Featuring Stand-Up Poetry on Amazon Prime: Roscoe Burnems Shares How He’s Doing It
You may want to keep tabs on Roscoe Burnems. He’s changing what it means to be an Amazon best seller in poetry and is on his way to becoming a household name. With over ten years as a full-time poet, Roscoe has seen his share of failures and successes — and he’s proud of both. They pushed him to become the artist that he is with an awesome (in the true definition of "awesome") list of credentials:
● National poetry slam champion
● Poetry educator
● Published author
● PBS feature
● Host
And most recently, the game changer we’re here to fill you in on:
● Star of the new Amazon Prime spoken-word and comedy special: Traumedy
Roscoe stopped by the Poet Life Podcast to share how he’s creating success as a poet and how you can make it happen for yourself too. Be sure to listen to the full podcast episode to hear more about his journey to becoming a slam poet, the strategy of slam poetry, and what he’s up to next.
Let’s explore how Roscoe pushed the boundaries of the poetry industry and his tips for making your goals happen.
Pro tip: Have a pen and paper nearby to jot down the nuggets of information you didn’t realize you needed.
New approach to multimedia poetry
Being an adaptable poet is crucial to remaining a relevant artist. And Roscoe learned that first-hand. He recalls making a poetry CD because it was the thing to do, but then he noticed his CDs weren’t selling. People just weren’t buying CDs anymore. Then books became the novelty, and still come and go in waves of popularity. But now, streaming is everything.
Roscoe says, “you’ve gotta shift with the culture or you’re going to get left behind.”
And shift he did.
He says, “I wanted something that was still visual, because my passion has always been being on the stage.”
He realized when he was performing a feature poetry set, he would tell jokes between poems. And as he was growing up, he was always wowed by the storytelling and physicality of stand-up comedy. So he meshed the two, and “Traumedy” was born.
He says the goal for this spoken word comedy show wasn’t to get it on Amazon. The goal was to put on a live special. So he enlisted the help of a friend who directs films and an editor, and they made it happen.
How to showcase poetry on Amazon Prime
According to Roscoe, “it’s not as hard as people think.” He explains there was no having “my people call their people.” It was as simple as using Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing, which is a form of self publishing for authors and indie filmmakers.
Here are the steps Roscoe took and the tips he learned while launching Traumedy on Amazon Prime:
1. Create account with Amazon Video Direct
Amazon Video Direct is where the audience can rent, buy, or stream for free on Amazon Prime.
2. Record in HD, not 4k
High definition (HD) can be viewed in standard definition as well as HD. But not all audiences can view it in 4k. Note: You have to meet a certain number of pixels, so be sure to check out all the specifications listed.
3. Have to have captions
Captions are a basic requirement that you will need to handle on your own. Roscoe uses rev.com for captions and transcripts. It’s relatively affordable, and they send the caption files back to you within a few days.
Then you upload that file to Amazon. If the captions are off in any way, they will reject your video, and you’ll have to redo it.
4. Cover art
Cover art is a crucial part of marketing and capturing your audience’s attention. There are different pixel requirements to meet for the various spaces your material will be promoted across Amazon. Be sure to pay attention to the list of requirements and specifications.
5. Hit publish
When you’ve got all you’re pieces together and uploaded, hit publish!
6. Get sent to Amazon rep for review
After you hit publish, your video gets sent to an Amazon representative to watch and review your captions, ensure the content ratings are accurate, and look for anything that may be wrong with your files. If there’s anything wrong at all, they will reject it and let you know what needs fixed.
Be prepared. You can anticipate a few weeks of turnaround time for each review needed. Be sure to be flexible and plan a go-live date further out than you originally wanted.
7. Fix issues
Traumedy was rejected three times for things like captions being slightly off and the number of pixels for the cover art was wrong. After fixing the issues, it was accepted and ready for publishing.
Note: Roscoe says, while the editing threw off the timing of the launch, he appreciated that Amazon forced them to put out a quality product.
8. Uploaded and published in April (originally planned for February)
Finally, the approved video gets uploaded and published. And voila! You’ve got your poetry out there in a format you may not have thought possible and in a medium that will attract audiences who maybe weren’t expecting you.
The business behind the pursuit
According to Roscoe, publishing your poetry on Amazon Prime is “not a money grab. You don’t make any real money off streams.” He says that for every 60 minutes of Amazon Prime streaming, he earns six cents.
For him, and other artists, using Amazon Prime as a platform is about being accessible and staying relevant. It’s a way to reach more audiences that aren’t in poetic spaces. Roscoe is able to reach a comedic audience with this hybrid of spoken word and stand up. It’s an innovative approach that this established audience isn’t expecting but is open to.
Roscoe says, it’s “ a way for people to assess how they feel about your art without having to be at an event.” Here at Poet Life, we appreciate him for enabling people who aren’t poets to see and feel the value in poetry.
Aside from audience accessibility, Traumedy has opened up a lot more conversations for him as a creative and created opportunities he wouldn’t have had otherwise — speaking engagements at schools and colleges, a Tedx Talk, a Juneteenth event, panels, non-profits, youth groups, etc.
What’s next?
Roscoe’s “next” is enhancing the current. He’s got dreams to expand the availability of Traumedy from Amazon Prime to across platforms, whether that’s still in video or just the audio. He’s even got plans for a second special and a dream to perform his specials in a bigger venue. He’s focused on fine tuning what he’s created and giving it as much life as it can have.
At the end of the day, “no great change comes without the risk of failure.” And Roscoe left these final thoughts:
“It’s important for artists to know the process is taxing. The work is always worth it. It’s always rewarding. Just keep going. And know that it’s hard to go it alone. If you have people in your corner, call in a favor every once in a while. Use what you have in your network. If it’s not in your network, it might be in someone else’s. Build a team as best you can, and work from there.”
“Do what you love, and you’ll love what you do.”
Richmond Virginia native, Douglas Powell/Roscoe Burnems is a poet, published author, spoken-word artist, comedian, educator, father, and husband who has dedicated his craft to entertaining and educating. Learn more about Roscoe at roscoeb.webs.com
