Was it really only two days ago I told you about the marketing genius of comedian Louis CK? Yep. And it was only two days before that when Louis CK unleashed a marketing experiment on the world that I was certain would pay off.
And it has. Pay attention: the time of giant companies acting as gatekeepers for talents like Louis CK, and musical acts like … even dinosaurs such as Pink Floyd … is over. Of course, it helps if you have nearly 1 million Twitter followers, like Louis C.K.
Just three days after releasing his Louis CK at The Beacon Theater concert film at his web site, completely bypassing the time and expense of dealing with distribution, production, and marketing partners, Louis CK has announced that he’s turned a major profit. I could recap the story in detail, but Louis tells it best, so click that link. Read the story. Louis CK didn’t go to college, but he talks like a guy with an MBA degree.
I told you so.
I tell you so pretty often. I have this conversation with my youngest son, who wants to be in the music management business, pretty frequently, too. Record labels (fill in “DVD distributors” if you prefer) no longer serve any purpose for artists with followings. And newer artists can get a better deal doing much of what labels used to do if they’re willing to work hard and do it themselves.
Marketing in the era of social media is simply a different beast than it used to be. And this is a business change that you can profit from. I’ll show you how, if you like.
And if you’re Louis CK, reading this, and thinking you could do even better than you already are, well, I’m here, Mr. CK.
For that matter: hey, Elvis Costello, I’m digging your marketing moves, too.








[...] was serendipitous, and I jumped on it—also a factor in long tail marketing. My writings on Louis CK? Ditto. My buddy Julien Smith? Yeah, he’s helped out the cause recently, too … and just [...]
[...] than traditional book publishers offer authors, becomes the middleman in this transaction. Unlike Louis CK, by publishing under The Domino Project Julien Smith loses control of his media [...]
[...] CK, as I’ve already told you, is a marketing genius. Now, it turns out that just as the crazy-successful comedian is making a name for himself in media distribution and becomi…, Louis CK is also showing just how well he understands the [...]
[...] a couple of years away from being twenty and hoping to work in music management as I mentioned in this piece on Louis CK and changes in the media business, has best be paying [...]
[...] funded through Kickstarter, with some raising serious money for serious businesses. And just like Louis CK cutting out the media business middlemen, or Neil Young having the courage to call piracy the new radio, Kickstarter is real business [...]
[...] funded through Kickstarter, with some raising serious money for serious businesses. And just like Louis CK cutting out the media business middlemen, or Neil Young having the courage to call piracy the new radio, Kickstarter is real business [...]
[...] of his clout as an A-list comedian and his having cut HBO and the entire media business out of last year’s on-line marketing success, is in the rare position of being able to change the status quo. HBO likes to own future broadcast [...]