I’m sure you’ve seen this already, but for the people who haven’t, here is my sales pitch for Mr. Louis CK.
Louis CK is selling a standup special “Live at the Beacon Theater” for $5 via his own personal website storefront. He paid for the recording of the special, and is paying for the distribution and the marketing of the special. For its first wave of distribution, he is eschewing every traditional distribution method (including the new distribution models of iTunes and NetFlix) in order to reach his fanbase directly.
He’s also providing the special with no DRM (Digital Rights Management) technology. This essentially means that he is letting people download the special, and watch it wherever they want whenever they want for as long as they want. He isn’t creating artificial digital rules on how the content can be viewed. This is exciting, and shows that Louis is trusting his audience to be good people.
The result of this trust is that Louis has grossed over $500,000 in sales in just four days. He’s well into profit on the venture, and I suspect is going to have a model that he can use for the rest of his career as a comedian.
As an independent filmmaker, this is something I want to support. Louis made an independent film (albeit a comedy concert film) and is self-releasing it online. This is a model that I hope can be successful for a wide variety of filmmakers, and allows them to grow a direct relationship with their fans.
So I suggest buying Louis CK’s new stand up special for two reasons:
- Support a fan-friendly and positive model for artists to generate revenue.
- Louis CK is hilarious, and the stand-up special will make you laugh.
