Chasing the long tail of new media
Today’s links of interest:
2006 will go down in history as the year the entertainment industry finally started to take digital content distribution seriously. So far this year we’ve seen television networks and film studios experiment with a surprisingly wide variety of new distribution models, while the recording industry has started to realize that there may be a future in downloadable music. If there’s a downside to the recent explosion of digital content it has to be the entertainment industry’s unhealthy obsession with digital rights management (DRM).
In the past entertainment companies have been hesitate to distribute content digitally due to piracy concerns. Those concerns have apparently been replaced by a complete and total faith in DRM. Or, at the very least, a belief that it will be possible to build viable new business models around DRM protected content.
There’s just one problem — DRM doesn’t work. It’s a futile exercise in artificial scarcity that punishes honest consumers while doing little to slow the tide of piracy.
It’s no secret that we get really excited about the little things here at Medialoper, especially the bright and shiny things. So when I caught wind of potential presidential candidate Mark Warner (he’s now running the State of Virginia) appearing in Second Life, my first thought was (and I quote), “Huh?”
It was quickly followed by “Hmm, interesting.” Things moved rapidly to “Cool!” before I had a chance to refill my coffee. That’s the Internet for you, always moving at the speed of the mind.
Today’s links of interest:
[Lopy notes: Spiral Frog finally launched, and we finally reviewed it]
Free legal downloads!! From a major label, no less. Sounds like a dream, doesn’t it? It’s supposed to be a reality, as a site called Spiral Frog has contracted with Universal Music to provide free downloads starting in December.
Of course, there is a catch — you are going to have to deal with advertising while you download. Here’s how they describe it:
[Read more…] about Will Spiral Frog Leap Into Our Music Collections?
On the surface of it, I’m a natural candidate to upgrade to one of the latest HD DVD formats: I have an extensive and ever-growing DVD collection, and I have a pretty decent HD TV and sound system.
So it would be logical for me to take the next step — upgrade to either Blu-Ray or HD-DVD. But I’m just not going to do it, not yet, and maybe not ever.
I’m also guessing that I’m not alone. Here’s why:
We talk a lot about the decline of reviewers at mainstream publications. We have a lot of thoughts on the matter. Luckily, we have lots of server space, thus room for one more.
What is truly missing in today’s review world is passion. Good, old-fashioned, “I loved this so much I had to tell you about it” passion. There is a whiff of the academic in the work of many reviewers. Great, if you’re trying to write your master’s thesis, not so great if you’re trying to inspire your readers.
Let us take this lead from the Los Angeles Times’ review of the final Sleater-Kinney show:
Today’s links of interest:
So, yeah, it’s Monday morning and I’m checking headlines, and I see an interesting article from Publisher’s Weekly about the Penguin group: turns out they’re pushing the direct sales. Now, me being me, I’m immediately interested. This is the first time a major publishers has made direct-to-consumer sales — no local bookstores, no Amazon — a high-profile goal.
Or not.
Let me explain, first by quoting from the PW article:
While you were relishing the chance to make yet more Uranus jokes, here’s what we were looking at: