381 - Jonathan Coulton

You might know brilliantly witty and wise singer-songwriter Jonathan Coulton as the writer of the Portal theme “Still Alive”, or from his many viral hits, albums, huge tours, or even his fan-cruise… We talk about "JoCo’s" Thing-A-Week project and how it (combined with a timely fascination for crowd-funding) propelled him from a software career, to one of the kings of online creativity. We also discuss the pros and cons of aiming for viral success, his tool-kit for uncovering catchiness in his music, and why he secretly finds it hard to rock authentically. 32 mins of extra content from this interview is available exclusively to the Insiders Club! We discover Jonathan’s manifesto on art and commerce, and how the book Free Culture by Lawrence Lessig informs it; learn how many fans you need to make a cruise happen; and find out what moderation is necessary to keep the space safe for risk… Go to www.comedianscomedian.com/insiders for this and much more, including the exclusive Insiders Q&As with Nish Kumar, James Acaster and Fern Brady and the incredible “self-help for comedians” special with Amanda Donnet. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.