That's great for Louis C.K. and I really do mean that…he earned it. But let's not pretend that everyone can do the same and make a living out of it.

In the free department, charming bit with Seinfeld on the latest Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. http://comediansincarsgettingcoffee.com

Seriously? I feel like he should pay me $5 just for watching that awful trailer.

Whoa, it's like if Amos Poe made Pootie Tang. I'd watch it.

He made some good short films-- they're available (for free, & legit) online. Check out openculture.com.

The WTF discussion with Will Farrell really brought together the reality of the internet. The concept that everybody has the ability to generate content for free, enriching others, but that content can only become monetized for the creators through traditional media. Not 100% all the time, but a pretty good rule of thumb.

@1: Radiohead distributed In Rainbows for "pay what you will" online. Humble Indie Bundles have been going for quite some time now.....

@7: Like Louis, Radiohead already had a large, dedicated following. Same point Constant made in the post.

@8: Yes, but I was pointing out that this is not a single isolated incident, and showing two other examples which are similar but with "Pay what you will" instead of a set price.

Certainly these things are benefited when the presenters have broad reach already, but there are opportunities there.

Louis C.K. got pretty self-indulgent in the last season of Louie, and the show really suffered for it, in my opinion. I fear that this is coming from the same mindset, even if it is significantly separated by time. I'd probably have to hear a synopsis or receive a recommendation from a trusted friend/source before I'd give it a shot.

On his weirder side CK isn't for everyone...

@10 He's always been pretty self-indulgent, which is probably why his stuff is different and compelling - when it works...

@1 I certainly don't make what Louie CK does, but I do make a living selling my comics online.

@13: ! *reads all your tumblrs*

@13, That's great, and I'm not saying that sarcastically at all. When you can make money doing what you love it's like winning the lottery…which brings me to the point again that not everyone can win.
It's easy to get it out there, but it's pretty hard to make any money at it (unless you're already Louis CK or Radiohead), and that same system is gutting the old ways that people in these fields used to make money. I don't have an answer really, I just wanted to point out that this isn't the kind of thing that will work for 99.9999% of content creators.