Something I have mentioned a lot on this blog is kickstarter and websites like it. With sites like these, as well as with sites like youtube and blogger you can post your creations online and get funding/exposure for free. I keep bringing these up because I love the idea behind them. Patton Oswalt (one of my favorite comedians and personal comedic hero) talked about this subject in his "Letters to the Industry" keynote address at the Montreal "Just For Laughs Comedy Conference" back in 2012.
"Because all of us comedians after watching Louis CK revolutionize sitcoms and comedy recordings and live tours. And listening to "WTF With Marc Maron" and "Comedy Bang! Bang!" and watching the growth of the UCB Theatre on two coasts and seeing careers being made on Twitter and Youtube.
Our careers don’t hinge on somebody in a plush office deciding to aim a little luck in our direction. There are no gates. They’re gone. "
If you don't know what he is referring to in that block quote about Louis CK, Marc Maron, or Comedy Bang! Bang! please look them up. Louie is one of the best TV shows on the air (most of which is on Netflix if you don't have cable and don't want to pirate) and Louis CK releasing a self funded comedy tour for free is one of the best things I have ever seen. He didn't need sponsors. He released it so that anyone could download it and watch, and it was funny as hell. And Marc Maron's Podcast is well worth the listen, His TV show Maron (also on Netflix) is also very good.
But I digress. What Mr. Oswalt was talking about is the crux of why I love websites like Youtube and Kickstrarter. You can produce without worrying about funding, getting producers to green light or studios fucking with your content. Don't like how video game companies treat their employees and have dangerous hiring practices? Fuck em. Produce your own game. If you have a good idea that other people will get behind it will hopefully get funded. Sometimes they don't, unfortunately, but try again! What is the worst that can happen? That is the greatest thing about websites like these: the internet is a huge place, and on it somewhere someone will want to support your project, you just need to be able to reach them.
Some people do take unacceptable advantage of this. And by people, I mostly mean assholes who try to scam people and major companies/celebrities who try to use crowd-funding to pay for product development to save money when they don't need to, so not really people I guess. The former are the sort of folk you will always find when people find a way to make money. They take advantage of a new system that hasn't developed a system for dealing with them yet, and until Kickstarter gets its shit together you have to take the word of the people on it. This is a hard thing to regulate since the funding is supposed to help something get produced, not be given after it is produced, which would guarantee people get what they pay for. All I can say to the wary is don't give them your life savings (most Kickstarter projects I have seen you can fund for like 5-10 dollars), and you will be less disappointed if they are liars.
The latter group are companies who miss the point and are just in it to make money. Things like Kickstarter are meant for people who don't have marketing departments and R&D divisions. People or small companies who don't have funding. Big companies have all of this, so what they are trying to do is save money by making their customers pay for the development costs of what they will produce. I get that Kickstarter is also a great way to get noticed, but at the same time it exists to help the little guy, so when Zach Braff can fund a movie and make all of the profit without sharing it with investors (like how movies are made now) he is abusing a system set up to help independents. Braff is a big enough name that he could have found some production company to fund his movie (also did Garden State really need a sequel?)
Go forth and support/get supported! post silly videos! Create! The internet is only getting better for those of us who seek to strike out on our own.
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