[PD] earning a living coding Pd

[derek holzer]

Hi all,

my two bytes:

mark wrote:
> I am not sure that even if you where to package PD that you would have 
> an easy job making a living - you would be  competing head on with Cycling
> '74 and I am not convinced that the market space is that big. 

The consumer/commercial music software market is very crowded right now, 
and PD would need a *lot* of work to play in that field. Espc judging 
from amount of high-quality documentation in Max/MSP, and the fact that 
they *still* get an insane amount of really stupid RTFM questions on 
their list just due to the fact that people pay for it, and they also 
think that they pay for somebody to do their reading for them.

> My approach would be the services model (see Jboss as one of the really
> sucessful companies using this model). Basically build installations/projects etc.
> based around PD.


I, like many many others, really feel like trying to commodifiy digital 
information is like selling sand in the Sahara. Whether it is digital 
music, software code, text articles or any other digital product of 
one's intellectual labor, I think the money-making emphasis should be on 
customization and personal appearence rather than mass-market product. I 
was recently speaking with a rather well-known experimental laptop 
artist who confided that all of his money comes from concerts and 
lectures. Any CD sales merely fund the production of the next release.

Several PD coders I know, to take the customization angle, have solid 
careers as "ghost programmers" for composers. The software already 
exists, but the composer is more interested in the idea than the 
technical realization, and these "ghosts" often make absolutely sublime 
work under these circumstances. Similar scenerios can be envisioned for 
theatre or dance groups as well as composers and more "traditional" 
musicians.

On the commercial project level, PD [+ Linux!] still makes sense over 
Max/MSP/Jitter/Nato/AuVi or whatever because there are no restrictive 
licenses to deal with, and the type of hardware it can run on is also 
less restrictive. If I am commissioned by somebody to make an 
audiovisual installation using PD/GEM/PDP, for example, the overhead 
costs will be substantially lower in terms of hardware and software than 
with "those other" apps. Basic business sense tells us that lower 
overhead = higher profit... But this is a well-known fact about free 
software, which can be applied to any field of computer technology, so I 
won't harp on it too long here.

As for the personal-appearence tip, I myself don't exactly make a living 
off PD [yet], but I do get to travel, meet people and even pick up some 
cash now and again from workshops, installations and performances. The 
workshops angle is very interesting. Every time I turn around, there is 
somebody wanting some instruction in PD. If it is a group or an 
institution, they can usually find some money for this purpose. I even 
get to perform more often by putting a gig in the rider for my workshops 
;-) If this were just another commercial software, I simply wouldn't do 
this. I often tell people that Cycling '74 should pay them for every 
Max/MSP or Jitter workshop they do, because those folks are the front 
line of C74's marketing campaign!

Lastly, and just as importantly, I also try to support other developers 
in the community whenever I can by offering them chances to do workshops 
as well. In this way, we can all support each other rather than try to 
squeeze nickles and dimes from each other's hard work.

Maybe this gets some heads turning?
Best,
Derek

-- 
derek holzer ::: http://www.umatic.nl
---Oblique Strategy # 130:
"Question the heroic"