When Websites Charge, Readers Go Elsewhere
from the as-well-they-should dept
It shouldn't take a PhD. in economics to make sense of this study. It seems that when websites start to charge money, most readers find somewhere else to get equivalent info for free. That's why I still think most content sites are doomed to failure - unless they offer something so special that there really isn't a free alternative and the content is so valuable that readers are unwilling to let it go. There are a few sites that accomplish this - but not many. Unless the site has really original, really compelling information, they better come up with a better business model than subscription fees. Of course, I wouldn't be surprised if a similar finding would hold true for the online music services as well. Good luck to the official label sponsored systems, but free offerings like Gnutella and Fast Track are going to attract most of the use.
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