Monty Python Proves the System Works
You’ll forgive me if this news also astounds me. You know how media companies have basically been freaking out and shitting their pants for the last decade about the digital revolution? How the RIAA’s big plan was to sue children and grandmothers, while the anime industry’s plan was to just slowly collapse? Well, a few months ago, Monty Python started an official YouTube channel of clips from the groups movies and TV series, and provided easy links for people to buy their DVDs. A few interesting things happened:
? With official, higher quality clips online, people stopped uploading their own illegal versions.
? Their DVD sales increased 23,000%.
That’s not one of my (many, many) typos; Monty Python’s DVD sales increased twenty-three thousand percent after putting up their content for free. For free. Online. Sales increased. 2-3-0-0-0. I find this incredibly awesome. After so many years of so much resistance and stupidity from so many people regarding content on the internet, Monty Python of all people comes along, offers all their shit for free, and makes a ton of money. That’s just awesome. (Via Gizmodo)
About The Author
Robert Bricken is one of the original co-founders of the site formerly known as Topless Robot, and its first editor-in-chief, serving from 2008-12. He brought the site to prominence with “nerd news, humor and self-loathing” as its motto, raising it from total internet obscurity to a readership in the millions, with help from his savage “FAQ” movie reviews and Fan Fiction Fridays. Under his tenure Topless Robot was covered by Gawker, Wired, Defamer, New York magazine, ABC News, and others, and his articles have been praised by Roger Ebert, Avengers actor Clark Gregg, comedian and The Daily Show correspondent John Hodgman, the stars of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and Rifftrax, and others. He is currently the managing editor of io9.com. Despite decades as both an amateur and professional nerd, he continues to be completely unprepared for either the zombie apocalypse or the robot uprising.