Sean Parker wonders why any artist would sign with a major label these days. But maybe the better question is why any established artist would do the same. Just outside of the music sphere, the latest direct-to-fan feat comes from Louis C.K., who just grossed $1 million on his self-released stand-up download, Live at the Beacon Theater. "Yesterday we made a million bucks," C.K. told Jimmy Fallon.
And it's just been happening, just like that. "It just goes into my phone like 'bling,' it's crazy. I've never had one million dollars all at once," C.K. described. And C.K. didn't have to share a gigantic percentage with a major media company, but he is sharing the proceeds with various charities while rewarding staff with Christmas bonuses. Production costs, which came out of C.K.'s wallet, were around $250,000 and easily covered.
If you're just tuning into this one, C.K. recently positioned Live at the Beacon Theater for $5, directly to fans. The download was straight from his site via Paypal (here), and totally financed by the comedian. "They said everyone was going to steal it, so I just wrote a note that said, 'please don't do that,'" C.K. joked. But seriously, at least 220,000 people (and counting) opted for the low-priced, legal alternative.
It's a great story that keeps getting better, but one we keep seeing in the music world from bands like Pearl Jam and Radiohead. These are groups with well-established audiences with an appetite for more, but also access to mainstream media outlets and a history of huge label marketing support.
Perhaps the error is to link these accomplishments with developing artists, because creating stardom is now an entirely different game. Heading into this, C.K. had major television exposure, access to shows like Fallon, and an audience that wanted more. That doesn't diminish the accomplishment, but definitely changes the perspective. Because in the end, Louis' challenge was less about building fans, and more about satisfying and monetizing the ones he already has.
/paul
Comments Closed
gaetano Thursday, December 22, 2011
Can think of someone who deserves it more.
Incredibly talented, hard working, honest dude.
But yeah, he's been at it for 20 years doing EVERYTHING from writing, to acting, to directing and producing...he even edits his own show on FX.
Defintely not an overnight success.
gaetano Thursday, December 22, 2011
*CAN'T think of someone who deserves it more
@JamarChess Thursday, December 22, 2011
Jamar Chess
Huge!
Ben D. Thursday, December 22, 2011
How much money was spent to make Louis CK known as Louis CK?
If you think that any artist without any marketing and without any long term development can do what Louis CK did, you are the perfect victim for the "Web 2.0", "Social Media" e.t.c. gurus (my ass).
How much money is Facebook investing in the development of music?
$0.0
How many working hours are you investing in Facebook?
$xx.xx (make your own calculations, go ahead!)
The numbers don't lie.
Dear Ben Thursday, December 29, 2011
Web 2.0 and Facebook et all are just "Tools" to marketing.
I am an independent digital label owner, International touring Artist/Producer of "HOUSE MUSIC"....who only sells music on Itunes. I got rid of all other sites because Itunes has tools, when signed directly to them as I am, that allow you to push sales,track sales etal.
Most of my "PR" comes from Social Media. It is there where we spread our release information and from there Fans show up in IBIZA, London, Chicago, Nyc etc. Also, Sound Hound is a great "Socail Media" tool as they can find out what track's i'm playing.
Traditional media is a joke. It's controlled by majors and the "MARKETING" arena in the music world is about as smart as a rock. Yet, the major labels are folding faster than you sink a 1000 ton weight. (well now they claim, the are turning around).
So, while you are correct in the idea of not having a Plan or marketing, you are beyond wrong on Web2.0.
Of course, it takes years in the industry, playing out, touring, pushing free downloads of original music and working up that ladder for web 2.0 to work. You can't just be some basement producer/artist and post Youtube vids and think your he next Deadmou5.
Anyone can pay a PR person 1000 buck a month retainer and pay for all expenses but that does not mean your putting your money to work in the proper manner. Most still fail to get world wide attention after sinking 100,000s of dollars in marketing.
keithmohr Thursday, December 22, 2011
Awesome!! He is being rewarded for doing what he should be doing.. serving his audience and enriching their lives with his content.
w?! Thursday, December 22, 2011
Louis CK is not a musician. He is a celebrity comedian. So, why are you presenting his business model to indie musicians? Care to explain, Paul?
James M Thursday, December 22, 2011
What he's trying to show is that for established artists, signing with a record label may not be the best option, as there are fans who will pay you directly for an album. Paul never even tried to suppose that an indie artist can operate this way (they would get destroyed), he's just saying that perhaps the Coldplays and Muses out there could probably release a self-made album digitally and do just fine.
Ruark Friday, December 23, 2011
They (the Coldplays and Muses out there) could even look at using services like airbornemusic.com to generate a network of subscribing fans.
old news Friday, December 23, 2011
No, it can't be applied to music sales.
The NIN camp did it just for PR purposes (they make money from publishing - movies e.t.c. - not music sales). Radiohead also did it just for the PR and then went back to "regular" business.
There is a reason why the Coldplays and Muses out there don't do it.
gaetano Friday, December 23, 2011
I don't think it was for PR, it had never been done and they were experimenting with the concept, because they could.
In the end It didn't make sense for what they do and how they do it.
So, they went back to something else...
Coldplay (last year) and Muse (in 2005) signed a piece of paper that limits their capacity to make these types of decisions, Radiohead and NIN were out of their contracts when they did these things.
Jason Spitz Friday, December 23, 2011
I think the most interesting and impressive aspect of the Louis CK campaign is its execution. Go look at the website www.louisck.com. Three things stand out to me:
1) It's incredibly simple. Clean design, minimal navigation, crystal-clear messages and calls-to-action. Spend one minute on the site, and you understand exactly what he's offering and how you can get it.
2) It's imbued with the artist's voice. Call it his "brand" if you want. But if you are familiar with Louis's comedy and writing, you can hear it in every bit of content on the site. Even if it was partly written by someone else, it feels like it's Louis talking to you, without a lot of fluff or bullshit or marketing hype.
3) It's honest. He is very up-front about asking people nicely not to torrent and explaining why he's taking this D2F approach. His subsequent updates have this same honesty. It's different than "oversharing" -- he's selective about what he says, but when he does say something, his transparency and honesty make you trust and empathize with him.
These elements all come together to make the campaign successful. Tons of artists and ecommerce websites sell stuff direct to consumer. But the way Louis does it works so well because of those three things: good user-experience, consistent branding, and trust between artist & fan. Yes, Louis is an established comedian with a large(ish) audience. But if this project had a bad website and corny marketing, it wouldn't have done nearly as well (or been as newsworthy).
Channing Gardner Friday, December 23, 2011
This is what we do for our artists partners!
Turn-Key direct-to-fan video services: www.livejamhd.com
Sell your own live streams, concert films, documentaries, music videos, and make more on the tour!
Happy Holidays! Channing
funny offer Sunday, December 25, 2011
Not interested in fans. I am not a dictator.
Do you have anything related to listeners? You know, people who buy an album and listen to it.
mdti Monday, December 26, 2011
that's fans :-)
listeners have lots of ways to not buy; to buy, you must like (or it is by accident ;-)
mdti Monday, December 26, 2011
and listeners go to spotify/deezer/radio....
for the 207000 people who bought the download, the same number of listeners on paid streamers (paid to artist) is round 700 euros...
it is not the same audience/willingness to support artist etc...
Snake oil Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Wow, you have no idea what you are talking about. You can't even define "listeners"!
Channing Gardner Monday, December 26, 2011
True funny offer,
Viewer or listener sounds better as it would serve a larger audience. It will also establish equal ground which is better for the relationship.
mdti, true that the new model of artists direct video is a real business with real income for bands, while free tubes and traditional video are at best promotional and have rarely paid artists.
mdti Monday, December 26, 2011
at 5 euros less paypal fees (about 15 cents on 5 usd?)
that's 206186 paying fans....
You definitely need to have lots of fans and exposure to get such sales numbers. But if you do, the pleasure of not being last in the chain as it would be with a label/majors, must be a nice feeling ;-)
@JeffDV8 Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Such a great DIY story....
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