Why FREE works? A Case Study - Sita Sings The Blues

I'm posting this again -- partly because its one of the most useful articles I've watched on the issue of making money from eyeballs vs. scarcity, and mostly because it is one of the articles that has disappeared from the 'search this blog' box at the top of this blog...
(My original post is here...)



Came across this awesome article by Michael Masnick on techdirt:-

"Earlier this year, we wrote about the ridiculous situation that Nina Paley faced in trying to release an amazing film, Sita Sings the Blues.

Basically, some copyright holders of the music used in the film put positively insane terms on the use of their music. This made no sense, considering that the music (from the 1920s) was mostly unlistened to these days -- and the only thing the movie would likely do is increase demand for people to get legitimate versions of the music.

Eventually, Paley worked out a plan to release the film under a Creative Commons license and put in place a business model like the ones we've talked about for years: give away the infinite, sell the scarce.

And apparently, it's working. Pistol points us to a talk that Nina Paley just gave revealing some of the results. You can see the video here (it's a bit over 20 minutes):"

MORE HERE:-
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20090824/1723375986.shtml


DIY DAYS PHL NINA PALEY TALK VIDEO HERE



"SITA SINGS THE BLUES Distribution Project Report
If it's free, how do you make money?? 5 months after the Creative Commons Share Alike release of her animated musical feature Sita Sings the Blues, Nina Paley presents the first round of hard data from the project.

Contrary to MPAA propaganda, the more the audience freely shares the film, the more they purchase DVDs, theater admissions, and merchandise; witness the $$ numbers that prove it. Nina Paley is the creator of the animated musical feature film Sita Sings the Blues, which has screened in over 150 film festivals and won over 30 international awards including the Annecy Grand Crystal, The IFFLA Grand Jury Prize, and a Gotham Award.

Her adventures in our broken copyright system led her to Copyleft her film, and join QuestionCopyright.org as Artist-in-Residence."

"SITA SINGS THE BLUES" SHOW HOME SITE HERE:-
www.sitasingstheblues.com

"SITA SINGS THE BLUES" YOUTUBE CHANNEL HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/user/drakar7002


Sita Sings the Blues Part 1 / 10




I think Nina Paley's comments are fascinating.
The content is free.
"Containers are not free... And that's what we're selling."

So they earn money from... Donations, Merchandise, and Broadcasting.

Containers related to the content.
NOT from the content itself.

"The more people who get to see the film... the more they will want to buy the film-related stuff."


(Plus, I have never come across the term "Copyleft" before).


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