Whedon to Pioneer New Distribution Model
Joss Whedon’s upcoming writers’ strike-inspired web series, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, is the closest thing to a sure hit online, even if it is going to be a musical (hey, that’s just unusual — not bad!). Turns out Whedon has a pretty interesting plan for pleasing fans, making a big impact, and perhaps making a bit of money, too.
The plan (which was first posted as a comment on a fan site, I believe) is to release the three parts of the 42-minute project on July 15, July 17 and July 19 respectively, for free. But at midnight on July 20, “They will vanish into the night, like a phantom (but not THE Phantom – that’s still playing. Like, everywhere.),” as Whedon put it. After that, the whole thing will be available for purchase.
I like it! A way to have scarcity without signing some exclusive deal with a portal whose audience isn’t necessarily your fan base. A way to get everyone in the same place, buzzing about what you’re doing without depending on outside promotion. Hey, maybe it’s something only Whedon could do, but it’ll be exciting to watch it play out.
The ultimate goal is to make a DVD, Whedon told TVGuide.com, which got an exclusive preview of the series (and gave it an enthusiastic thumbs up). And boy does this sound good:
“We’re already working on some of the DVD extras, which are going to be the finest in all the land. We’re actually going to do, in addition to the commentary, what we refer to as ‘commentary with an exclamation point’! A musical commentary that is a completely original musical, that is all commentary songs, and we’re writing that now… We’re just piling it on. We’re like, we’re going to make more fun of the idea of extras than anything else.”
I love that instead of manipulating the system in tired ways to find an audience and make money, Whedon just makes more one-of-a-kind content. While he does sound earnest in the TVGuide interview about proving there’s another way to make good stuff that’s cheaper but not too cheap, Whedon of course follows with levity: “Maybe… it can make us an eleven-ty kadillion dollars. Or maybe it won’t.”
Recent
GigaOM Network
Copyright 2001–2008 Giga Omni Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Powered by WordPress.com. Marketing consulting by ACS.
Whedon’s foray into online [delivery of] media is a great breakthrough for creators; it establishes a business model that believes content is a great marketing tool itself. It can be given away for free, and leveraged into other revenue streams.
Certainly, this project is a lower-budget project than a traditional TV or movie entity, but it allows him to keep his regular crew of crazy fans appeased. A friend of mine has a t-shirt that says “Joss Whedon is my master now.” He’s going to love this.
Alec McNayr on July 1st, 2008 at 11:55 am - Permalink
The last quote/comment was more or less hinting toward either a sequel or more similar content coming from him/his crew. And plus, he would love for everyone he worked on the project and made absolutely nothing to earn a little money for their hard work and commitment to this. I don’t blame him and I’m happy to support that!
Gina on July 1st, 2008 at 12:42 pm - Permalink
Of the short list of film/TV creators willing and able to give this model a go, surely it is Whedon more than anyone (other than possibly JK Rowling, Kevin Smith, or Guillermo del Toro?) who might make it work. Mainly due to his dedicated and net-saavy fandom.
My fingers and toes are crossed for him. For all of us.
ProgGrrl on July 1st, 2008 at 3:04 pm - Permalink
Do you guys think you will be buying the download/DVD when it comes out?
Liz Gannes on July 1st, 2008 at 4:11 pm - Permalink
I usually don’t hesitate to drop some coin on Whedon’s work. I’ll probably check out the downloads to get a feel for what this is, first, if I can remember to do so sometime between July 15-19. :)
David Simmons on July 1st, 2008 at 9:20 pm - Permalink
I think Joss is definitely leading the way on this. In its own way, it is an echo of the TV on DVD model–give something away for free, then sell the DVDs with added value. A large part of the reason that the Firefly dvds sold so well was that there was a ton of content you could only get on the DVDs–unaired episodes, commentary on every episode, etc.
I will say that this seems a harder model for anyone just breaking out. A fan base can make this work, but he garnered his fan base through old media (TV, comics, etc.)
Still, to echo many, he just might be on to something.
Ned on July 2nd, 2008 at 7:12 am - Permalink
[...] In an attempt to cashify this project, Joss is trying out the following scheme (via NTV) [...]
Joss Whedon Next Up With Web Distribution Scheme « MyMediaMusings on July 2nd, 2008 at 8:55 am - Permalink
Joss is right : independant filmmakers or TV series producers have now to imagine new business models for the Internet. And these business models are connected to new ways of releeasing a film or a serie and making buzz to attract the largest possible audience for a few bucks.
Look for instance at the facebook page Joss made for Dr Horrible : http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dr-Horribles-Sing-Along-Blog/51074710227
Pierre Col - UbicMedia on July 2nd, 2008 at 8:55 am - Permalink
[...] Whedon to Pioneer New Distribution Model on [...]
Whedon to Pioneer New Distribution Model | The New Worlds Alliance on July 3rd, 2008 at 5:43 am - Permalink
[...] este mes Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, una serie web/ comedia/ musical en tres capítulos que será transmitida a través de toda la Internet entre el 15 y el 19 de Julio y desaparecerá el 20, …. Otra visión del mundo, la de Wheadon, pero considerando la fanaticada/ ejercito que tiene este [...]
Dos genios llegan a la Internet, nuevas formas de distribución de contenido « BlogZup 2.0 on July 4th, 2008 at 12:55 am - Permalink
[...] von Joss Whedon Jump to Comments Doctor Horrible’s Sing-A-Long Blog nennt sich das Projekt an dem Joss Whedon momentan beteiligt ist, es ist wohl ein Musical - der Titel deutet das IRGENDWIE [...]
Neues von Joss Whedon « Nur mein Standpunkt on July 4th, 2008 at 6:03 pm - Permalink
[...] Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog” in three parts for free, online, for a limited time, then yank them off the web and make the whole show available for [...]
Yatching Newsly | Fill Your Grill With Kanye, Whedon and YouTube on July 6th, 2008 at 2:14 am - Permalink
[...] Whedon to Pioneer New Distribution Model « NewTeeVee - A new project from Joss Whedon… [...]
Mediavorous » Blog Archive » Links for July 2nd through July 6th on July 6th, 2008 at 8:06 pm - Permalink
[...] Whedon to Pioneer New Distribution Model [...]
Dr. Horrible Preview: Whedon Rocks the Blog - NewTeeVee Station on July 11th, 2008 at 8:35 am - Permalink
[...] not crazy or anything) and so I read with interest that Buffy-creator Joss Whedon was planning to launch a new 3 act online video musical called “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog” over the course of three days starting [...]
Mediavorous » Blog Archive » Denied! Joss Whedon’s “Dr. Horrible.” Score one for conventional TV… on July 15th, 2008 at 8:07 am - Permalink
[...] too — see our review.) But in deciding to release his musical extravaganza online, he got as creative about the business plan as he did about the [...]
Joss Whedon’s Wacky Web Experiment Kicks Off - GigaOM on July 25th, 2008 at 10:55 am - Permalink
[...] Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog in its HD entirety, which is pretty cool seeing as the original plan called for that show to be offline by [...]
Hulu Amps Up HD « NewTeeVee on August 5th, 2008 at 10:02 am - Permalink