Louis CK flipped the script on shows and ticket sales back in December, when he released his own stand-up special independently through his own website with few DRM restrictions — and after the success of the first experiment, the comedian has made good on a promise to offer fans the same value with opportunities to see live shows.
And Louis CK’s effort was definitely a success. Not only did his released-direct-to-fans special make plenty of dough (which he pledged to split several ways among the crew, charity and himself), but it also proved that DRM protections and success are not mutually exclusive as well as showing that artists can manage their own shit just fine, thank you very much.
Louis CK’s earlier direct-to-web special cost fans just $5, and many bit at the opportunity- grossing more than half a million dollars in just 12 hours. Now Louis CK is doing the same for his next tour, with tickets — selling them to fans through the site at one low price, eliminating high venue fees and thwarting scalpers — and at least on the last point, Louis has been successful.
According to SeatGeek.com (a site that provides users with the best ticket prices across many services, such as Ticketmaster), Louis CK’s new tour’s tickets are not being scalped at nearly as high a rate as comparable shows- SeatGeek explains:
“…it appears that the restrictions have worked as intended, as inclusive of all 60+ ticketing websites we track, only 122 tickets are listed for sale across all 52 of Louis C.K.’s shows on the tour. These quantities are extremely low and far below what we typically see in regards to ticket supply for other comedians — even immediately following an on-sale. Furthermore, the few tickets that are listed online for the upcoming tour are available only at extremely high prices — on average over $200.”
In the past, Louis CK’s shows have averaged four times their face value, making the move by the artist one likely to further endear him to an already passionate fanbase, us here at Inquisitr included.