Tag Archives: $5

Comedian Becomes Production Company & Distributor: Own Louis CK for $5

Louis CK dissintermediates distribution players and sells his recent comedy for $5 direct

You can own Louis CK for $5. Mind you he’s only  funny if you like mildly overweight balding guys in their mid 40s (because that’s clearly not my thing).

The comedian pulled a “Tom Green” by going direct with his audience. In a bold move, he self financed his recent production and distributed it directly to fans for $5 a digital copy. He’s even been transparent about the financial details (see story). 

On the purchase website he requests that people don’t torrent the copy, and makes this statement about his price:

This is less than I would have been paid by a large company to simply perform the show and let them sell it to you, but they would have charged you about $20 for the video. They would have given you an encrypted and regionally restricted video of limited value, and they would have owned your private information for their own use.

Can anyone do this? Nope. But Louis CK says he quickly  made more than he’d have been paid by a production and distribution firm. He’s got a fan base, and with social media tools he’s able to “get the word out” without advertising and retail presence. So it works. And as Louis says, “They charged me 15 dollars. That’s how much it costs to only have 20 dollars.”

New Artistic Community: The 5-Dollar Store of Fiverr

It used to be when I needed a graphic, song, voiceover, technology help… I’d have to beg and borrow. It was a lot of work, and often made me feel guilty (even though viewers have been awesome about creating assets for me).

Now I’ve discovered Fiverr. which is almost a black market of talented artists, designers, technologists, writers and those with even more interesting skills.

I’m not sure they’re unemployed, and maybe for most this is a hobby that makes money.

Already I’ve commissioned a new banner for the blog (see bottom of post), a goofy Odd Holidays jingle for videos I’m doing about odd holidays, a cartoonization of one of my photos, and a motion-text intro for The Unlicensed Therapist (a new web series I’m doing). I’m even getting a logo for that show… three of them precisely. Are the voicovers pro? Not necessarily, but certainly worth more than $5. Heck I even paid $5 for stress removal, but haven’t found out what’s coming yet.

For $5. Amazing, huh? I almost wish they had a slightly higher price point to attract even more talent and enhance scope of assignments. You can have photos of finger puppets holding your logo, or have your brand eaten by a pet. It’s a load of fun, and a brilliant way to help video creators get decent work for very little investment (which is important given the uncertainty that a web series will “take off”).

Here’s a teaser of “Your Unlicensed Therapist,” but this one is a bit flat. The others will be more edgy, and I’m now recruiting local YouTubers to be in an episode.

One of the three masthead/banners I got for $5 from Fiverr

Anonymous Targets Facebook on Guy Fawkes Day; Skimps on Text-to-Speech Technology.

It seems Anonymous has targeted Facebook on “Guy Fawkes” day (November 5, 2011), but still not invested in any better text-to-speech technology or graphics. Hey, guys. Here’s a site you can turn text into speech free. Sure it’ll have a commercial behind it, but maybe you can convince them to sponsor you.

The video below is a report, and the actual Anonymous video appears below…

Anonymous Founder at Headquarters. Vows to Take Facebook Down on November 5 Using His 1970 Voice-to-Speech Software and His 56K Modem.

Buy Nothing for Less Than $5

Sometimes our lives get so full of nonsense that we need the serenity and comfort of… nothing.

Well I’m selling it now, at a one-time special. What would you expect to pay for the pleasure of owning nothing? $500? $100.

No, for less than $5 you can purchase absolutely nothing (limited time offer). You won’t need to clean it, remember where you left it, or resell it. It will never be out of style, damaged or rust. If someone asks if they can borrow money, you’ll be able to tell them sincerely: “I own nothing.”

Imagine the joy of owning nothing. No commitment or obligation. And you’ll never need another “nothing” because it never expires.

Testimonials:

“Nothing makes me happy,” – Justin

“Nothing has changed my life,” – Karen

“Nothing is going on!” – Rick