4 ms·

Louis C.K. deserves all credit for showing that you don't need a label, that non-DRM distribution's benefits outweigh its costs, etc. Yet to me the real lesson

by aresant 15y ago

Louis C.K. deserves all credit for showing that you don't need a label, that non-DRM distribution's benefits outweigh its costs, etc. Yet to me the real lesson is about the remarkable PR he's built for this story around being the "purple cow" and his ability to market to his audience (holding a AMA on Reddit even).

wdr1 15y ago
Didn't Jonathan Coulton already show that? > In 2010, Coulton's music brought in about $500,000 in revenue. And since his overhead costs are very low, most of that money went straight to him. http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2011/05/14/136279162/an-internet-rock-star-tells-all http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2011/05/14/136279162/an-inter...
kahawe 15y ago
> for showing that you don't need a label, you mean: for showing that Louis CK doesn't need a label.
- rplnt 15y ago
  Also, another guy doing this won't get that much attention as it won't be so new.
  - SODaniel 15y ago
    Though since Trent Reznor, Smashing Pumpkins etc. have used the same model for 4-5 years now I wouldn't exactly say that Louis CK was 'first'. Of course, he's sort of a 'pet project' and lovechild of Reddit etc. But I'm pretty sure that there are many comedians, film makers, musicians etc. that would be happy to make 1/5th of 'traditional revenue' and keep 80% instead of the 5% they keep being signed to a major label.
kmfrk 15y ago
Using Louis C.K. as a guiding light for the rest of us is a little like hearing that indie game developers can make big bank, because Notch did. Louis C.K. is the biggest comedian now, and is generally popular with appearances on all the late-night talk shows, NPR, reddit, etc. We have no idea about what parameters had the biggest influence. Novelty value is probably one of those parameters as well. We don't know how much Louis would have made, had he published the normal way, but we do know that the customers benefited by it. We need more people to do this to draw any significant conclusions from it. It is a great story that someone as popular as LCK chose to do this partly as a service to his fans, but I don't know how much there is to be learnt from the perspective of self-publishing right now.

by aresant 15y ago

wdr1 15y ago

Didn't Jonathan Coulton already show that? > In 2010, Coulton's music brought in about $500,000 in revenue. And since his overhead costs are very low, most of that money went straight to him. http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2011/05/14/136279162/an-internet-rock-star-tells-all http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2011/05/14/136279162/an-inter...

kahawe 15y ago

> for showing that you don't need a label, you mean: for showing that Louis CK doesn't need a label.

rplnt 15y ago
Also, another guy doing this won't get that much attention as it won't be so new.
- SODaniel 15y ago
  Though since Trent Reznor, Smashing Pumpkins etc. have used the same model for 4-5 years now I wouldn't exactly say that Louis CK was 'first'. Of course, he's sort of a 'pet project' and lovechild of Reddit etc. But I'm pretty sure that there are many comedians, film makers, musicians etc. that would be happy to make 1/5th of 'traditional revenue' and keep 80% instead of the 5% they keep being signed to a major label.

kmfrk 15y ago

Using Louis C.K. as a guiding light for the rest of us is a little like hearing that indie game developers can make big bank, because Notch did. Louis C.K. is the biggest comedian now, and is generally popular with appearances on all the late-night talk shows, NPR, reddit, etc. We have no idea about what parameters had the biggest influence. Novelty value is probably one of those parameters as well. We don't know how much Louis would have made, had he published the normal way, but we do know that the customers benefited by it. We need more people to do this to draw any significant conclusions from it. It is a great story that someone as popular as LCK chose to do this partly as a service to his fans, but I don't know how much there is to be learnt from the perspective of self-publishing right now.