1000 True Fans

Interesting article on the idea of artist (filmmakers, painters, musicians, etc.) finding 1000 True Fans to make a living. Obviously very relevant to online video.

What are "True Fans"? Read to find out

I love the idea. Being in control of your content and making a living is great. My only issue with his thesis is what is a "living"?

From the piece:

I am suggesting there is a home for creatives in between poverty and stardom. Somewhere lower than stratospheric bestsellerdom, but higher than the obscurity of the long tail. I don't know the actual true number, but I think a dedicated artist could cultivate 1,000 True Fans, and by their direct support using new technology, make an honest living.

From a filmmaking perspective, I think this is a stretch (due to cost of production), although he does suggest you'd likely need more True Fans (like 5000) to make a run at it.

What I'm trying to do with my web series "Pink" is find those True Fans, but also explore traditional distribution and marketing to find even a broader audience (without sacrificing too much creative control) and make a good living doing so.

-Blake


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Who Am I?

I'm a filmmaker who's produced & directed five feature films including the comedy SPILT MILK (available on iTunes), the new horror/thriller PHOBIA (on iTunes) and the action/thiller KILLING DOWN (which you can buy or rent at pretty much all the usual places).

I also created the Streamy and Webby award-winning web series PINK, which to date has been viewed online around 10 MILLION times at places like YouTube, Hulu, Koldcast and TheWB.com. And speaking of TheWB.com, I also produced and directed an online thriller for them called EXPOSED. It was released summer 2010. And most recently I created a new online sci-fi series called CONTINUUM, which is part of the online indie TV network JTS.tv - Just The Story and NOW available via VOD through indie platform Distrify.

Oh, and I don't shoot weddings. Thanks for asking though.

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