I really miss multi trick DVDs.

I would make all the pirates and thieves disappear.

How can one sell a love of audiences and a commitment to offering them wonder?

Multi-trick DVDs are alive and well. recent releases include
Bob Sheets Does Hospitality
Jeff McBride - Magic at the Edge
Lance DeLong -Sleight of Hand Required
Magic of Nefesch
Daniel Garcia Project
UltraGaff
The Richard Sanders Show
Joshua Jay- Talk About Tricks
Bill Malone - Here I go again
Cameron Francis - Omega Mutation
Liam Montier - Wicked World of
David Stone - Real Secrets
Mathew Dowden - Party Animal
Shaun McCree - Mix n Mingle
Dan and Dave - Trilogy
John Gustaferro - Second storm
Benjamin Earl - Past midnight

According to many, (Andrew Mayne, Geoff Williams) their single trick dvd sales equal or exceed their multi-trick dvds... so given that, where's the incentive to do multitrick?

Not a thing. People are buying what's for sale, and other people are jumping on the bandwagon and selling what people buy. Supply and demand.

Right now magic seems to be as much about buying and owning the latest and greatest as about performing for a real audience. And that's fine: that's the way it is right now. At some point, the fad will fade away and people will turn their interests in other directions, and buying magic stuff will decrease, and the stuff sold will change.

The cycle has been going on for centuries, and I'm willing to bet it will continue.

What would I change? Like, if I were the King of Magic? Cool, I'll play along.

I would ban ALL internet and even mail order sales. Only brick and mortar, and you would have to know the secret password to get in the door. The password would consist of two parts, each of which must be learned directly from a working magician who you have personally and privately approached showing interest.

I would also shut down the Magic Café and institute a system of lodges and handshakes for discussing magic. I would set up a system of ranks, and no one would be allowed to buy or even get near a prop until they had learned several basic sleights.

I would have STRICT punishment for exposure, whether accidental or intentional. The penalty would be decided by a jury of fellow magicians. The death penalty would be available as a potential punishment for severe exposure.

That's what I'd do, if I were King of Magic.

You would be a bad king.

I buy exclusively from The Ambitious Card, it is Internet only (I believe) And Frank does a bang up job.

Being the king of magic would do nothing. You need the power of God to make people be responsible. Even God gave up on that... So we are all screwed.

Well then. Maybe I could be the Queen?

You would be a magnificent queen!

I, too, wish the whole thing were more exclusive.

But if I could change just one thing.... I'd get rid of magic shops in high-traffic areas, eager to sell our secrets to anyone willing to part with $19.95 plus tax.

I believe these shops do more harm than pirate sites.

But if I sold Svengali decks for $19,95 plus or even minus tax, and I did it ALL DAY LONG everyday for twenty or thirty years, what would you think?

Be careful how you answer: I'm aiming to become the Queen of Magic!

Finally a queen with sound sense! Hell, I might even vote you president.

A tangent to the "business of selling magic" but I would scrub all magic videos off of YouTube and all similar services.

You want to have a video demo or trailer of your product? Just put it on your own site.

Keep them ALL of YouTube and you get rid of the massive exposure, lousy performance and other such videos that trivilize our craft.

You would scrub youtube? wow guy, you might be inviting some serious attention for even joking about that in public.

I would change the part where it became about selling secrets (a laughable concept) as a business, the part where the audience is left out of the equasion, and the part where the "human" element of learning and performing magic was taken out.

Jonathan,

I'd love to be able to scrub YouTube of it, just as they do with porn. Remember, this is a fantasy here, not are we trying to really do it.

My real issue with it is the widespread intentional or unintentional exposure, and/or those who somewhat anonymously teach what people make their living inventing and publishing for purchase, or even in some cases, ripping contents from the DVDs and just posting them.

Whether intentional exposure or pirating, or just really bad performance that exposes, the reach is way more than if one did it on a street corner and tipped methods. I just think it commoditizes and trivializes what we do on a massive scale.

But yeah, if I could, I would.

I would have the Federal government take it over, so that it would be more ethical and fair- not to mention cheaper...

WHAT!!! The government should have nothing to do with art. They already do enough to censer and restrict every thing else. Not for magic.

I would get rid of DVDs. video instruction would be avalible only at special clubs and would have a purchase age of 18 at least.

There are some very good magicians that got their start learning easy tricks on the internet (see: me). downloading a tutorial for this and that (my first trick) was what got me started in magic, and I'm still going strong. I understand the problems with copyright infringement, but the complete banning of magic from the internet would kill the art in this day and age

I think we should ban magic from the world.

Punishment for the lawless? Full palm spankings from gorillas, tripping on life, who have become enraged by being forced to watch re-runs of Fraggle Rock. The gorillas have been taught to feel love, but choose not to.

that'll teach you!