Technically, Louis C.K. didn't release the special with no protection. He did bodyguard it with a nice, contrite message that showed up on the special's download page:
To those who might wish to “torrent” this video: look, I don’t really get the whole “torrent” thing. I don’t know enough about it to judge either way. But I’d just like you to consider this: I made this video extremely easy to use against well-informed advice. I was told that it would be easier to torrent the way I made it, but I chose to do it this way anyway, because I want it to be easy for people to watch and enjoy this video in any way they want without “corporate” restrictions.
Please bear in mind that I am not a company or a corporation. I’m just some guy. I paid for the production and posting of this video with my own money. I would like to be able to post more material to the fans in this way, which makes it cheaper for the buyer and more pleasant for me. So, please help me keep this being a good idea. I can’t stop you from torrenting; all I can do is politely ask you to pay your five little dollars, enjoy the video, and let other people find it in the same way.
And it worked. As of 4 days from the special going on sale, Louis C.K. netted a $200,000 profit for his time and trust.
And I'll admit, I was worried that this would be a failure. A worry that Louis seemed to share based on his above plea and subsequent interviews with C.K. after the special's release. But, as did I, Louis seemed to have an overwhelming faith in his fans and the pirate community.
This could be because this isn't the first time that Louis has gone toe-to-toe with torrenters. Back when Louis was touring with the material that would ultimately make up his special Hilarious, a fan at the show got an audio recording of Louis' entire set. The fan then went on to torrent the file to initially high traffic. When word got back to C.K. about what was going on Louis posted a comment on the torrent file's page. He explained that he preferred for his material not to be shared or viewed by the public while he was still working on it. Comedy is a process, and he wanted to share the finished version of that material as a special, but to put it out early was really damaging to people's perception of what would ultimately be the finished product. C.K. claimed that this wasn't an issue of stealing or profiteering, but a genuine plea from artist to audience. And...in the comment thread, below C.K.'s post, the uploader apologized and immediately took down the content.
And, from what I've personally noticed, the reception to C.K.'s current wishes have been met with the same positivity. I admit to being a user of torrent sites. And while I paid my $5 to Louis C.K. for this latest special, I did go to my pirating stomping grounds simply to see what the communities reaction would be to an artist trusting in their better and kinder judgement. And it was pretty amazing. Obviously there were uploads of the latest special on the site I frequent. That did not surprise me. But with the 4 or 5 files I looked into, I'd say, overall, at least 80% of the comments were scathing criticisms from users to potential special stealers. Many noted the novelness of what C.K. was doing, praised him for it, and urged others to pay him $5 for the special (something that many of the commenters noted they had already done). Even some uploaders took up the good fight. Many uploaders uploaded AVI versions (a different, more windows friendly file format), iPod compatible versions, and audio MP3 versions of the file. In the file description it was almost universally noted that these versions were for people that had paid for the special and did not have the knowledge or conversion tools to adapt the Louis C.K. issued file to their specific needs.
It seems all too fitting that a comic figured this out. All comics know the classic heckler trick--guy in the back won't shut up, turn on the house lights, tell him, "go ahead, you think you're funnier than me, 5 minutes, your on." Embarrassed by direct attention that he did not seek, more comfortable commenting in the safeness of dark, the heckler will almost always pipe down and continue silent for the rest of the show. Same with pirates.
Many of these uploaders and downloaders claim righteousness by stating that they do these things to combat evil corporations who seek their money through scrupulous means with no regard to providing quality entertainment in accessible forms. Well, here's this without everything you claim to hate. Are you going to shut up now? I think Louis' bank account is proof that they did.
If this is the start of independent releases by artists, of all kinds, who think they have the clout to release material independently and turn a profit, I think that's great. And I think Louis C.K. proved it's possible. And I don't mean from a business sense. That is getting the press, but that, overall, is a more minor issue. The major issue is that an artist can address people, like a person themselves, and really enact change. And I know that not all piraters are good people that will just start paying for everything if everyone asks them nice. But all media corporations and distributors aren't hapless victims. When you release every single piece of material with a protection on it against stealing, you are assuming the consumer base to be thieves. Louis C.K. released his material the right way, and people (overall) did the right thing. Good for him and good for them.
It also shows that sometimes what is most important is something that a company can't easily provide, a dialogue. Louis talked, people listened. Thanks, Louis. I already got $5 put away for the next one.
P.S. This is both related and, just overall, awesome. Check it out. Louis C.K. on Fresh Air.
No comments:
Post a Comment