File under: giving customers what they want makes sales go up
From TechDirt
As quite a few folks have sent in, it appears that the always funny team of folks who made up Monty Python actually seem to get the concept of giving away infinite goods to increase the value of scarce goods. They’ve set up a Monty Python channel on YouTube, where they’ll be putting up pretty much all of their videos in high quality. The video announcing this is quite amusing, and a good contrast to all those content providers who decided to sue YouTube, rather than learn to embrace it. Monty Pyton’s DVD sales jumped an astounding 23,000% and are now the number 2 best selling item in the Movies & TV category on Amazon.com. Who was it that said “you can’t compete with free” again?
First, it points out that plenty of folks have already been posting content to YouTube, and while they could sue, instead, they decided to fight free videos with free videos by putting up their own versions — in higher quality. There’s a funny segment where the Monty Python crew reacts to being told that all of this content will be available for free, and then the video notes that while this content will be free, they’re hoping people viewing the videos will go to the Pythonline site and buy DVDs (scarce goods) of their movies as well. What an idea. Instead of suing, give fans what they want, and give them a reason to buy. Ideally, they would provide extra reasons to buy the DVDs, rather than just praying that people will, but this is definitely a much better reaction than so many others.
tongue in cheek
I would love to see what Monty Python would make of our PEI government. You could write a book on Carolyn Bertram alone. God knows Stephen has enough material for one.One of python’s skits comes to mind,where they poke fun at the british government and all their crazy ministers.Maybe they could make Bertram Minister of silly walks!