Jonathan Coulton
Friday, July 11th, 2008
Jonathan Coulton is an excellent example of someone who took his internet fame and turned it into a thriving career. He is a musician with a heavy geek heart who resonates with geek cultures online. Coulton has one of the largest and strongest followings of internet fans – they totally lift him up and push his music forward. See also: music, wikipedia bio.
Listen to this audio podcast interview of JoCo with Tara Hunt.
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Jonathan Coulton makes my heart happy. If it was just internet fame that would be all well and good, but his songs come from this honest wonderful place that melt even my most caustic inner cynic. If the internet gives me nothing else, I’ll be glad for having “A Talk with George” or “The Future Soon” or “Code Monkey” in my music collection. I guess what I’m trying to say is that, in this case, the star was created partially by genuine talent and creativity. Not bad, internet.
And what’s really funny to me is that video from the Highline. I was probably all of six feet away from you, near the stage and grinning like an idiot. That was an incredible show.
Great show! It’s nice to see the focus on how his popularity has created an entire community of fans, who have become famous in their own right. And yes, he does put on a wonderful live show! The last time he was in San Francisco, I got to join him on stage for one song (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXlaiRDf4G8). The song itself will be on the upcoming concert DVD! Truly one of the most memorable days of my life!
@andy bates thanks for the link- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXlaiRDf4G8
@J. Rabbitte I can’t believe you were there!? Wow. It was quite the show.
Sarah, my favorite JoCo song would have to be The Future Soon. It just taps into those feelings of unrequited love from high school, although I hear it is less popular among the ladies (probably because most of you didn’t have as much trouble dating!).
I also have a sentimental favorite, I Crush Everything. It is so beautiful and sad, it just makes my heart ache. (Yes, guys have feelings too!) And if I may be permitted Gratuitous Plug #2, http://www.cafepress.com/jonathancoulton.261738651. (No, I don’t make any money from it!)
Sarah, heck yeah I was there! Got there early, sat right in front, and had a blast. Hadn’t heard Paul & Storm before the show, and I’ve had their little jingles stuck in my head for weeks now. I’m convinced the Highline is a magic place where I get to see amazing shows, plus get spring rolls at the table!
As for my favorite song, that’s a difficult one. I’m tempted to go with “Mandelbrot Set,” but I eventually have to throw my weight behind “A Talk with George.” It combines that great melancholy tune with a pretty spot-on portrait of one of my favorite American dilettantes. Every time I hear it I want to run out and do something amazing.
CC does not help you make money from your music.
though I commend JoCo for his approach
FTW Bears, I disagree completely. I heard about Jonathan Coulton because a friend sent me one of his songs, which is perfectly legal under CC. I then went on his website and downloaded all of the free songs he had available (about half of them). At that point, I hadn’t spent a single dollar on Jonathan Coulton.
Since then, I have purchased the other remaining for-pay songs, attended three live shows, and turned numerous other people on to Jonathan Coulton. I even have the four-CD set of his Thing a Week series, even though all of those songs were already available for free through his podcast. As Coulton himself will attest, he has such rabid fans that they are more than willing to spend good money on his music and merchandise, even on things that they have already bought before.
Give away half of your songs, and people want to buy the other half; give away none of them, and people might not take a chance at all. I heard him say once (paraphrasing), “I’ve tried selling my music, and I’ve tried giving it away for free, and I have gotten much more popular by giving it away than I ever was by selling it.”
Hi, you are right!
Helloooooo!
I just keep on coming back for more..
Yes, I think it’s really important to remember that people WANT to spend money on artists they like, and one way to engender good will is to give them some music for free, and hope they come back for more. Plus, you shouldn’t underestimate the importance of a direct-sales model, where more of the purchase price will go directly to the artist. But most of all, you can tell that Coulton loves and appreciates his fans, and his humble about his newfound popularity. That kind of connection is priceless.
@Lisa, me too.
@Andy I agree. I must give it away for free and then be creative with other ways to make money.
@ Andy when I say I I mean we as in “we” content creators.
Hi Sarah,
I hope you find continued success with your enterprise, it’s nice to see you adopt ‘Austin’ again.
Hey David, yes! Thanks. I like Austin better anyway. As you know, Austin is my real name.
lovin the show and lovin youuuuu x :D
Saaaaraaaaahhh! Good show again. Very interesting show. I watch you on my TV through my Xbox. Really cool to watch you on my TV haha. Anyway, keep it up, you are awesome. Talk to you soon!
@massmedia thanks for watching my show. Love having you!
Sarah Austin, I love your show and I love you, too!!!
@Dennis Jackson That is soo cool that you watch me on your xbox!!! How do you do that?
your more than welcome sarah keeep up the good work and remberrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr dont forget massy :P
@dhnyc I heart you too!
Hi, sis! <3
@foxdream2000angel <3
Hello Baby!!!
I don´t write englis.
I live in Brasil!
Tou a beasthifull girl in Blog.
Love you xuxu
Go in Rio is á beathiful city.
Rio 2014 world Cup Soccer.
Kisses and kisses
Bye bye
Guto Net
dunn da dunn da dadda dah dun…Pop! goes the weasel
It’s an interesting idea… Making music so that people will use it and increase your fame/visibility and then selling/licensing it to those that want to use it for commercial projects.
Hey Sarah, nice show, I was wondering seen as you got the know how and all that… Could you do a show about the topic “Venture Capatalism” (spelling wrong i know google define too far away right now). Like how start-ups find and get VC, who to go to where to get advice from and stuff like that.
i know it might be alot for a show but im just requesting.. but your show is really good i like it alot.
keep up the excellent work :D
Hey, Sarah –
You’ve got good taste in music! Jonathan Coulton is different from so many musicians today because there’s so much there beneath the surface. Dozens and dozens of songs, most of them funny, some of them sad, and all of them worth listening to. My favorite song of his is probably Dance, Soterios Johnson, Dance — about the imaginary secret life of a mild-mannered NPR announcer. Thanks for your videoblogs; they’re fun. :)
Appreciate the info guys, thanks
thank you alot, for this great post!
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but seriously, amazing post and thank you so much !
i look ahead to your next article !
:)