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Looking at the bottom of the page, this is part of some overall large marketing campaign. A lot of the other stuff is also labelled "theft" : I'm not totally su
by ealexhudson 6y ago
Looking at the bottom of the page, this is part of some overall large marketing campaign. A lot of the other stuff is also labelled "theft" : I'm not totally sure it is; the point of the project appears to be to commit almost-IP theft, but in most cases they seem to go right up to the line but do not cross it. (E.g. shirts with corporate logos / brands cut up and barely recognizable, that kind of thing).
There's an app, there's a FOMO "drop" list, there's some larger thing at play here. Can't tell if it's something authentic / art-related, or if someone is just trying to build another brand.
Edit: indeed, this is some new brand / business: "WHO WE ARE MSCHF Product Studio is an internet company. We operate online store(s), create content, communicate with our fans and customers through texts, email and social channel(s), and occasionally promote our products and services both online and offline"
MSCHF (presumably 'mischief') is just another edgy shopify stunt.
- genmon 6y agoNew-ish but making noise for a while. Here's a Business Insider piece from Jan 2020 gives some background: https://www.businessinsider.com/mschf-company-behind-viral-jesus-shoes-feet-generator-bull-moon-2020-1?r=US&IR=T https://www.businessinsider.com/mschf-company-behind-viral-j... And also mentions two rounds of funding totally $11.5m to that date. This July article at the Verge details more drops: https://www.theverge.com/21320127/mschf-products-jesus-shoes-puff-chicken-office-business https://www.theverge.com/21320127/mschf-products-jesus-shoes...
- ddek 6y agoYeah, I haven’t done any research but this feels like Masterclass themselves made or are responsible for this. The ‘how’s’ are only a small subset of their courses, less than an episode. The illustrations are high quality. The production value is just too high for piracy.
- dhagz 6y agoI don't think Shopify is the right comparison. Their entire "value proposition" seems to be along the lines of: here's how to do viral marketing with the meme economy. I also get strong Warhol vibes from them.
- ealexhudson 6y agoYeah; sorry - I didn't mean to imply it was from Shopify themselves, merely that Shopify is their platform. It's kind of like a pop up e-commerce thing for edgy stuff.
- adwi 6y agoAs others have pointed out, this is a pro(ject/duct) of a creative studio called MSCHF https://mschf.xyz/ https://mschf.xyz/ Their work satirizes art and commerce, usually simultaneously, often while still being both. To me this project is about the absurdity of gatekeeping celebrity branded common-sense for $180, when it can more effectively be conveyed in the low-rent wikihow style for free.
- soneca 6y agoIf it’s just ”common-sense” there is nothing to ”gatekeep”. I (edit) don’t see in absurdity in Masterclass product. It is not worth for me, but not absurd in the least.
- criddell 6y agoYeah, I don't see anything absurd either. It's about the same price as a Netflix subscription. It wouldn't be hard to imagine that there exists an audience for Masterclass.
- lioeters 6y agoWell, many people seem to lack "common sense", of which everyone has their own definition. And absurdity is in the eye of the beholder. I don't agree with what this company is doing, stealing content from a commercial product and making it free. But I can see they're making a point, as a kind of perfomance art and social criticism. They're brazen about its controversial nature, and perhaps the free content will benefit someone who doesn't have the means to access this knowledge. It also makes me question, how will such knowledge production be funded, if not as (highly priced) commercial products? If everyone started stealing and giving away knowledge for free, how can it be sustainable? Is it even possible to "steal" knowledge? Well, yes, in the form of information/data - but, if it's digested and re-presented, as they have done here, does copyright extend to such works? Perhaps their goal is to raise such questions in the audience.
- adwi 6y agoI was referring to the celebrity’s name and reputation being a gate that’s being erected around what I believe, based on my personal experience with their content, is general common sense, best-practice sort of advice. This isn’t my piece so I can’t say my opinions are 100% aligned with the creators intent, but going in loving the concept, I was disappointed by the lack of depth in the content... it’s a lot less a class taught by your hero, more like your professor scored a really cool guest lecturer.
- iamben 6y agoI guess it's a bit like https://www.blinkist.com/ https://www.blinkist.com/ ? There's probably pretty great site idea in summarising popular YouTube videos and doing the same. Embed the video, pull out all the salient points and let me read them in 60 seconds as opposed to watching something for 35 minutes.