There's no rest for the online entrepreneurs of comedy these days. Standups like Louis C.K. and Aziz Ansari are among the first to break out of the traditional distribution methods for comedy specials.
Louis C.K. knocked it out of the park with his DRM-free $5 special, earning $1 million in less than two weeks. Although Ansari is not yet releasing sales numbers for his own $5 download — a one-hour comedy special titled Dangerously Delicious which hit the web on Wednesday — the Parks and Recreation star says he's very happy with the response so far.
"People are really excited that I'm releasing the special this way as opposed to going to DVD," says Ansari.
On Twitter, Ansari says he's seen nearly no negative feedback in terms of copying Louis C.K. Rather, many of them have expressed the wish for more comedians to follow this direct business model. What differentiates Ansari from C.K.'s route is that he did no press before the release.
"I just decided whenever we announce it, it's going to be available right away," explains Ansari, who will soon be promoting the special on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon and Conan.
We received a promo video to share, featuring a clip from Ansari's new special. (Note: The language might be NSFW, so keep your headphones on if you're in the office.)
The point of this experiment-turned-trend is that people are willing to pay a reasonable amount for DRM-free content, delivered directly to them by a performer they love.
It's also proven how powerful social media marketing can be when done outside the realm of a network brand.
"You have content flowing through there that's both funny and innovative, but I think you also have some people who are realizing that a directly addressable fanbase is an extremely valuable thing to have going forward," says Erik Flannigan, EVP of digital media at Viacom. "Growing that base ends up probably helping those people out and raising their profile beyond what their current television work life might be."
Twitter has played a huge role in Ansari's nontraditional social marketing campaign. The approach is straightforward as the comedy special itself — he's talking directly to his fans through informal media outlets like Reddit, and getting up in front of them to drum up goodwill and awareness. He's even gone so far as to take his fans out to lunch.
You in NYC? Did you buy Dangerously Delicious? Free from 1 to 230 today? Email AzizDDThanks@gmail.com. First 10 ppl get a dope lunch on me.
— Aziz Ansari (@azizansari) March 22, 2012
I was one of nine other fans to join Ansari Thursday in New York for burgers and fries at Shake Shack. Of course, to do so, we had to prove purchase of the special via screenshot or forward our receipt.
"I can't believe none of you turned out to be crazy, this could have ended really bad," the comedian joked with us.
The lunch was a test-run of something Ansari hopes to do in several cities while on his Buried Alive comedy tour — the content of which is completely separate from his newly-released special.
Although many standup comedians utilize Twitter as a testing ground, Ansari says he doesn't take it too seriously. However, it is proving to be a valuable tool for Dangerously Delicious. More fans are contacting Ansari directly on Twitter, and even though he's responded to the same questions dozens of times by now, he says it's not hard for him to help his fans this way when he can.
"Since people are buying it directly through me, I feel more personally invested in it. It's a different kind of product than if it'd air on TV," says Ansari. "They're buying it from me — I can help out if someone asks a question."
Although social media has made nontraditional marketing easier for comedians, and people clearly agree with the non-DRM business model, Ansari says he's still not sure if this is the future of standup comedy special production.
"Who knows what the landscape will be in two years?" says Ansari. "I mean, two years ago if people asked, 'Oh, what are you going to do with your next special?' I doubt I would have said I'm going to put it on a website and sell it for five dollars."
Image via AzizAnsari.com
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