Summary: Jonathan Coulton is a rock star for geeks. He used to work as a computer programmer. But now he writes songs about white-collar zombies and lovesick programmers. He doesn't have a record label, but he makes about $500,000 a year from his music. He tours, licenses his music, and sells songs and merch from his bare-bones website. On today's Planet Money, we talk to Coulton about his work. Jacob Ganz and Frannie Kelley from NPR Music are our special-guest co-hosts. The core question: Is Coulton a fluke, or is he a new model of how to make a living as a musician?
