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Monty Python Banks On the Long Tail Via YouTube

Posted by timothy on Wed Nov 19, 2008 03:31 PM
from the finally-a-perfect-use-for-the-foot-icon dept.
Media It's funny. Laugh. Television
JTRipper writes "Monty Python seems to have done the right thing. Instead of issuing take down notices of their videos on YouTube, they are doing it better themselves with their own YouTube channel. They are putting all their clips (including snips from their movies) up in a decent resolution, with the only caveat being a link to buying the movies and TV episodes from Amazon."
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Submission: And Now For Something Completly Different by Anonymous Coward
[+] Entertainment: After Monty Python Goes YouTube, Big Jump In DVD Sales 281 comments
An anonymous reader writes "Apparently it with the release of all of Monty Python's material on YouTube, their sales have blown through the roof on Amazon.com. It is too bad there isn't any proper news article about this, but I think it bodes well for those who champion free content. More importantly, it forces the MPAA's feet into their mouths." Not every performer (or group of performers) has the decades-strong appeal of Monty Python, but this is a great thing to see. The linked article claims that the sales increase in the Python DVDs is 23,000 percent; there are probably some other ways to figure the numbers, but a big increase is easy to see.
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  • Well, Not ALL of Them Really (Score:5, Informative)

    by eldavojohn (898314) * <my/.username@@@gmail.com> on Wednesday November 19 2008, @03:31PM (#25822995) Homepage Journal

    They are putting all their clips (including snips from their movies) up in a decent resolution ...

    Um, that's kind of misleading. There are 24 clips as of this posting. That's not to say there isn't more to come but the channel description clearly states:

    What's more, we're taking our most viewed clips and uploading brand new HQ versions.

    Their announcement video shows more video clips than they have up right now (man with a recorder up his nose from And Now for Something Completely Different, etc) so hopefully there's more to come. I'm a bit disappointed the general populace doesn't watch The Flying Circus more often ... it's a shame every time I see a banana at a corporate function I have the urge to hand it to someone while instructing them to "come at me with that banana like you really mean it!" And they just continue to treat me like I'm insane.

    And where's The Crimson Permanent Assurance [youtube.com] (opening feature to The Meaning of Life)?! That single skit was probably more expensive than all other Python works combined--and a gold mine for office humor to send to your coworkers!

  • No problem (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Drakin020 (980931) on Wednesday November 19 2008, @03:36PM (#25823061)
    I had no problem getting a few ads to watch something online. Much like Hulu's service. If they want to start something like this, go for it! This is how it should be done.

  • That's not a caveat (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Reality Master 201 (578873) on Wednesday November 19 2008, @03:37PM (#25823081) Journal

    That's just a link to amazon.

    A caveat would be a warning or proviso indicating terms of use, like that you have to pay them $1 million if you don't buy the video from Amazon.

  • It's good to see some people are getting it... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by ivanmarsh (634711) on Wednesday November 19 2008, @03:39PM (#25823119)

    All your old business models are dead... it's time to find a better way and stop treating potential customers as the enemy.

    (I have the entire flying circus on DVD bought and paid for... what a wonderful waste of time.)

    • All your old business models are dead

      Nah, they're just resting.

    • They 'get it' - but today's audience does not. (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Animaether (411575) on Wednesday November 19 2008, @04:32PM (#25823923) Journal

      to wit: "with the only caveat being a link to buying the movies and TV episodes from Amazon."
      caveat? -caveat-? Holy crap. The people behind the actual stuff can't put a f'ing "BUY THIS NOW" link with their videos without being chastised for it now?

      The "me me me" generation needs to move along and die - the sooner the better.

      I've always said (search my comments - I'm sure I've ranted on this topic here before) that the content owners should have a two-part strategy..
      1. yes, by all means, send DMCA takedown notices of clear rips (if for no other reason than that I am tired of the leading title sequences for clips saying "video made by GangFunksta!!!!" in bright yellow on blue put together in windows movie maker, followed by the actual video overlaid by "made with unregistered hypercam" in the corners all over, and the sound too quiet to hear without setting the volume to 11)
      ( Note that I say 'clear rips'; somebody playing some stupid song in the background of their kid dancing shouldn't get a DMCA takedown. Somebody putting up a still image with the artist name and title of the song with the music in good quality -should- be DMCAd left right and center. )

      2. Make an official and -good- quality version available themselves. Doesn't even need to be high quality or HD - leave that for sales if you want, but just set up good quality versions, add links to other productions of yours, add links to amazon, to swag, insert special promo codes - whatever you think would bring you more customers instead of driving them away (and to those crappy rips).. heck, put in an actual ad at the end of the video.

    • Re:It's good to see some people are getting it... (Score:5, Funny)

      by Pollardito (781263) on Wednesday November 19 2008, @05:43PM (#25825187)
      Listen: strange men sitting at desks uploading clips to youtube is no basis for a system of content distribution

  • Who ordered this? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by elashish14 (1302231) <profcalc4 AT gmail DOT com> on Wednesday November 19 2008, @03:46PM (#25823207)

    I wonder who had the power to make this decision since most artists sell their work to a label/studio. According to Wikipedia for example, The Holy Grain is currently produced by Fox and EMI in the UK and Cinema 5 in the US (who I've never heard of). But the others seem to have other distributors. It's strange that they would upload portions from the entire collection when it seems that different parts are owned by different companies....

    But it's welcome news. Maybe it will set a precedent for others to do the same.

  • Outside convent with half naked women... (Score:5, Funny)

    by AmigaHeretic (991368) on Wednesday November 19 2008, @03:49PM (#25823249) Journal
    Sir Lancelot: We were in the nick of time. You were in great peril.
    Sir Galahad: I don't think I was.
    Sir Lancelot: Yes, you were. You were in terrible peril.
    Sir Galahad: Look, let me go back in there and face the peril.
    Sir Lancelot: No, it's too perilous.
    Sir Galahad: Look, it's my duty as a knight to sample as much peril as I can.
    Sir Lancelot: No, we've got to find the Holy Grail. Come on.
    Sir Galahad: Oh, let me have just a little bit of peril?
    Sir Lancelot: No. It's unhealthy.
    Sir Galahad: I bet you're gay.
    Sir Lancelot: Am not.

  • And now for something completely different (Score:5, Funny)

    by duckInferno (1275100) on Wednesday November 19 2008, @03:52PM (#25823285) Journal
    A man with twenty-four Monty Python clips!

    'es watching youtube

    Oh.. uh... a man with three legs!

    'es run away

    ... oh come off it!

  • Seems like a better model to me (Score:5, Insightful)

    by jollyreaper (513215) on Wednesday November 19 2008, @03:55PM (#25823343)

    I was a huge fan of the way id released their games back in the day, first episode is long and free, the next two will cost you something. Now with Monty Python, the last show went in the can years ago and they're not likely to produce anything new. But for newer shows, I think the PBS model would work. Give the content away for free but let the fans who really like it become direct patrons to support the arts. Let's face it, stamping out piracy is pretty much impossible and not every pirated copy is really a lost sale to begin with. Better to support the culture of patronage and count on the real fans to help you turn a profit.

    One thing the networks are struggling to contend with right now is gaining an accurate measure of just how popular a show is. We know about Faux's surprise when Family Guy was canceled for poor ratings and the DVD set went on to become the #2 selling show ever. This sort of performance gap is continuing with geriatric-targeting CBS having great Nielsens while shows skewing towards younger demographics seem to be under-performing but this does not reflect the interest on p2p sites. ITunes only depicts a portion of the overall success online. And DVD sales aren't figured until long after the current season is over.

    I'll be happy when the middle-men are completely done away with and first-run shows are produced with no need for networks. We're already seeing quirky comedies doing well on Youtube but those are extremely low-budget. It'll take some bucks to put together something like Firefly on a fan-funded basis.

    • Re:Seems like a better model to me (Score:5, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 19 2008, @04:18PM (#25823671)

      The PBS model doesn't really even work for PBS. When I worked at WGBH in Boston, I got to see the budget numbers - about 90% of the budget comes from the corporate sponsors. Those commitments are arranged and planned for years in advance.

      The remainder of the budget comes from "viewers like you," and since it's impossible to predict those donation amounts in advance, it goes only into a discretionary spending fund. Every project plan has a few "would be nice" items in case there's enough in that discretionary fund to build them by the time the project is being produced.

  • Oh you Barstewards (Score:5, Funny)

    by thewils (463314) on Wednesday November 19 2008, @03:56PM (#25823357) Journal

    Why did you have to tell me that. Bang goes the rest of the week...

  • What I'd like to see of Python: laugh-track free (Score:4, Insightful)

    by timothy (36799) on Wednesday November 19 2008, @03:57PM (#25823369) Homepage Journal

    I hate laugh tracks.

    No, scratch that -- I am annoyed by laugh tracks. Partly because I'm used to them, and when I notice a laugh-track it's often too late.

    Please, Pythons -- your sketches are funny (on albums) without the degrading use of laugh tracks. Do you still have the masters from which to make better video clips, without them?

    timothy

  • A terrible decision (Score:5, Funny)

    by xav_jones (612754) on Wednesday November 19 2008, @03:59PM (#25823393)
    YouTube will be inundated with spam.

  • Oblig XKCD (Score:5, Insightful)

    by AdamTrace (255409) on Wednesday November 19 2008, @04:02PM (#25823445)

    Going WAY back on this one...

    http://xkcd.com/16/ [xkcd.com]

  • south park (Score:5, Interesting)

    by qw0ntum (831414) on Wednesday November 19 2008, @05:04PM (#25824517) Journal
    I think the best model that any show has come up with is South Park's. Every episode from every season posted online, full, without commercials. The newest episodes are posted the week after they air.

    This policy has encouraged me to watch South Park. And what do you know: I even watch it on TV sometimes. +1 viewership by enlightened understanding of digital distribution.

  • Shoulda been public domain anyway (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Jherek Carnelian (831679) on Wednesday November 19 2008, @06:23PM (#25825865)

    Under the original terms of US copyright law (14 years with optional 14 year renewal if author is still alive, and zero copyright protection for foreign works), most monty python material would already be in the public domain in the USA.

    Just something to think about...

    • Re:Long Tail? (Score:4, Informative)

      by alexander_686 (957440) on Wednesday November 19 2008, @04:02PM (#25823439)
      The "Long Tail" is a retail concept. Normally, business make 80% of their profit/sales off 20% of the items that they sell. Which is why "Big" retails are well stocked with the latest Hollywood film, but not that obscure DVD with British humor. The Internet is supposed to change this. Because adding an additional piece to inventor does not take up an additional retail "space" a store can offer unlimited holdings. So one would expect that fewer sales of the "Big" hits and more sales of the more odd titles. It's is a nice theory, but it not true. 80% of Amazon's sales come from just 20% of their inventory. I mean, sure, they have a much larger inventory then most stores, but they don't expect the long tail. The numbers are bigger but the ratio stays the same. I have always wondered if Apple's Itunes has escaped into the long tail.

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