The Ransom Model

I was listening to NPR's On The Media show this afternoon, and found a fascinating story about their Meatbot Massacre game, and more importantly, their Ransom model business plan.

I'm fascinated by approaches that are more possible in the internet era -- and really, this isn't that different from a shareware model for software, especially when that gets you a key to "unlock" features, and then also I recall something where Steven King or someone tried (and I believe failed) to do a book where they sold a chapter at a time. And it's also somewhat similar to Marillion pre-selling their previous two albums instead of getting an advance...

Obviously, it's not a model that would always work -- but it's a fascinating idea.