First off I have to give the creative team at Theory11 a huge round of applause for their efforts at bringing into fruition the massive release last night that was "The Wire"; an event four years in the making.
With that being said I've got some thoughts about this project that are both good, and concerned. Instead of posting this in the review section, I figured I'd put it here in general so we can all openly discuss, and debate these points of interest. I also encourage the Theory11 crew to get involved as well, as I'm not sure there is enough of us general users with solid experience using the wire to be able to provide constructive feedback to the inevitable questions that will get raised.
I'd first like to start off this discussion by thanking Theory11 for giving a voice to those who would otherwise not get a chance to publish their creative works. This is something we see all the time on the forums, "Check out this new move that I created" but it usually ends there. Theory11, or any company for that matter, certainly can't move on every submission they receive so this surely means that there is material out there that doesn't get published because of getting lost in the project priority chain. With the Wire, now we can self publish our material, and further our magic's exposure on an international scale.
Some concerns I have for the wire is the price tag for starters. 40% of your sales goes to Theory11, that's more than even some of the higher rated Hollywood talent managers that I've worked with. Usually 15% -25% is average, but anything above 30% is considered excessive- just to put it into perspective for you. So if you sell a video normally at 15$ bucks for a download, that means Theory11 is going to take 6$ from you off the top. So either you suffer the 6$ dollar loss and just pocket the 9$, or you raise your prices by 6$ and possibly cause everyone to get upset for over paying for a product they don't believe is worth the price.
Next concern of mine goes to once the effect is published, who controls how your image and likeness is used? When I did the Expert Village videos I destroyed my reputation with the horrible videos, and magic tutorials that I filmed. The only thing that made it worse is once the videos were published I lost all the rights to control how my image, and likeness is used. I can't pull those videos down, I can't sue them for defamation of character because when they bought them, they bought EVERYTHING about them. So in turn if we get some young teenager who is so very excited to get his name out there, and get famous like Wayne Houchin, or Calin Morell; What happens if they foolishly publish a bad video (that somehow slips by the moderation team reviewing the submitted tricks) and they turn into the next Rebecca Black of magic? Can they have the video's pulled down, do they retain 100% ownership of all creative material even after publishing? I'd like to add for a whopping 40% they had better!
Next concern I have is over the royalties, and rights. Lets say I publish a video edition of my "How to Keep Gigs, and Keep Clients" essay. Let's say it goes number 1 within a few days, and then Paper Crane approaches me about selling the product on their site. The deal the offer me is more profitable, as they won't charge me the 40% that Theory11 is, so I want to accept. The question then becomes CAN I? Or am I legally bound to Theory11? Who controls the distribution rights, and for how long? I'm guessing since there isn't any initial purchase of the product outright, and profit is limited to sales only, I can only assume then that we don't have to worry about Royalties, and kick backs?
Next concern is charge backs. In high end sales, if a sold product is returned to the retailer for any reason, the salesman gets something called a "charge back." That basically means they now owe the company the price (usually wholesale) of the product that was returned. So my question is, who is responsible for refunding the money in the case of you getting an unhappy client? Are all sales final?
What about adaptations to others moves, can we publish our own material or variations on others effects? What if we get their permission first? Example, I have performed an effect that Lee Asher has created for a number of years (hypothetical), and I've over the years developed my own handling, and expanded upon this effect. Can I publish my video on the wire explaining MY handling of Lee's effect, I assume after I get his permission, and credit him?
What about gimmicks? If the effect requires a gimmick, I assume the end user (the buyer) will be on their own to create the gimmick for themselves?
Since there isn't any restrictions on material that is public domain (and god there is a lot of public domain material. All of Expert at the Card Table for example), is there any flood control in place that will help prevent a wave of "double lift" tutorials, and other videos of public domain effects all because the end user is only interested in generating sales?
These are just a few questions I've got rolling around in my head right now, as I sit here and meditate on the power this project has over our community. I believe this is going to be a powerful tool, once it gets going, and could probably make some people some nice dough in the process. There will be no doubt a sudden need for moderators to review the material that will get submitted, as you're no doubt going to get flooded in the weeks to come. Depending on who is in charge of reviewing the material, you may need to boaster your teams numbers so you can keep up with the video submissions, as well as the usual moderation on the forum boards. Of course, I know I'm preaching to the choir on this, but so long as it's said.
I'm excited guys! This is really a good thing you've got here, and it will be something that will get talked about for many years to come. You may have just set the standard. Always good to be the first.
I'll open this up to debate.
With that being said I've got some thoughts about this project that are both good, and concerned. Instead of posting this in the review section, I figured I'd put it here in general so we can all openly discuss, and debate these points of interest. I also encourage the Theory11 crew to get involved as well, as I'm not sure there is enough of us general users with solid experience using the wire to be able to provide constructive feedback to the inevitable questions that will get raised.
I'd first like to start off this discussion by thanking Theory11 for giving a voice to those who would otherwise not get a chance to publish their creative works. This is something we see all the time on the forums, "Check out this new move that I created" but it usually ends there. Theory11, or any company for that matter, certainly can't move on every submission they receive so this surely means that there is material out there that doesn't get published because of getting lost in the project priority chain. With the Wire, now we can self publish our material, and further our magic's exposure on an international scale.
Some concerns I have for the wire is the price tag for starters. 40% of your sales goes to Theory11, that's more than even some of the higher rated Hollywood talent managers that I've worked with. Usually 15% -25% is average, but anything above 30% is considered excessive- just to put it into perspective for you. So if you sell a video normally at 15$ bucks for a download, that means Theory11 is going to take 6$ from you off the top. So either you suffer the 6$ dollar loss and just pocket the 9$, or you raise your prices by 6$ and possibly cause everyone to get upset for over paying for a product they don't believe is worth the price.
Next concern of mine goes to once the effect is published, who controls how your image and likeness is used? When I did the Expert Village videos I destroyed my reputation with the horrible videos, and magic tutorials that I filmed. The only thing that made it worse is once the videos were published I lost all the rights to control how my image, and likeness is used. I can't pull those videos down, I can't sue them for defamation of character because when they bought them, they bought EVERYTHING about them. So in turn if we get some young teenager who is so very excited to get his name out there, and get famous like Wayne Houchin, or Calin Morell; What happens if they foolishly publish a bad video (that somehow slips by the moderation team reviewing the submitted tricks) and they turn into the next Rebecca Black of magic? Can they have the video's pulled down, do they retain 100% ownership of all creative material even after publishing? I'd like to add for a whopping 40% they had better!
Next concern I have is over the royalties, and rights. Lets say I publish a video edition of my "How to Keep Gigs, and Keep Clients" essay. Let's say it goes number 1 within a few days, and then Paper Crane approaches me about selling the product on their site. The deal the offer me is more profitable, as they won't charge me the 40% that Theory11 is, so I want to accept. The question then becomes CAN I? Or am I legally bound to Theory11? Who controls the distribution rights, and for how long? I'm guessing since there isn't any initial purchase of the product outright, and profit is limited to sales only, I can only assume then that we don't have to worry about Royalties, and kick backs?
Next concern is charge backs. In high end sales, if a sold product is returned to the retailer for any reason, the salesman gets something called a "charge back." That basically means they now owe the company the price (usually wholesale) of the product that was returned. So my question is, who is responsible for refunding the money in the case of you getting an unhappy client? Are all sales final?
What about adaptations to others moves, can we publish our own material or variations on others effects? What if we get their permission first? Example, I have performed an effect that Lee Asher has created for a number of years (hypothetical), and I've over the years developed my own handling, and expanded upon this effect. Can I publish my video on the wire explaining MY handling of Lee's effect, I assume after I get his permission, and credit him?
What about gimmicks? If the effect requires a gimmick, I assume the end user (the buyer) will be on their own to create the gimmick for themselves?
Since there isn't any restrictions on material that is public domain (and god there is a lot of public domain material. All of Expert at the Card Table for example), is there any flood control in place that will help prevent a wave of "double lift" tutorials, and other videos of public domain effects all because the end user is only interested in generating sales?
These are just a few questions I've got rolling around in my head right now, as I sit here and meditate on the power this project has over our community. I believe this is going to be a powerful tool, once it gets going, and could probably make some people some nice dough in the process. There will be no doubt a sudden need for moderators to review the material that will get submitted, as you're no doubt going to get flooded in the weeks to come. Depending on who is in charge of reviewing the material, you may need to boaster your teams numbers so you can keep up with the video submissions, as well as the usual moderation on the forum boards. Of course, I know I'm preaching to the choir on this, but so long as it's said.
I'm excited guys! This is really a good thing you've got here, and it will be something that will get talked about for many years to come. You may have just set the standard. Always good to be the first.
I'll open this up to debate.
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