Here’s a shocker: online downloading is hurting online sales of CD’s.
So, online CD’s sales are off 25%. Let’s face it, the current distribution system suits the needs of the record companies, because it makes it gives them something concrete they can count and make sure they get paid. But it doesn’t suit the needs of tens of millions of computer users who want their music in a format they can control and really use.
What’s shocking is that consumers are so desperate for music files that they are willing to put up with the hopeless agony of using Kazaa or LimeWire. Imagine how much they would pay if they could get authorized, quality copies when and where they needed them. The demand is there and the money is there, as soon as the RIAA is willing to give up control.
Month: November 2002
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Media double standard
A lot of magazines’ guaranteed circulations are lies. As a former magazine circulation manager that doesn’t surprise.
It’s pretty easy for magazine publishers to lie. The auditors have loosened the rules and are pretty cozy with the companies being audited (sound familiar?).
Even so, magazines can’t even tell you how many of their “readers” actually looked at the magazine, let alone any of the ads.
The article linked above goes on to say:
Why do we all (advertisers included) winkingly put up with the Big Lie? “Because everyone does it,” says one editor. “Advertisers are just used to paying more per reader than they or the magazines are willing to admit.”
Please remind me of why they’re unwilling to buy Internet advertising, where every “page view” represents an actual page viewed?
Should we have to pay to keep popup ads off our computers? Steve Outing quotes online media consultant Mark Potts as suggesting it.
There’s nothing wrong with charging for ad-free content. But there is something wrong with having to pay to prevent pop-ups. First, any decent browser (i.e. not IE) already lets you defeat pop-ups. Second, I shouldn’t have to pay anyone not execute unwanted programs on my computer. That’s extortion.
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A plea for more predictable URL's
Why shouldn’t Uniform Resource Locators be more, well, uniform? Jon Udell makes an excellent point that URL’s could be a lot more predictable. Shouldn’t there be uniform format for a search URL (e.g. http://domain/search?q=… ) , so you can more easily construct a search? He goes on to say: “Some other de facto standards that could benefit from direct or indirect standardization: /about, /products, /faq, /press, /news, /developers, /jobs”
I saw this proposal years ago, and it’s still a good one. I’d like to see news and information sites develop a set of standards for URL’s.
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RBOC's poor-mouthing and pocket-picking
The regional Bell operating companies (RBOC’s) are lying to us and to Congress and regulators about their business. That’s the gist of an outstanding report from the New Networks Institute. These lies have stifle competition in the broadband Internet access industry and will almost certainly result in local broadband monopolies and duopolies.
The RBOC’s and other other access monopolists have already demonstrated their vision of the future of Internet access. So far we have seen:
- extra charges for access to non-RBOC mail servers
- extra charges for VPN access
- censorship of the information you can access
- inability to serve web pages from your computer
- uncontrolled filtering of your email
- inability to share your line with other wireless users
- limitations on protocols and software that you can use to access the Net or other computers on it (e.g. no P2P)
- arbitrary bandwidth limitations
- metered bandwidth
That’s just off the top of my head. There may be more examples.
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Deconstructing AOL/TW
A lot of people think that AOL/TW should spin off AOL as a separate company. That doesn’t go nearly far enough. AOL/TW should be broken into at least seven different companies, which may recombine pieces of other acqusitions.
- AOL — online service
- Warner Brothers — film and TV studios, including Warner Brothers and New Line Cinema
- HBO/Turner — television networks, including CNN, TNT, HBO, WB
- Roadrunner — cable systems: just the wires, no production or networks
- Time — magazines
- WEA — records
- Little Brown — books
Each would be an independent powerhouse in its industry and unlock the value destroyed by phoney corporate synergy.