I wrote a big, long, multi-tweet rant on my podcast Twitter account this afternoon after being inspired via David Bixenspan and Dylan Hales’ Trade Marks podcast, where they discussed some recent literature written about independent wrestling promoters struggling with people online downloading and streaming their video content illegally (excellent listen, by the way - highly recommended).



I wanted to type this out in a more congruent, coherent form so that maybe more people would bother reading it (and that people could read it without the annoying 140-character breaks).



It doesn’t feel like it, but I guess it’s somewhat of a radical way for these promoters to deal with people who are interested in their product, but do not necessarily want to pay for the content.

The key step to this whole thing is simple - EMBRACE, don’t attack. Trying to stop piracy is a such a tone-deaf move. “Sir Paul”, who was considered the world’s most prolific UFC/WWE content pirate, was just busted in England. Guess what? If I really wanted to, I could go online right now and illegally download last night’s Monday Night Raw or last weekend’s UFC event. It’s like a covert priest convention in a strip club - you take care of one and another ten pop up. It’s a lot of wasted energy that could be use to promote and improve the scene.

To borrow a thought from my pal Brad Stutts from North Carolina’s CWF Mid-Atlantic, whichever independent wrestling promoter embraces content piracy first will be a HUGE deal. No one has done it full tilt-boogie all the way yet, but when someone does, they will become the king of the hill (granted, as long as they have a product that people want to watch, of course).

I’m about to state an opinion that might hurt a lot of feelings. Are you ready? Sit down. I’m not joking - it will probably hurt some people.

Video content is virtually worthless in 2015.

Video content nowadays is like water. We know there’s only SO much of it available, but the quantity is still SO big that we can’t wrap our heads around it and we take it for granted. Are you watching TV or a movie right now while reading this? Clearly you value what you’re watching SO much that you don’t mind having all of these other screens open to distract you.



It’s not like it’s this hard thing to create content either. With the programs and hardware on your device, you could shoot and edit practically anything floating through your brain right now, then upload it to Youtube for the world to see.

How can you expect anyone to pay $15 for something they will just have on in the background while they’re chatting, reading, or playing a game? It’s absurd and yet another way that pro wrestling is years behind the times. That model worked in 2004 when Ring of Honor could survive just off of selling a couple of new DVD releases per month, not now.

Notice how I’m trying to avoid giving the obvious piracy reason. You all know it’s there and everyone has beat it into the ground. The one thing I will pull from that excuse is how it is crazy that the “freeloaders” (as one might call them) can access most indie groups’ content so much easier than the ones who are financially supporting the stuff. I feel safe saying that a majority of people who want to support these shows would prefer watching the videos on their TV screen versus having to keep their browser open on a junky flash player that might kinda-sorta stream to their TV via Chromecast if their connection is decent enough. It is remarkably easier to figure out a way to stream a .mp4 file on your hard drive. Unfortunately, that’s also the most commonly run-from format among content producers on that level (ironically claiming that it’s the most easy to pirate when I doubt that capping a web stream is super-hard if you know what you’re doing).

Some of you are thinking that people ARE paying for streaming services like Netflix, Hulu Plus, and even the WWE Network. There are three big differences…

1) As mentioned earlier, those services are so easy to stream to your TV.

2) It’s a LOT of varied content in one place.

3) Automatic payment. Netflix might as well be free for me because I don’t have to click a button to pay for everything I watch. Once a month, $8 comes out of my account. I don’t even know which day it comes out anymore. It’s not a thing I have had to think about.

I’m not just here to tear down the fibers that independent wrestling is built on. I want to also give a constructive idea to help build. I’m not a genius. I’m not really even smart. However, I do want to help.

This might also hurt to read. Prepare yourself again.

Diversify your revenue streams and rely on something that isn’t content to keep you afloat.

This isn't’t exactly a NEW idea for wrestling. Any wrestling TV show of yesteryear was meant to be purely a commercial. Heck, WWF Superstars of Wrestling sold everything from live event tickets to ice cream to sweatpants. It has to be a little modified, as I think 100% of your content output has to exist to make it more likely for someone to want to buy something from you that isn’t more content.

Most promotions barely sell one or two t-shirts. That’s not enough merchandise. You have to spend money to make money. Look at the characters in your promotion and see what you can sell that would fit them. Have a straight-laced black trunks/black boots type? Give him a towel to come out with and sell those. Masked dude? Put a dollar or two into selling replicas. It’s not rocket science, but it takes some ingenuity. Also, if you’re going to sell shirts, make them decent shirts and not something you would be embarrassed to even get for free at a convention. Have a variety for as many characters as you can. I know some dudes won’t be down for being merchandised by a specific promotion, but if you’re a smart promoter and don’t just bring in the ROH roster to wrestle the Dragon Gate roster, you should be able to take unknown men and women from the ground up who would be more willing to let you make merchandise for them and help them build interesting personas that people will want to buy stuff to support.

Again, your product itself cannot suck. People should have to want to see it. But, gone are the days where you can put out an awesome product and expect people to pay top dollar to see it just because it’s awesome. To quote a film that my nephew Avery probably enjoyed, “everything is awesome”. It’s not like there’s a shortage of good wrestling. It’s not a unique thing.

The “experience” is the draw. The Ultimate Fighting Championship sells hundreds of thousands of pay-per-views not because people think all five fights on the show are worth $60. It’s because they love the gut feeling and excitement that come with watching a live Ronda Rousey destruction or an epic five-round prize fight between two of the most notable heavyweights in the world. Wrestlemania is going to be the most watched wrestling show of the year not because they think it will be a great show. Wrestlemania sells because it’s the biggest spectacle in the industry, with three decades of evidence to support that.

Granted, you can’t just go out, buy “the experience” and have it. It’s not a finite thing. But, if you’re smart enough, have a keen eye for building scouting, and patience, it can be built. It also requires solid enough booking that you can have those “mega-fights” that give people that reason to invest and feel that rush that you get when you watch a fight that matters to you. If you want to sell live event tickets, give the audience a reason more than just “oh, it’s live wrestling”. Make it AN EVENT. Memories make money. It takes more than just some good wrestling matches to make someone come back. They have to be able to look back on the last time they came to see your show and remember fondly on something that would make them want to come back overwhelmingly. There’s too much stuff going on in your home, let alone in the entire world, to compete with. You can’t be WWE or the UFC or even New Japan, but you CAN create an experience unique to your company that will make someone want to get in their car and drive a distance to see your stuff live when they could just sit on their butts and watch it (or anything else) on a screen at home.

I also think that a heavier emphasis should be placed on sponsorships. Half of the job of one of the stereotypical carny indie promoters that people sometimes crap on is having to go around town and get local businesses to buy sponsorships. A lot of modern independent groups seem to think they’re above that or that it’s an outdated thing. I agree that the old system is broken, but all you have to do is place a modern twist on it and I really think it can work. Let companies sponsor everything - the ring canvas, the entrance set, individual matches, video replays. Heck, you could probably set up sponsors for the wrestlers to wear on their gear that could offset talent fees. Granted, that could be a bit shaky with how wrestlers and promoters trust each other, but the right person could make that entirely possible.

I really think there is a way for an independent wrestling promoter to make the majority of his/her video content, if not all of it, completely free of charge. It would just take a promoter who understands that you cannot have one majority revenue stream coming in to your business in 2015 (whether it be video content or anything else) and works to understand the landscape of the world today and open as many pathways as possible to make money. It has literally never been easier for someone to open up shop and make themselves a little hill of money if they wanted. Technology has lowered so many costs and opened so many opportunities to create revenue streams. I really think you can give away your video content if you’re clever enough to use it to make the money back by selling merchandising, live event tickets, and ad time.

That being said, you can’t just make your stuff 100% free and then just offer .mp4 downloads or just upload to Youtube or just put your stuff up on a flash player. You have to practically grab your audience’s hands and place the content in them. Every possible way that someone could acquire your show should be a way you distribute. This even means putting up your stuff on the dreaded torrent sites. Find all of the evil streaming sites and make peace offerings to give them your stuff. If you build it, they won’t come. You have to go out to everyone. It’s like seeing how popular Facebook is and deciding to make your own Facebook instead of just making a Facebook page for your product.



Also, be inclusive to these people who are more likely to torrent/stream your stuff. You might morally be right when you or someone involved in your promotion talks about the horrors of illegal downloading, but you turn yourself into the enemy. You have to be welcoming to anyone, regardless of how they find your product. Be the cool teacher who tolerates your pot smoking as long as you show up to class and don’t do terribly. You’ll be surprised at the amount of fans you might be able to convert from that group just by not being a jerk and recognizing that community.

The problem is the things that I have brought up is that everyone has kinda-sorta figured it out. However, they all feel comfortable having only 30%-50% figuring it out and they don’t want to push forward to try to solve the ever-evolving puzzle. If a promoter cares enough about his/her product as he/she yells and shouts in a tweet, they would put in the effort to make things happen (or find someone who can help them). The one progressive-minded promoter who can combine all of these factors and put in the sweat will be the king of the mountain.

Please feel free to steal anything I mentioned if you’re a promoter. I have no issue giving all of these thoughts in my head away for free because being involved in independent wrestling on an authoritative level is a level of headache I cannot tolerate at this point in my life. I’m happy doing 1-2 commentary gigs a month at places I can have fun and having all of the other things in my life happening. But, I still want to see independent wrestling do well. Houses are up at a lot of places, but it can be so much more.

Do you want to be so much more or do you want to be crying tears on your ECW t-shirt, writing a Facebook blog about how out-of-touch you are and how all of the “freeloaders” are killing your business?

Don’t be ignorant.