Can the Louis C.K. Distribution Strategy Work for the Everyman Comic?

April 11, 2012 3:50 PM

Can the Louis C.K. Distribution Strategy Work for the Everyman Comic? Last December, Louis C.K. shook up the comedy industry by eschewing the traditional network deal for a new business model in which he grossed a reported $1 million by streaming his self-produced stand-up comedy special, Louis C.K. - Live at the Beacon Theater, on his website for $5.

The impetus for the move began two years ago, when Gaffigan was appearing in a televised benefit alongside some racier colleagues. “I was the cleanest one on the show,” he says. “Sarah Silverman did a bit where she’s singing out of her crotch. I did a bit that was unflattering to McDonald’s. But McDonald’s was an advertiser for the network, so they had to edit out that joke. So the irony is the clean comedian was confronted with censorship. I thought, 'I need to find another home for my next special.'"

posted by ZenMasterThis (16 comments total)

Full disclosure: Author is a close personal friend.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 3:50 PM on April 11, 2012

Isn't that a no no?
posted by cashman at 4:01 PM on April 11, 2012 [5 favorites]

I think it may follow a power-law type curve though. For someone like C.K or Aziz Ansari it might work really well, but for someone without a lot of clout it might be more difficult.

But a cool way around that might be to have 'packages' where you get a bunch of comedy sets with some big names and some lesser knowns, which is pretty much how the shows work.
posted by delmoi at 4:02 PM on April 11, 2012 [1 favorite]

So by "Everyman Comic", he means someone who has guest starred on HBO and the Daily Show, had their own Comedy Central special, appeared in a dozen Hollywood movies and another dozen primetime TV show appearances?
posted by ceribus peribus at 4:04 PM on April 11, 2012 [1 favorite]

Well, he's no Dane Cook.

Which is generally considered a good thing.

But from the article: There’s one significant difference. Gaffigan believes how well this model works for him will have implications for journeymen performers everywhere.

He sees himself as less of a Big Thing than Louis C.K., "not a household name" is how the article puts it.
posted by filthy light thief at 4:12 PM on April 11, 2012

My impression was that the Louis CK project worked because of its novelty foremost, along with his reputation and the Fuck The System marketing.
posted by Ardiril at 4:12 PM on April 11, 2012

> appeared in a dozen Hollywood movies

*peruses imdb entry*

Louis C.K. wrote and directed Pootie Tang? I guess nobody's perfect.
posted by The Card Cheat at 4:13 PM on April 11, 2012 [1 favorite]

There needs to be more creative exploration with the pricing model. delmoi's idea of packaging several specials together is an interesting take. As Gaffigan is also giving part of the proceeds to charity, I was thinking something something along the lines of the Humble Bundle, with a pay-what-you-want. Certainly you would get to cheapskates, but I think there are a lot of people who would like to act as a patron for artists and performers they believe in. Limiting the financial contribution of those people may be leaving a lot of money on the table if they are willing to give more. Perhaps packaging performers/artists together, along with a charitable part and having the ability to choose how the money is allocated would draw a lot of different types of people who may not just go for the 1-show=$5 model.
posted by bionic.junkie at 4:13 PM on April 11, 2012

From the article: "So the irony is the clean comedian was confronted with censorship. I thought, 'I need to find another home for my next special.'"

He began exploring different options, from exclusives with Netflix, Amazon, and eBay, to price points ranging from pay-what-you-want to 99 cents on iTunes.

eBay?

I'm envisioning Gaffigan flooding the auction site with headlines like "L@@K!! REALLY FUNNY COMEDY!! REALLY CHEAP!! L@@K!!"
posted by filthy light thief at 4:14 PM on April 11, 2012 [1 favorite]

Louis C.K. wrote and directed Pootie Tang? I guess nobody's perfect.

Evidently.
posted by dhammond at 4:16 PM on April 11, 2012

Yeah, the number of my students who know Gaffigan's bits vastly outstrips, say, their knowledge of Brian Regan's, who is another clean comic (also, hilarious - "You ttooooo!"). The Everyman/journeyman comic could not do Louis CK's distribution model simply because their audience is not technically savvy enough to jump through the hoops of downloading a show and either watching it on their computer of fiddling a way to watch it on TV.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 4:17 PM on April 11, 2012

Louis C.K. wrote and directed Pootie Tang? I guess nobody's perfect.

Pootie Tang was excellent.


OK maybe "excellent" is the wrong word. It was hilarious, and I've watched it many times over.
posted by Hoopo at 4:20 PM on April 11, 2012 [3 favorites]

Joe Rogan is also about to attempt this. He, like Louis, has a dedicated audience of hardcore fans, so I imagine it will work out for him. Gaffigan might be taking a bigger risk, though.
posted by Bookhouse at 4:22 PM on April 11, 2012

Whether people will steal something is in part, their relationship to the seller. If they see the seller as a faceless corporation or a rip off artist or greedy (hence "the unwritten law of the internet") then, why not respond by pirating it?
posted by Obscure Reference at 4:25 PM on April 11, 2012

Right now, this business model seems like a potentially viable after-market for comics who have already established solid audiences the old-school way (successful tours, Comedy Central specials, etc.). I think the Gaffigan special might not do as well as the Louis CK or Ansari special, but they're all basically in the same ballpark - I would be surprised if it made substantially less. It's cool that these guys now have a new way to earn revenue, and through this means can keep more of that revenue - that's pretty sweet.

What strikes me as the deeper question in this post - the question implied by the phrase "Everyman Comic" - is, could someone who hasn't already established a major fanbase through those conventional means^, do it through this business model first? Could a stand-up comic who's opened for bigger names, maybe had an appearance at the end of Conan or Fallon, who has fewer claims to fame than a Jim Gaffigan or a Brian Regan, jump start their career by releasing a full show online, for $5?

Intuition says no, but I would absolutely love to be wrong. I'd love to see a comic (or a group of comics) blowing up online before they do anywhere else, and keeping that revenue in the family - the way OFWGKTA has.
posted by sidi hamet at 4:35 PM on April 11, 2012

Here's Stewart Lee on the subject, he's not exactly an everyman comic, but I think his insights are applicable. The takeaway is that you have to be focused on regularly producing new material, who your audience is, focusing on the return audience, and focusing on value for money.

It's the webcomic model for content creation.
posted by Grimgrin at 4:36 PM on April 11, 2012 [1 favorite]