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View Full Version : Louis CK- Live at the Beacon Theater


Turchinator
12-23-2011, 01:36 PM
DIY means Do it Yourself.

Louie self distributed a live special he did and made it available for $5 (via paypal) for streaming or download.

in a mere 12 days, he made over a million dollars and gave half of it back to his staff and various charities.

he has been completely transparent about the whole process, even showing his personal paypal account with a whopping million dollars as the balance.

not to mention it is fucking hysterical.


https://buy.louisck.net/

hi. So it's been about 12 days since the thing started and yesterday we hit the crazy number. One million dollars. That's a lot of money. Really too much money. I've never had a million dollars all of a sudden. and since we're all sharing this experience and since it's really your money, I wanted to let you know what I'm doing with it. People are paying attention to what's going on with this thing. So I guess I want to set an example of what you can do if you all of a sudden have a million dollars that people just gave to you directly because you told jokes.
So I'm breaking the million into four pieces.
the first 250k is going to pay back what the special cost to produce and the website to build.
The second 250k is going back to my staff and the people who work for me on the special and on my show. I'm giving them a big fat bonus.
The third 280k is going to a few different charities. They are listed below in case you'd like to donate to them also. Some of these i learned about through friends, some were reccomended through twitter.

The Fistula Foundation (http://www.fistulafoundation.org/)
The Pablove Foundation (http://pablove.org/)
charity: water (http://charitywater.org/)
Kiva (http://kiva.org/)
Green Chimneys (http://www.greenchimneys.org/) That leaves me with 220k for myself. Some of that will pay my rent and will care for my childen. The rest I will do terrible, horrible things with and none of that is any of your business. In any case, to me, 220k is enough out of a million.
I never viewed money as being "my money" I always saw it as "The money" It's a resource. if it pools up around me then it needs to be flushed back out into the system.
The thing is still on sale. I hope folks keep buying it. If I make another million, I'll give more of it away. I'll let you know when that happens because I like you getting to know what happened to your 5 dollars and bringing awareness to the bla bla bla.
Okay I really gotta go now. Thank you again. I will now stop bugging you. I really hate being in the news this much so I'm gonna just disappear for a while.
Happy hollidays.
Louis C.K.

Bob
12-23-2011, 01:40 PM
if you all of a sudden have a million dollars that people just gave to you directly because you told jokes.

he's being pretty nonchalant about it

yeahwho
12-23-2011, 01:53 PM
Yeah I gave him $5 and laughed pretty hard too. It is a really great business platform that appeals to me on all levels, no agents, no corporate god parents, no unions, just some guy telling some jokes.

Of course it could be argued that HBO and FX spent millions on promoting his name on their networks. Plus who has a quarter million dollars laying around to rent a first class theater and production crew on all on a risk?

Still at the end of the day it seemed in my mind that like radiohead, Louis was worth it. He is being as honest as he can and that is a rarity.

Plus he is really fucking funny.

Turchinator
12-23-2011, 01:56 PM
totally and completely. he is re-writing the book for other artists in this digital age...

(from an earlier update)

The show went on sale at noon on Saturday, December 10th. 12 hours later, we had over 50,000 purchases and had earned $250,000, breaking even on the cost of production and website. As of Today, we've sold over 110,000 copies for a total of over $500,000. Minus some money for PayPal charges etc, I have a profit around $200,000 (after taxes $75.58). 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. They would have withheld international availability indefinitely. This way, you only paid $5, you can use the video any way you want, and you can watch it in Dublin, whatever the city is in Belgium, or Dubai. I got paid nice, and I still own the video (as do you). You never have to join anything, and you never have to hear from us again.

yeahwho
12-23-2011, 02:08 PM
Yeah and now that I've finished my coffee, the success and press generated by this show actually bolsters the networks product (Louis CK) more than anything they could of possibly dreamt up with the profit motive dominating the brand.

Does that make any sense?

Probably not.

More coffee.

cj hood
12-23-2011, 02:23 PM
this would only work with an established comic (or act). beasties could do a show and sell it this way and make a quick mill....but mc hammer wouldn't have the same results.

so i don't see what the hub bub's about....

Turchinator
12-23-2011, 02:42 PM
this would only work with an established comic (or act). beasties could do a show and sell it this way and make a quick mill....but mc hammer wouldn't have the same results.

that's the point hood. other established acts can now do this without a tv studio, record label, etc...

so i don't see what the hub bub's about....

he made a million dollars in two weeks and gave half of it away for the hell of it.

I know you're a fan so I can't see how you don't see it.


"To those who might wish to "torrent" this video: look, I don't really get the whole "torrent" thing. I don't know enough about it to judge either way. But I'd just like you to consider this: I made this video extremely easy to use against well-informed advice. I was told that it would be easier to torrent the way I made it, but I chose to do it this way anyway, because I want it to be easy for people to watch and enjoy this video in any way they want without "corporate" restrictions.

Please bear in mind that I am not a company or a corporation. I'm just some guy. I paid for the production and posting of this video with my own money. I would like to be able to post more material to the fans in this way, which makes it cheaper for the buyer and more pleasant for me. So, please help me keep this being a good idea. I can't stop you from torrenting; all I can do is politely ask you to pay your five little dollars, enjoy the video, and let other people find it in the same way."

Sincerely, Louis C.K.

yeahwho
12-23-2011, 04:09 PM
It's refreshing, the honesty. That's what all the hub bub is about. No federal packaging rules, no bullshit.

Just buy it and fuck that is it.

Awesome.

NicRN77
12-23-2011, 06:48 PM
I bought it and laughed my ass off. I love Louis. How awesome of him to give so much money to charities. (y)(y)(y) he rocks.

Turchinator
12-27-2011, 12:14 PM
MC Hammer has over 2 million twitter followers. I see a comeback concert!

M|X|Y
12-27-2011, 12:50 PM
he's the man (y)

i just got into him and laughed my ASS off like I haven't laughed in a long while.

apart from how funny he is, i laugh harder at his humor because i like him, or at least who i think he is.

im getting the $5 show next time im with friends, i dont want to get it yet because i want to watch it for the first time then and know i'll cheat

Fern
12-27-2011, 05:21 PM
wht about the jews and their taxes?

Turchinator
12-28-2011, 11:17 AM
jews or anyone jewwy looking weren't allowed in the show, Fern.

mikizee
12-29-2011, 07:47 AM
I bought it and am glad I did. His new material is the best yet and he really seems to be hitting his stride..

I know from watching interviews that he's massively influenced by Georgre Carlin and how prolific he was, and he inspired Louis to write more material more often, rather that trot out the same ol 45 min set for years on end. It makes a better comedian I reckon.

I wrote Louis an email and let him know I paid for his show and I liked it blah blah, of course he didn't write back but he kind of referenced it in a tweet so thats cool. Or maybe he didn't and I'm just an idiot

Turchinator
12-29-2011, 12:43 PM
did you guys know Louie is half Mexican and wrote/directed Pootie Tang?

sa da tay

yeah mikizee, I sent him an email as well and told him the reason why I "opted in" was because of his generous gesture towards his staff and charities.

what was the twitter update?

M|X|Y
12-29-2011, 12:48 PM
He was born in DC but is a Mexican citizen. He spoke only Spanish till he was 8

NicRN77
12-29-2011, 04:40 PM
....and grew up in Framinham and Newton just outside of Boston. Seeing him live this past summer was a trip. So many jokes about his time here...was great!