Kevin Smith's Approach To Competing With Piracy: Give Away A Ton, Then Sell Stuff That Can't Be Pirated
from the voila dept
We've written about filmmaker/entertainer/podcaster/author Kevin Smith quite a bit here on Techdirt -- and for a very good reason. He seems to absolutely understand how to adapt to the modern internet era -- and thrive in doing so. As he likes to say, he's much more focused on being where the puck is going, rather than where it is (or where it's been). Along those lines, we've mentioned in the past that he's publicly stated that he believes piracy leads to converts, and those new fans are likely to support him down the road.Recently he expanded a bit on how he "competes" with piracy. In a all around awesome AMA on Reddit the inevitable question came up about his thoughts on piracy and he busted out a simple explanation for how to "compete" with piracy (even if compete is the wrong word here): he connects with fans by giving away a ton of stuff for free, and then gives them a reason to buy by making things that he wants to sell special, unique experiences that you really can't pirate.
Here's my approach...Having followed Kevin's career for quite some time, it's pretty clear that he's completely internalized these concepts. It comes natural to him, and it's great to see.
I try to give away as much as possible. At SModcast.com, we've got thousands of hours of my best work, as well as the funniest shit you'll ever hear: My true life's work. And we give it away free.
Tomorrow, we celebrate the First Birthday of S.I.R. - SModCo Internet Radio. http://smodcast.com. To celebrate, we'll be launching S.I.T. on YouTube - SModCo Internet Television. All of it is free.
So when I do present my audience with something that requires payment? I try to make it more special. That's why I toured with Red State, rather than simply stick the movie out there in theaters alone. Anyone can access any movie digitally once it's in theaters; I accept that. But they can't digitally access me unless they're in the room.
Instead of trying to fight change, I like to adapt and figure out how to thrive in an ever-changing global economy. And as much as I like to head where the puck is going, you sometimes have to play the ball where it lays.
Of course, we've been preaching from the same basic book for years, with the point being that you can use free to your advantage. It does not mean (as some people falsely accuse) that we think "everything should be free!" It's all about understanding what things are useful when they're free, and what things you can reasonably charge for. There are a large and growing number of artists who have figured this out -- with Kevin Smith being a great example. It's just too bad that some others are so freaked out by this that they seek to ruin it for everyone else.
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Filed Under: free, kevin smith, red state, smodcast
Companies: smodco internet radio
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Cue denouncement in 3....2....1.....
/s
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Re: Cue denouncement in 3....2....1.....
Forgot to throw in 'freetard' or something to that effect. Aside from that, most perfect trolling I've seen all day.
HEY! You other trolls can go now, you've been outclassed. Try again tomorrow.
;-P
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Correction: 10/10
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"Why do you hate the artists? How much money does Kevin Smith make from his contract with the Pirate Bay? ZERO! And how much does the Pirate Bay make off of Kevin Smith? $1 000 each day!"
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Maybe you can hit the vaunted 110%
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Kevin Smith is loosing trillions in lost sales because of his freetard mentality and his piracy apologist attitude. The only reason he can even do this now is because the studios GAVE him money for the pittance of work. Anyone could do what he does. How he ever got a "job" is beyond me.
If every one did what Kevin Smith did, how would be get enough money for taxes to FEED and PROTECT the Children. Anyone who agrees with Kevin Smith is a loser in some basement who wants to eat children and make kiddie porn, is an unemployable drain on society, a NON CHRISTIAN which makes them a NON AMERICAN and should be treated as a terrorist. That is why I am supporting Senate Bill S-42 in favor of getting rid of all these CHILD HARMING people who WANT EVERY THING for FREE and THOSE ENCOURAGE THEIR USELESSSTYLE.
And that is how you troll.
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Epic level trolls can change peoples opinions, minds, and lives.
The best a disprovable/hyperbolic/opinion-only troll can do is give somebody momentary pause while annoying them.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clerks#Production
Product of the system? Really?
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clerks#Production
Product of the system? Really?"
Exactly! Thats one of the usual methods of most trolls and shills: incorrectly frame the argument with specious, and usually opposite, arguments.
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That's definitely what the trolls RD was mocking would say. They would argue that, yeah, Clerks was made on a shoestring with no studio involvement, but since the marketing, distribution, editing (removing the downer ending), soundtrack acquisition, etc. was all done by Miramax then it's a product of the system. That anything Smith does now is riding the wave of that success and it's all down to the old system.
It's silly, and ignores most of the points actually being raised by Smith himself (he did it that way back them because he had to, new filmmakers today have no such restraints), but that's the way of those people.
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http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/05/dvds-and-blu-rays-will-now-carry-two-unskippabl e-government-warnings/
I predict the end of computers being used to copy and transmit information.
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Because of the DMCA, they are breaking the law in doing so, even though they aren't engaging in piracy. Why is the FBI & ICE encouraging people to break the law?
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That level of stupidity is impressive, I'll give them that.
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It's all about understanding what things are useful when they're free, and what things you can reasonably charge for.
I'd add "... and how much you can reasonably charge." Copying bits doesn't have a lot of value, but it does have SOME, especially when they're curated bits from a trusted source.
There's a price somewhere above free that should work for the great majority of customers. They can copy bits themselves, so that price can't be terribly high, but it doesn't have to be zero.
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Yes, and that price is $1 per song (iTunes) or $9 for unlimited movie streaming (Netflix).
All the movie and music industries need to do is keep the prices to something reasonable like these and LET PEOPLE INNOVATE THE SERVICES THAT OFFER IT. Stop suing them for making it WORK and stop trying to charge 1-10 TIMES the value of the ENTIRE service for licensing your media.
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genius!
kevin smith's approach makes him appear to be less of an asshole, so people are more likely to buy his stuff, which can be sold at higher profit margins.
i like it. the traditional media companies don't get it when they come up with math that speculates billions of dollars of losses to piracy, not taking into account that that money doesn't exist in the first place. people aren't going to go starving just to get their hands on more media/entertainment. and you assholes are losing your percentage of the set percentage to good guys like kevin smith. bravo!
signed,
yofa, angry video game nerd doll owner
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Re: genius!
Maybe I should start watching those again...
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Competes with piracy
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