Category Archives: Content Management

What % Should Apple And Google Be Taking?

For anyone intersted in the creation of media content the piece below by James McQuivey of Paid Content makes for some sobering reading. As a colleague told me two years ago technology companies are selling expensive chip driven hardware and network driven data plans -on the back of the appeal that is created by the content created by journalists, musicians and other creators.In the clamour to reach the potential gold of sexy new users the content creators have bent over to supply. It is well known that the biggest winners in the gold rush were Levi jeans, the banks, railroads and shovels: all selling stuff to the gold miners, who thought that their reward would come later.

Continue reading “What % Should Apple And Google Be Taking?”

Will Pubs Reduce Their Beer Prices For Free Footie?

Below is a great piece that spells out the importance of a key European case concerning cross-border rights and access to Premier league footie. Once again – rights owners, creators of content and production companies are coming under attack. OK – I get annoyed that I only get certain live games on my Sky package but I could pay and get more. I was not a fan of borish Andy Gray & Richard Keys – but Chris Kamara is wonderful.  For me – that’s life.

Continue reading “Will Pubs Reduce Their Beer Prices For Free Footie?”

Premier League Decision Has Implication For All Media Rights

The article below summarises some of the issues emerging from the European case involving a UK pub (the charmingly named ‘The Red, White & Blue’) – accessing Sky Premiership footie from a non Sky-UK feed. To cut out Sky, they import the feed from Greece and Sky is none too happy.  The impact of this case goes beyond pubs, footie and Sky. It could be massive for those involved in the creation and distrubution of content.

Continue reading “Premier League Decision Has Implication For All Media Rights”

Digital Natives Are The Ultimate Disrupters

Digital Natives – those 12-25 year olds brought up on mobile, Facebook and YouTube. Always connected, always on. For them CD’s and DVD’s aren’t dad’s tech: iTunes is. Why pay for downloads when you can get free streaming music, movies and clips? In the article below it is pointed out this generation is changing the media industry (music is just the bellweather – all content rich media faces the same issues) – whether the industry wants it or not. I noted yesterday that there is now also a debate raging in the UK about football fans accessing live Premiership match coverage from various digital services from around the world – bypassing Sky’s service entirely. The digital natives are racing towards sharing free content access whilst the industry still invests millions in paying for the talent, the creative and the setups – and is finding it harder to make a buck. I believe in subscription models, passwords and platforms and I want to pay for my Plan B and my live footie. But there again – I’m not a digital native am I?

http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/Mashable/~3/2tESw1ZbbSE/

Live music: Pricing the piper

It’s tough being in the rock and saussage rolls business these days. In this interesting piece from The Economist they paint an interesting picture. Most entertainment people have been suggesting live is the new old music business. Big tours, summer festivals selling everything but singular recordings. But The Economist suggests that globally, the live music scene (at least at the top50 worldwide acts end) is in decline -0 by 12% since 2008. This follows on from reports last year that acts like Celine Dion and Sting were cancelling concerts, something unheard of with acts of that status. What to do if you’re a rock star eh? As they said in the 90’s  – comedy is the new rock n roll.

via Live music: Pricing the piper.

Will Tablets Signal The End Of PC’s & MS?

A startling blog from Harvard Business Review. Will the rise of iPods and Tablets leave Microsoft looking like yesterdays news?

via The Fall of Wintel and the Rise of Armdroid.

Content Licensing – Computer Love?

Has technology made rights management redundant? Just because I can copy and distribute without paying for contetnt – is it right? Can music companies survive on income streams other than unit sales & publishing? When I first worked in music publishing an old hand once said “just because I have the technology to break into your car, and I really like it, does that mean I have the moral OK to use it?”. But in a world of endless distribution everyone now has the car alarm bleeper to everyones musical car. My head tells me that rights owners can longer control their work and they have to adapt to a new model (whatever that may be) – but my heart tells me that too many technology companies are happy to exploit the work, investment and talent of the creative industries upon which they feast whilst expecting nice clear and traditional (retail, licenses, patents, top price for new products) – revenue streams for their own businesses.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Mediafuturist/~3/uVuXPgbGl3Y/video-music-like-water-and-just-as-valuable.html

Do you need to own media? Really?

This is a great article pointing out the issues facing music and other media owners too. Do I need to ‘own’ a newspaper? No. Do I need to own a movie that Sky shows? No. Do I need pay for access to great content, with a simple app stylee payment from my various devices? Of course. ‘the greatest compliment I can receive is to pay me for my work’ – Picasso. What I need is fast, brilliant access to content and for that I’m willing to pay – as with Sky, my monthly fee and then I can pick and choose and browse. How do Sky pay for their package from Warners and Disney? I don’t care. Unfortunately a lot of media owners are still focused.on selling a download, a track, a unit. And as tbis article points out the consumer’s attraction to this is waning: digital music downloads in US growing at a measley 1% in 2009/10.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Mediafuturist/~3/DLXvjqs8G0o/further-decline-in-recorded-music.html

Vacation = Far Away From Your Computer. ‘The problem is we cannot disconnect’

Apparently a holiday ain’t a holiday unless you’re away from the computer. Reminds me of the famous Kevin Kelly line which famously said ‘the problem of the future will not whether we can connect, it will be whether we can disconnect’. An interesting point at the moment with the rise of iPad and Tablets. Their extreme portability and always on and quick app capability makes these the very essence of being ‘always on’. Mind you;  when I was struggling through that bush walk in middle of nowhere on the South Island of New Zealand recently  – not much chance of getting a signal and worrying about my news feeds. See the article below from Wired.

via The Importance of Vacation, Far Away From Your Computer.