Lessons For Newspapers? 'Selling The Packaging'

Nina Paley spent six years and $200,000 to create Sita Sings the Blues, a full-length animated retelling of parts of the Ramayana.

Then she released it online for free. In HD.

The movie is also available for purchase in DVD form, but it’s licensed under a Creative Commons license that doesn’t prohibit commercial reselling. So somebody could theoretically download the movie, burn it to DVD, and start selling it in direct competition with Paley.

MediaShift reports on how this works, but in essence, Paley’s doing two things: creating a distribution channel with a “Creator Approved” seal— to encourage people who want to buy a copy of the movie to go for the one that actually guarantees money gets back to the artist—and selling the “packaging.”

“Yes,

AW+

WORK SMARTER - LEARN, GROW AND BE INSPIRED.

Spring Special

Save 30% Off an ADWEEK Subscription Today!

View Your Options

Already a member? Sign in