Sean Francis' Favorite Techdirt Posts Of The Week
from the change-takes-time dept
New Kickstarter Rules Make Sense In Principle, But Raise Big Questions In Practice
Having been involved in the creation and success of a few high-profile Kickstarter projects myself, I had a vested interest in this piece. I love the ideology behind crowd-funding, and I've been following the evolution of the Kickstarter platform for several years.
The site exploded in a very short time and is growing more culturally relevant by the second, but this piece reaffirmed my belief in a few core concepts that creators, backers, and the public at large MUST understand for continued maximum awesomeness:
- With Amanda Palmer's "Theatre Is Evil" campaign, we were fortunate in that we'd already run two successful projects. We'd been able to educate the fans and journey with them on both the MEANING of crowd-funding an album, but also the nuances and hiccups in the production of tangible rewards. But that is not something most projects are afforded. Kickstarter is interweaving itself in the public lexicon QUICKLY, but it is of the utmost importance that as it spiderwebs outside of the niche market (tabletop gamers, tech nerds, comic aficionados, music lovers, etc) into the world that people understand WHAT IT IS and HOW IT WORKS. They even highlight that information, but people seem to overlook it.
- Despite the best intentions, human error will rear its ugly head at the least convenient moment. I received a backer update just today that apologized for things going astray. That's fine, just remember to communicate with your backers (potential and otherwise) and keep them involved in the process their money went towards.
- Kickstarter is not just for unknowns, nor are you "begging"…and while I've seen those stigmas falling away, I've seen another (potentially more detrimental one) take their place:
- Backing a project is not a "donation" nor are you pledging towards a "charity". A few months ago, a friend and I were discussing Cards Against Humanity and the common misconception amongst our peers that they'd been part of a pledge drive of some sort when they supported the Kickstarter.
- The Kickstarter model will thrive on innovation, not those who use others as a blueprint and perpetuate stagnant and predictable projects. The rule changes most certainly could add hindrance to some project's potential successes, but as Leigh pointed out, there are also some "loopholes and anomalies". I think that might inadvertently be advantageous to success. By being forced to think outside the box and work out a reward system that is unique to the project, we'll all benefit from the creativity that rises to the top.
In all honesty, I'd begun to grown weary of Netflix. Not inasmuch as that I didn't believe in the product, but as time's gone on, competition's grown, and licensing deals have gotten stickier, I've feared for the service's ability to continue to deliver something worth shelling out for month-to-month. I'm as excited as can be for the return of (NEW!!) "Arrested Development" but I've come to find I stopped visiting the site short of evening's where I wanted to go on a bender with Gordon Ramsay.
And then Disney came back.
As anyone — especially those who've read Neal Gabler's Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination or seen one of a slew of documentaries that litter cable TV at four in the morning — can attest, the company is founded on a series of principles that brew a brilliant stew of marketing, strategy, and execution. There are missteps, but there are also forward-thinking acquisitions and victories aplenty.
I don't so much care that I can stream The Nightmare Before Christmas on Netflix Instant right now. This isn't about that to me. To borrow an anecdote from Wayne Gretzky (recently co-opted by Kevin Smith), Disney sees where the puck is going. Or they're at least going to damn-well try to make sure it heads that way. If they're throwing themselves behind Netflix, it gives me a renewed faith in how things might unfold.
Why Copyright Shouldn't Be Considered Property... And Why A Return To 1790 Copyright May Be Desirable
This article is worth digging into if only for the wealth of thoughtful (and amusing) discussion and debate taking place in the Reader Comments. I'm looking forward to reading Brito's book, and though I expect I'll disagree with some of it, the concept of "intellectual privilege" versus "intellectual property" captured my imagination. This article — and the response to it — have had me reevaluating quite a few of my core beliefs when it comes to copyright, law, and ways in which artistry could (should?) happen in years to come.
See Also:
- Unauthorized Remix Improves On Landmark Unauthorized Mashup, The Grey Album
- How The Video Game Industry Was Launched 40 Years Ago... Thanks To Infringement
- BitTorrent Book Promotion Drives 40% Of Downloaders To Book's Amazon Page
- How Software Piracy In Developing Markets Creates New Customers
- HBO Has A Distribution Problem, But Just 'Going Without' Does Nothing To Push Them To Solve It
It's almost 2013. I really hoped the sense of entitlement (and rally cries behind it) would be on a down slope. But alas, it hasn't subsided, and likely will not for a long time to come. Maybe I shouldn't feed the trolls, maybe I shouldn't waste brain-space worrying about the people who just DON'T GET IT, but I feel like the negative impact is a real setback. There are thoughtful and forward-thinking people at HBO, and Apple, and [insert random major record label], and thousands of other businesses big and small… and sometimes, shit just takes time. Or doesn't work out exactly how you and your friends might want it to.
I don't disagree, there's a LOT of evidence out there as to how people are consuming (and wish to consume) their media. It's all changing by the second, and that is BEAUTIFUL. The future is exciting to me, that's why I do what I do, but we collectively need to be patient and forgiving as it sometimes takes time to work itself out. Use your voice, but have a dialog. That means you've also got to listen, and understand that there are things that you aren't privy to which comprise some of the choices you're railing against. I don't mean to get preachy, but I truly believe good things come through understanding and communication.
In short, don't be a dick, and you never know what doors might open for you… whether that be in life, or in getting the new season of "Game of Thrones" the way you were hoping.
Every day, I find myself cringing at some stupid post I see online (and let's all admit, it's mostly on Facebook). Whether it be a BS rumor proliferated in a uroboros of misinformation or a friend sharing something potentially harmful to career/family/whatever, we've reached a point where people's actions have greater real-world impact than ever. The lack of understanding of the mediums in which people share their exploits, as well as how devoid of fact-checking the world seems on some days, bums me the hell out. There were two pieces this week, which delved a bit into that concept:
- Protip: After Successfully Stealing A Car And Robbing A Bank... Don't Brag About It On YouTube
- No Warrant, No Problem: The Government Can Still Get Your Data
*cue NBC theme*
Re: Re: Re: Sell music, not copies
Chicken/egg. I heard about The Dresden Dolls before they signed, but I know a LOT of the fanbase came along in the years following.
I won't detract from the amount of touring they did to raise awareness, but in a pre-everyone-on-the-internet-era / pre-easy-DTF-tools, the label did do some good.
I don't doubt that Amanda would've still garnered attention and success after leaving them, she's TALENTED and SMART, but they also helped put her into a position so that when she shouted into the ether, it shouted back.
Maybe you didn't hear about her 'till she was free, but I bet a combination of interest earned via fans who DID, helped spread her message to you./div>
Re:
Kickstarter projects (of ALLLL varieties) have about a 40-50% success rate. Should they just shudder their doors and tell people to go elsewhere? The numbers show successfully funded projects aren't overwhelmingly the rule/the norm, right?
Stupid.
But hey, if you're so easily discouraged from trying to do something, more room for someone who's going to fight and work and train like their life depended on it.
Amanda's assemblage of positive elements are clearly working for her (in this instance and in many others), and they definitely are NOT interchangeable with any other artist…but no one's saying THAT.
The message of the video - "THIS IS THE FUTURE OF MUSIC" - is not trying to tell people that her project is a blueprint or that if you try and copy her bundle rewards you'll raise $100k on a Monday morning…the MESSAGE is about fucking connection.
As she said on Twitter this afternoon: "$100,000 raised in 6 hours. no label, no cocksucking mainstream radio shows, no billboards, no marketing bullshit. PEOPLE + INTERNET. DONE."/div>
Re: A Good Step
(untitled comment)
A shitty tribal tattoo is still just a shitty tribal tattoo, it just so happens few enough people are stupid/crazy enough to put them around their eyesocket and so we recognize what they're going for, with it./div>
Re:
You're right, you never know. Except in this case we know/it was noted that said "one fan" took to Twitter to pool the money with others.
"Why play a $5000 bbq when you can play a $20,000 concert?"
Really, why? Jesus. If you're asking this question you're probably going to argue with the dozen or so reasons I could give you as to why, but it's not always about "whoring time for cash outside of 'the system'".../div>
Re: Device over user
I've seen lots of people up in arms about this, and I just can't wrap my head around their whining and entitlement issues to appreciate it as a real concern.
I don't work for 'em, but I've spent enough time over the years on hold with Apple Care or waiting in line at the Genius Bar to have a bit of sympathy when it comes to the volume of troubleshooting they've got to do.....and how much of that troubleshooting is with complete morons who don't know what they're doing and break their device. I know multiple people who've decided it's not worth being without their phone for a day or two, and take it upon themselves to "fix it"...and then when they do REAL damage, go in to an Apple Store with an attitude -- wasting the employee's time, AND the time of people like you or I.
Like software modding, if you want to take the risks involved with it, you're responsible for whatever happens......if you want to muck with your hardware/glass/case/whatever......go buy the $5 screwdriver and don't take it out on everyone else if something goes wrong.
BTW, I'm not saying Apple is infallible, but this just isn't a hill worth dying on in my opinion; I've seen lots of "this is the LAST straw" and "I'm done with Apple because of this, you shouldn't keep me out of MY device that I PAID for" type commentary...and...well...I guess be thankful your life's easy enough that such concerns are the biggest problem you're living with?/div>
Re: Re: nothing to see here...
Re: nothing to see here...
Anyone been following the Amanda Palmer/Evelyn Evelyn drama?
To quickly summarize:
* An album produced by Amanda
* By "conjoined twins" (with a full backstory that's later going to be put into comic book form via Dark Horse)
* Without hearing the record/getting most of the contest, people freak out
* There becomes a war of "This is offensive" vs "you fucking thought this was REAL? You're DUMB!" type comments
Amanda's response is available at:
http://blog.amandapalmer.net/post/396762227/evelyn-evelyn-drama-drama
(One of my other favorite/most interesting responses to the whole thing was at http://amuchmoreexotic.livejournal.com/408855.html)
While I can see both sides of the argument (a lot more than in the case of the giraffe), it's definitely very bizarre to see stuff like this go down at all......../div>
Re: Re: I'm not coming here anymore...
Maybe. MAYBE. But I'd also garner to bet that a) a lot of people downloading her shit NEVER would've checked her out had they had to pay b) a LOT of people who heard about her did so via torrents, downloads, sharing, burned CDs, etc, and wouldn't otherwise have been buying her future releases, concert tickets, merch, etc.
And like I just posted, I HAVE paid for her music before and now never will again because of her ignorant, poorly-informed, stupid ideology that hearing/having music "for free" doesn't make any money for her at the end of the day./div>
(untitled comment)
That's easy to say but it ends up being a wash -- your "word" that you were going to buy something probably doesn't resonate with someone like this - she'd probably just roll out with "actions speak louder than words"...
I don't necessarily think she'd see me in any different light but regardless, I'm someone who HAS purchased her music. And I won't, ever again. Even if I was to suddenly be able to look past her personality and enjoy the stuff for what it is (fun pop), I'm not going to buy it. Period. Not now. I'm not supporting nonsense like this, I just wouldn't feel good about it.
So there you go, Lily. It goes both ways, moron./div>
Good call on all fronts...
Regardless, I'm glad you picked up on something he completely lost focus of in his blog and did so without talking down to your audience./div>
Re: Smoking Gun did not learn song that morning
you're not paying very good attention and the info in said video you linked to as it points out that it was recorded the same day as the above "music vid"
the video is labeled 6/10 i.e. 6 out of 10 videos......nowhere did i see 6/10/09. don't come huffing and puffing based on your sheer distaste of mike/amanda...do YOUR research
and by the by, i apologize in advance if i somehow got confused....i mean......it makes total sense i might've....and that the same uploader has a magic calendar wherein they saw tegan and sara play a show on "15/22" whenever the hell that falls in the calendar year/div>
Re: This story doesn't add up...
Re: This story doesn't add up...
(untitled comment)
* well she wouldn't have those fans and people around her (that could film it etc) if it wasn't for her record deal
* you have my attention and you play a song you didn't write? pfft
* mike had a hard-on for amanda palmer - enough posts about her, already!/div>
Re: Re:
i don't know mylie cyrus' body from adam but i don't so much associate her with being sold as a sex object (yet) whereas looking at the way taylor swift is being marketed....? "look at this down home country vixen....she's like the girl next door but she can sing....p.s. she's legal"/div>
Re: Re: Re: Inspiring
BUT
that's neither here nor there in regards to amanda palmer and the comment i made, now is it?/div>
Re: Inspiring
Re: full albums only
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