The present and future of post production business and technology

Paramount Thinks That Louis CK Isn’t Monetizing.

Paramount Thinks That Louis CK Making $1 Million In 12 Days Means He’s Not Monetizing http://t.co/XdKRKnam

It must be the day for delusional old media executives but this one is completely nutso.

It appears that Paramount’s “Worldwide VP of Content Protection and Outreach” Al Perry also fits into the same unthinking mode. We’ve already discussed Perry’s recent talk to Brooklyn Law School, but there was one section that caught my eye and deserves a separate post. It comes right at the beginning:

Perry opened by noting that one has to articulate a problem before seeking to solve it, and he refers to the problem as “content theft.” He pointed out that copyright law gives creators the right to monetize their creations, and that even if people like Louis C.K. decide not to do so, that’s a choice and not a requirement.

Now that seems bizarre and totally unsupportable. Remember, Louis CK made over $1 million in just a few days — an amount that he admits was much higher than what he would have received just for a straight up performance. In what world does going direct-to-fans, building a good relationship, automatically mean no money made at all? Not the one we’re based on.

Apparently the real problem with old media executives is that they simply lack any sense that a different approach works. And works damn well.  Lewis C.K. gets more money than he otherwise would have, fans get a decent, no DRM deal, but Al Perry doesn’t consider it monetizing?

How is it that he still has a job?


Posted

in

,

by

Tags:

Comments

2 responses to “Paramount Thinks That Louis CK Isn’t Monetizing.”

  1. Andrew Richards

    “Monetizing” must mean routing the money through a greedy middleman. Unreal.

  2. Tbob

    Are these executives living in a bubble…?

    …I think WE’RE living in a ‘TV Executives bubble’ right now, just waiting for it to burst.

    Most of the executives to whom I’ve had exposure are:
    1) Very highly paid
    2) Technologically out of touch
    3) Constantly sticking to the old way of doing things and expecting to continue making money.

    I anticipate that the Steve Jobs types (energetic, tech-savvy, and hands-on all the way down to the lowest level), no matter how young, will be taking over shortly.