Digital Content Pricing Issues

In the glare of last week’s iPad press circus, a case example of the conflict between old and new media content pricing, may have been lost in the glare.

The CEO of one of the world’s largest publishing companies, Macmillan, delivered an ultimatum to Amazon “We want the prices of our digital content to be increased, or else!”

Amazon has been very happy with the success of their Kindle eBook reader. Although they still have not released sales figures, they claim that 4 book purchases out of every 10 are electronic book. The main reason for those strong numbers is because Amazon subsidizes the cost of books, to sell more Kindles.

Amazon took offense at Macmillan’s demand and retaliated by pulling all of the publisher’s titles off their shelves. Frustrations were only compounded by the iPad announcement – the Kindle was finally about to see some competition in the marketplace.

Macmillan composed a letter to the their authors, illustrators and agents explaining that they only want “a level playing field” on which all electronic readers can compete. The next day Amazon re-stocked their Macmillan titles and self-righteously announced that they would defend the rights of their consumers and do their best to fight price increases by publishers.

Macmillan feels that a $9.99 price point cheapens the value of a book. They want the power to set their own pricing and believe their digital books should sell in the $12.99-$14.99 range. Apple has already agreed to this model for the iPad.

The book publishers need to be wary how they price their digital content. As of February 5, the average Amazon cost of the top 5 New York Times hardback fiction and non-fiction titles, came out to $13.00. If digital titles sell for the same price or a little less than their paper counterparts, what will the attraction be to the consumer? How serious are publishers about making money in the digital marketplace? They will need to accept the challenges of content pricing in the developing digital marketplace.

Top 20 Social Media Experts

According to Erik Qualman, author of ‘Socialnomics: How Social Media Has Changed The Way We Live and Do Business’  http://bit.ly/6iXUja

Musings on Two 2009 Social Media Studies

For the third year in a row, the Center for Marketing Research at Dartmouth has concluded that Inc.500 companies utilize social media marketing more than other businesses. Results were determined by reviewing responses to usage and familiarity of social media tools from 148 of Inc.500 companies.

Last July, a similar study by the ‘Society for New Communications Research’ concluded that non-profit organizations have adapted social media tools at a faster rate than Fortune 500 companies.

Social Media Rules To Strategize By

These ‘7 Rules of Social Branding’ should be a mantra for anyone developing a social media strategy.  I especially found the ‘Leverage’ and ‘Evolution’ points helpful.  Excellent post from conversationagent.com

Androids Proliferate

Add AT&T to the list of Android carriers (Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile) and Dell to the list of Android smartphone makers (HTC & Motorola).  As for Google, keep on refining that OS and adding quality apps.  2010 is looking good.

Digital Media Forecasts for 2010

You gotta believe that 2010 will be a better year economically than the one we just left behind. Despite it all, digital business and consumer technologies made significant advances, laying the groundwork for growth in the new year.

• An ever increasing number of companies will adapt social media strategies for their businesses. Better measurement models will develop.
• Traditional media outlets (television, film, publishing) will continue to suffer the effects of old age and will get more serious about experimenting with new business models.
• Although digital music sales will increase in 2010, compact disc sales will continue their fall.
• Though cost prohibitive for the masses, 3D televisions will be considered a success in their introductory release year.
• The smartphone will become more ubiquitous as competition increases and hardware costs go down.
• As more companies develop e-book readers, Kindle prices will continue to decrease (albeit minimally) and publishing companies will get more involved with title pricing.
• Just as it has already happened for the 33 1/3 LP, paper books will one day become niche items for collectors and Luddites alike.

　

Twitter Tips For Musicians

Before the internet came along, it was frustrating being a jazz fan. Hearing and finding new music was difficult — radio outlets were limited, playlists mostly covered the classics. Music stores had minimal rack space and a subsequent lack of new titles. It sucked.

As the web developed so did artist and label sites, web radio and the convenience of music downloads. You Tube and My Space became natural showcases for videos and artist jukeboxes. Could it possibly get any better?

Best Jazz of 2009

In no particular order–

Tessa Souter – Obsession
Bennie Maupin Quartet – Early Reflections
Gretchen Parlato – In A Dream
Chick Corea and John McLaughlin – 5 Peace Band Live
Darcy James Argue – Infernal Machines
Fred Hersch – Plays Jobim
Marcus Strickland – Idiosyncracies
Monterey Quartet – Live at 2007 Monterey Jazz Festival
Ramsey Lewis – Songs From The Heart: Ramsey Plays Ramsey
Sonny Rollins – Road Shows Vol. 1

Twitter Uses For Distance Learning

From a recent report to Hofstra University’s Distance Learning department

Twitter’s communication features make it a natural fit for distance learning instructors alike. What follows is a list that shows why…

1. Twitter as newsfeed, to increase University/department brand awareness.
Distance Learning departments could incorporate Twitter as a newsfeed to promote department, new classes, class updates, registration, deadlines, etc.

2. Ability to “Blast” a message to large or specific groups.
Alerts or communications could immediately be posted from teacher to group, student to group, administrator to instructor, etc. giving a user the ability to report system problems; distribute a group notice, (schedule change, course error(s), etc..

3. “Hashtags”(#) allow the creation of specific groups and communities
Twitter hashtags (#) define a topic or group, giving students ability to easily interact around a specific course or assignment.

4. Instant feedback and instructor/group interaction in real time
Twitter’s interactivity helps students work easily together on projects/assignments. Instructor can participate in group discussions and promptly respond to questions.

5. Listening to student groups
User ability to listen to dialogues, without participation. Instructor can monitor student discussions and tweets to review proper understanding of class or lesson.

6. Private direct message (DM) for an individual or instructor.
Twitter’s direct message feature gives users private, one on one communication, important for instructors and students alike.

7. Remote usage via mobile phones
140 character tweet limit opens mobile phones to send and receive texts. “Follower” lists can be defined by user to restrict number of incoming tweets and save on text charges The growing number of specialized remote Twitter apps adds to the ease of mobile usage.

Obviously, this is only the beginning. As distance learning students and instructors begin to employ Twitter, new uses will continue to be developed.

Note: After the completion of this article, I learned that Purdue University has started a social networking-powered mobile web app, incorporating Twitter, Facebook and mobile phones.

The Content Has Been Let Out Of The Box

In today’s ‘New York Times Sunday Magazine’, Nicholas Carr takes on the growing loss of profits resulting from the availability of free television and movie content on the web.

He discusses the growth of web-enabled technology, the ease of streaming content to a television, free content sources (Netflix, Hulu, You Tube, etc.), the F.C.C.’s embracement of “net neutrality” and the subsequent loss of communal viewing.

To his list of grievances, I would mention how the change in viewing habits resulting from the parsing of viewing platforms has resulted in a devaluation of the content. Because of its’ availability, the consumer has lowered their “respect” for the product. Technology has minimized television “Event” programming to live events. NBC’s long time Thursday night hold just doesn’t grab one when ’30 Rock’ and ‘The Office’ are quickly available online at no cost and sometimes with extra web-only content!