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Comment by blhack | Hacker News Reader

I'm sorry, not to be a cynic, but there is almost no similarity between this and what Louis C.K. did.

One was a massively successful, near household name who has his own cable television show releasing what he normally releases, but doing it without a formal distributor.

This is an unknown street musician that I doubt anybody has ever heard of. Musicians like this have been giving their music away for free on the Internet as long as I've been here.

For him, there isn't a real risk. At best he gains popularity, at worst his situation doesn't change.

I hope he gains that popularity, but there is nothing new here, and this certainly doesn't have anything to do with Louis.

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Well, there are similarities, but I think the dissimilarities are kind of the point.

This distribution model worked in one instance for a big name. The Dooley's are leveraging the similarities--super easy distribution, no DRM, very low bars for the audience--and seeing if they work for a different kind of artist.

Content distribution models are broken, experiments are good, and I think this is a great one. I'm listening right now and will certainly throw in a few bucks--it's nice music, and Nick's got chops.

To add to this, note that while Louis C.K. experimented with distribution, he experimented very little with marketing. He hit the same late night television shows he would regardless, and the word of mouth of his existing fan base propelled it even further.

This, on the other hand, is an experiment in both marketing and distribution, and barring any significant innovation in the former, it will probably fail.

I think you mean promotion, not marketing. I'd say he experimented heavily with his marketing. I'd even say he experimented with his promotion by doing things like answering questions on Reddit. Even the novelty of the experiment is part of the promotion; he knew that the novelty would likely garner attention that he would not otherwise receive.

I think there is a similarity; smart marketing.

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