Louis CK released a DRM-free standup vid for 5$. On the site, he left a short message for torrenters: https://buy.louisck.net/
"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." Something I appreciate about this note is that he admits to being unfamiliar with torrenting and reserves judgement. Instead, he explains his motivations for this method of self-publishing. A Pirate Bay uploader refers to this note in his upload description and an argument breaks out in the comments: http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/6878474/Louis_ck_-_Louis_C.K___Live_At_The_Beacon_Theater_%282011%29_ Louis CK then engages further with the topic on a Reddit thread: http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/n9tef/hi_im_louis_ck_and_this_is_a_thing/ I look at this and think-yes, it's not Ogg/Theora or whatever and, yes, Paypal sucks-but here's a guy who is trying to find an alternate path in which fans can get the video in a friendly format for a low price and do whatever they want with it. Is anyone else following this story? What do you think? What advice would you give Louis CK? Yours in finals procrastination: Kevin _______________________________________________ Discuss mailing list [email protected] http://lists.freeculture.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss FAQ: http://wiki.freeculture.org/Fc-discuss
