网络改变演艺圈走红路线图

    加菲根他们的秘诀在于规模效益。在收回制作成本和为下载服务付费之后，在线收入的每一个子儿都是他们自己的（除了支付网站贝宝PayPal的服务费）。而由于在销售中的分成更多，他们还可以薄利多销：一次下载通常只要5美元。最卖座的明星还可以多赚一笔，过些日子再以较低的价格向Showtime这样的电视网出售放映权。而在iTunes上的分成是每10美元的下载收回3.5美元。

    由于不受联邦通信委员会（FCC）管辖，在网上，演员们还可以突破创作限制。5月份达西•迈克尔在其个人网站发布半小时的专辑《瘦婊子》（One Skinny Bitch），他觉得这个版本如果在电视上播放，一定会改得面目全非。

    “我像个骑警一样满嘴脏话，”迈克尔说。“他们肯定会删掉一半。”

    虽然演员们在创作尺度上获得了更大自由，但他们却失去了财力雄厚的电视网来为他们进行推广。加菲根说，在其职业生涯早期，一档喜剧中心的专题节目就是“我个人喜剧品牌的最佳广告”。

    对尚未获得付费的电视演出机会的演员来说，网络则提供了一个以低廉的成本实现自我突破的机会。达西•迈克尔仅仅花费4,000美元就制作完成了《瘦裱子》。演员罗伯•德兰尼在8月份即将发布的首个在线专题的制作费也仅为3万美元。强劲的在线销售还可能帮助他们一步步实现付费电视演出的梦想。

    行业专家和喜剧演员都不认为网络可以完全取代一小时的电视专题节目。按照数码分销专家山姆•福特的说法，最可能的模式就是先在网上赚个吆喝，吸引电视网的关注。然后通过电视网强大的推广能力，帮助建立演员的粉丝群体，最后演员再回到网上发布作品，这时就可以真正实现盈利了。

    The secret, for Gaffigan and others, is scale. After covering production costs and paying for a website with a download service, comedians receive every cent of revenue they earn from an online show (less a minimal fee to PayPal). Since they keep a bigger cut of sales, they can charge less for every download—usually $5 on a personal website. The most bankable stars can double-dip, selling broadcast rights to a network like Showtime at a reduced rate at a later date. They can also sell the material on iTunes, keeping $3.50 of every $10 download.

    Comedians can also push creative boundaries online, where they're outside the domain of the FCC. Darcy Michael, who released his half-hour long album "One Skinny Bitch" on his personal website in May, says that his material would have been completely different if it aired on TV.

    "I swear like a trooper," says Michael. "They'd take half of that out."

    But what comedians gain in edgy material, they lose in promotion from deep-pocketed TV networks. In the early days of his career, says Jim Gaffigan, a Comedy Central special was "an infomercial for my brand of comedy."

    For comedians who don't have the luxury of a paid TV gig, the web offers a way to break out, at a manageable expense. Darcy Michael spent just $4,000 to produce "One Skinny Bitch." Comedian Rob Delaney's first online special, due online in August, cost $30,000 to produce. Robust online sales could help both comedians edge closer to paid TV work.

    Neither industry experts nor comedians envision a world where the web will entirely replace a one-hour TV special. More likely, says Sam Ford, an expert on digital distribution, is a model where talent generates buzz online, and then attracts the attention of networks. Through their promotional power, the networks then build a comedian's fan base until the comedian can return to releasing work on the web— this time, for a profit.