is the Tony Robbins model. His books didn't make him rich but they allowed him to charge 500k a speaking gig. And Robbins failed with Breakthrough on NBC. So not all success is guaranteed even when it seems to be.

Agreed that success is not guaranteed. The other two factors are context and success expectation. You can't win NBA MVP and expect to successfully go and sell cookware (unless you are known for being a cook outside of the league) it is not what people trust you for. You also need to look at the size of the audience of your accepted expertise. Tony Robbins is known, but apparently not enough to float a primetime telev…

Post by mikecane » Tue, Mar 20, 2012, 5:37 PM UTC

davidw wrote: post #47

mikecane wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why should a comedian have to submit to a behemoth like writers do? To get on iPad or Kindle or Nook, you have to go through their stores and risk rejection or wind up giving them 30% (a fee I do not think is in any way justified just for hosting; they damn well can't market anything, just provide one listing out of jillions). I say more power to the comedians. Submit to no one, share with no one. I wish writers coul…

The odds of being rejected from Amazon's Kindle store are fairly slim. Your writing can be pretty bad; the important thing is that it's not someone else's material.

Post by empika » Tue, Mar 20, 2012, 5:39 PM UTC

liber8 wrote: post #46

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 think you were wrong. Considering Jeff Foxworthy has sold over 15 million albums[1], recently had a primetime show in syndication, and managed to make three of his drinking buddies into 8-figure yearly draws, I would say Louis CK is not even close to the most popular working comedian around. He has a rabid base, yes, but I would argue he's not even a mainstream comic (ie I would bet 9/10 people off the street would…

Post by vibrunazo » Tue, Mar 20, 2012, 5:51 PM UTC

scommab wrote: post #76

vibrunazo wrote: post #29

Is anyone here already working on an easy to customize template for these guys to build websites that easily charge for DRM-less shows? I remember last time someone linked to something similar, but they had DRM and draconian payment methods (no paypal etc).

I always thought this would be a perfect fit for https://gumroad.com/ .

Post by sirch » Tue, Mar 20, 2012, 6:14 PM UTC

vibrunazo wrote: post #48

mikecane wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why should a comedian have to submit to a behemoth like writers do? To get on iPad or Kindle or Nook, you have to go through their stores and risk rejection or wind up giving them 30% (a fee I do not think is in any way justified just for hosting; they damn well can't market anything, just provide one listing out of jillions). I say more power to the comedians. Submit to no one, share with no one. I wish writers coul…

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).