Friends,
The following essay is a revised excerpt from a message sent to Jake the Snake Magic, here on the T11 forums, regarding YouTube exposure. I urge you to read this with an open mind and consider the following very carefully and thoughtfully.
Prior to reading these two brief essays, understand that I have been involved in the art of magic for around 6 years now. I've watched Web 2.0 emerge and change magic day by day. I have produced DVDs of my own material and sold them worldwide, so these issues hit close to home on a more personal level than most.
My theses:
1. No card magician can claim that s/he created an effect in its entirety. Therefore, the magic industry cannot be 100% just.
2. YouTube is the greatest thing to happen to magic
Continue reading for my explanations:
---
1:
Consider the following scenario: card magician A creates a trick and decides to sell it. Card magician B learns the trick, makes a variation and adds a bit more to the effect, and sells it as a new trick. Wouldn’t card magician A be frustrated? Of course he would.
This takes me to a critical point: any magic trick that you create cannot correctly be fully attributed to any one creator. Thus, how are any magicians able to sell material? Because they can. It all depends on how knowledgeable the customer is.
There exists a foundation of knowledge necessary to create card magic tricks. This foundations includes knowledge pertaining to what can be considered magical, the skills necessary to perform such tricks, etc. Therefore, I see the whole notion of selling magic tricks too hazy to be accepted as just.
---
2:
What we are experiencing is just another wave of evolution in the arts. When magic first hit the Internet, many old-school magicians thought magic was doomed. Now, any 13 year old can learn the greatest, most precious secrets in the world, right from their computer screen! But magic did not burn itself to the ground. In fact, I think it has pushed itself further.
YouTube is the next big thing to happen to magic. Now, people are revealing tricks left and right; one can learn most new tricks for free! Magic is certainly going to be doomed! Right? WRONG!
We are the old-school magicians now, believe it or not. What is going to determine whether or not we push our art further is whether we can focus more on personally creating new magic, performing it more, and not selling it! (The first two are necessary for magic to continue moving forward, but the third, believe it or not, is a mere luxury).
Take a look at the music industry. Now, the only way that bands are able to make lots of money and survive is by going on more tours and performing more. They can no longer survive from record sales alone. But if you think about this, is this a bad thing? I don’t think so.
The digitalization of music forced musicians to perform more. Isn’t that what music is all about? Isn’t that what magic is all about?!
I see YouTube as the greatest thing to happen to magic yet! I am now able to provide millions of people around the world with the tools necessary to make others happy. This is why I primarily produce tutorial videos online. And what do you know! Everybody loves them, beginners and professionals alike. Believe it or not, a few years ago when I decided that I no longer wanted to make money from magic, I started to enjoy it more! Funny how that works.
I challenge you to take this in and think about it. It’s a message I’ve intended to bring to the magic community for a long time now. I welcome questions for further clarification.
Thanks,
Jason Soll
The following essay is a revised excerpt from a message sent to Jake the Snake Magic, here on the T11 forums, regarding YouTube exposure. I urge you to read this with an open mind and consider the following very carefully and thoughtfully.
Prior to reading these two brief essays, understand that I have been involved in the art of magic for around 6 years now. I've watched Web 2.0 emerge and change magic day by day. I have produced DVDs of my own material and sold them worldwide, so these issues hit close to home on a more personal level than most.
My theses:
1. No card magician can claim that s/he created an effect in its entirety. Therefore, the magic industry cannot be 100% just.
2. YouTube is the greatest thing to happen to magic
Continue reading for my explanations:
---
1:
Consider the following scenario: card magician A creates a trick and decides to sell it. Card magician B learns the trick, makes a variation and adds a bit more to the effect, and sells it as a new trick. Wouldn’t card magician A be frustrated? Of course he would.
This takes me to a critical point: any magic trick that you create cannot correctly be fully attributed to any one creator. Thus, how are any magicians able to sell material? Because they can. It all depends on how knowledgeable the customer is.
There exists a foundation of knowledge necessary to create card magic tricks. This foundations includes knowledge pertaining to what can be considered magical, the skills necessary to perform such tricks, etc. Therefore, I see the whole notion of selling magic tricks too hazy to be accepted as just.
---
2:
What we are experiencing is just another wave of evolution in the arts. When magic first hit the Internet, many old-school magicians thought magic was doomed. Now, any 13 year old can learn the greatest, most precious secrets in the world, right from their computer screen! But magic did not burn itself to the ground. In fact, I think it has pushed itself further.
YouTube is the next big thing to happen to magic. Now, people are revealing tricks left and right; one can learn most new tricks for free! Magic is certainly going to be doomed! Right? WRONG!
We are the old-school magicians now, believe it or not. What is going to determine whether or not we push our art further is whether we can focus more on personally creating new magic, performing it more, and not selling it! (The first two are necessary for magic to continue moving forward, but the third, believe it or not, is a mere luxury).
Take a look at the music industry. Now, the only way that bands are able to make lots of money and survive is by going on more tours and performing more. They can no longer survive from record sales alone. But if you think about this, is this a bad thing? I don’t think so.
The digitalization of music forced musicians to perform more. Isn’t that what music is all about? Isn’t that what magic is all about?!
I see YouTube as the greatest thing to happen to magic yet! I am now able to provide millions of people around the world with the tools necessary to make others happy. This is why I primarily produce tutorial videos online. And what do you know! Everybody loves them, beginners and professionals alike. Believe it or not, a few years ago when I decided that I no longer wanted to make money from magic, I started to enjoy it more! Funny how that works.
I challenge you to take this in and think about it. It’s a message I’ve intended to bring to the magic community for a long time now. I welcome questions for further clarification.
Thanks,
Jason Soll