For some reason, whenever the question of “monetizing” machinima is raised, inevitably the discussion turns to business models built around the idea of selling the machinima videos themselves. And rightfully, concerns are raised about whether the viewing public is ready for a pay-per-episode machinima release. After all, TV episodes are available on iTunes, and we all know at least a little bit about Rooster Teeth.

But upon closer inspection, it turns out that in both the case of network television on iTunes and Red vs. Blue on DVD, the episodes themselves are all available for free in some venue or another… and as such, I would argue that it’s not actually the videos themselves which are the product being sold here, and to assume in a world where YouTube exists that people would pay solely to watch videos is, well, it’s just not realistic. What to do, then?

In the case of network TV on iTunes… people aren’t paying to watch the show so much as they are paying for the convenience of portability. And in RvB’s case, people who buy the DVD are doing so for the potential of special features, an increase in video quality, or just to support the indie artist.

The things Rooster Teeth are selling can all be loosely categorized as “merchandise.” Hats, T-Shirts, music CDs… even the subscription to their site is essentially paying for the privilege of “first look” access to otherwise free releases as well as an expanded level of interaction in their community.

This merchandising aspect of a machinima “enterprise” is actually something which is relatively accessible to any producer with a fanbase… even to those who are using games as their platform. One must be careful to tiptoe around the IP rights issues - you can’t go selling a T-Shirt with a game character or screencap on it without permission any moreso than you can sell the machinima itself. But in some cases, you CAN monetize other aspects of your production, provided an audience is interested in buying.

Lit Fuse Films have embarked on just such an approach. Sure, the logo branded shirts and caps are one thing. But I’m talking about the original music crafted for their films by Lars Erik Fjosne. Lit Fuse have just opened up a little shop on their site where one can purchase what I presume to be DRM-free downloads of the original music from their films. You can even purchase an entire album of Lars’ music at a discounted rate. There are also some freebies (essential!), including the entire soundtrack to War of the Servers. It’s a very smart move, and not without potential pitfalls. (The very idea that someone would steal from an indie artist, particularly a nice guy like Lars, is beyond sickening to me.) They even crafted a machinima video to announce the opening:

The advantage of a longer-term pairing with a music composer or indie artist in your machinima work cannot be overstated. You’d be surprised how many are out there which would love to get exposure from this kind of work… especially if you had a business plan which could eventually lead to something like the above.

If you’re like me, you’ve been watching the established artists who have been experimenting with this direct-to-the-consumer model of music sales. It will be very interesting to see how a true indie artist can fare under that same model. If it works even moderately well, you could very well see more of this kind of thing in the future.