Latest Study Questions Whether YouTube Really Hurts Viacom

from the perhaps-not-so-much dept

With Viacom suing Google for a billion dollars, claiming massive losses due to people watching its shows at YouTube rather than on TV, it certainly seems worth asking whether or not YouTube actually represents a loss to Viacom. Luckily, that's just the type of question economists like to dig in on -- and a new study basically finds that Viacom is almost certainly overreacting, and potentially harming itself in trying to kill YouTube. What the study found was that while there is a small decrease in how much time people spend in front of a TV if they're watching videos online, they end up watching a lot more overall programming. That is, the decrease is made up and more (a lot more) online. And, in other ways, it may be helping increase TV viewership, as someone who watches a show online becomes a lot more likely to watch that show on TV as well -- simply switching back and forth between whichever media is more preferable at the time. In other words (and this shouldn't come as a surprise) those clips on the web help promote the TV series that are available and help build up new loyal viewers... and all of these promotions come without the company having to pay a dime for the promotion. And that's what Viacom is suing over? People helping to promote their shows? Admittedly, the study only focuses on college kids, who may not be a representative sample of the wider US -- but given the core demographic most TV shows are going after (and the folks Viacom is most worried about losing to the web), this study certainly suggests Viacom is totally wrong about yet another thing.

Filed Under: complements, downloads, substitutes, tv watching
Companies: google, viacom, youtube

Next Time You Announce An Agreement To Sell DRM-Free Downloads, Perhaps You Should Actually Have That Agreement

from the just-a-suggestion dept

Michael Robertson, the founder of MP3.com, Linspire, SIPphone and a number of other companies has a pretty direct formula for getting publicity for his new startups: do something outrageous that pretty much guarantees a lawsuit. Then just assume that the resulting lawsuit will drive the publicity of the startup. Of course, sometimes such a strategy can backfire. Earlier this year, Robertson launched AnywhereCD with the claim that he would be selling DRM-free downloads from Warner Music -- perhaps the most stringent holdout in ditching DRM. Except... apparently Warner Music thought it had agreed to something entirely different and quickly sued AnywhereCD. It was actually somewhat difficult to understand Warner Music's claim. AnywhereCD was selling the physical CD, it was just that they would then also offer the digital tracks from the same exact CD. Basically, all the company was doing was saving people the step of having to rip the CDs they had legally purchased. Either way, eventually Warner and Robertson settled, allowing Robertson to continue to sell the DRM free tracks... but only through the end of September. If you look at your calendar, you'll realize that this is the end of September and Warner Music certainly had no interest in renewing any kind of deal with Robertson -- so it should come as no surprise that AnywhereCD is shutting down. It certainly looks like the controversial marketing strategy failed in this case. Previously, the lawsuits tended to be from competitors. When the lawsuits are from your suppliers, it gets really difficult to build an actual business.

Filed Under: downloads, drm, drm-free, michael robertson, music
Companies: anywherecd, warner music

Why Did NBC Make Life Harder For People Who Want To Buy Its Content?

from the disconnect-with-reality dept

It really is amusing to watch how the companies who are most worried about "piracy" (which is a misnomer) always seem to treat their legitimate customers the worst. We've all wondered why the movie companies put up those annoying anti-piracy ads that waste the time of the folks who actually paid. But, what's most amazing is how many of these content companies are so focused on "piracy" that they miss the fact that they need to provide a reasonable experience for people who actually want to purchase their content. Making life difficult is only going to drive those legitimate customer prospects towards the very activity they were most afraid of. Take NBC Universal, for example. The company is so worried about the threat of "piracy" that it's making up ridiculous stories about the harm caused to corn growers due to piracy. However, at the same time, it gets into a petty argument with Apple and pulls all of its content from iTunes -- which is where the majority of folks who wanted to pay for NBC's TV shows would go. The end result? NBC Universal, for all their worries about "piracy," just made life much more difficult for legitimate purchasers, most likely driving some of them to experiment with unauthorized downloads, just to get the content they would have happily paid for. For some reason, you don't seem to see these types of actions from the companies who aren't freaked out about piracy -- but perhaps that's because they know the way to succeed is to offer a better customer experience and more value, rather than worrying so much.

Filed Under: content, copyright, downloads, piracy
Companies: nbc universal

Canadian Newspaper Gives Away Free Music Downloads

from the that's-the-spirit dept

Earlier this year, there was a huge fuss over the UK's Daily Mail newspaper's promotion giving away the new Prince CD for free with a copy of the newspaper. It seemed like a pretty good way of dealing with the troubles facing both the newspaper industry and the recording industry -- offering a new way of financing music combined with a new way to promote and distribute music, all the while helping give people a reason to actually buy a newspaper. It was so reasonable that it freaked out the recording industry, music stores and even other newspapers. However, it appears that some newspapers have decided to go even further. Michael Geist lets us know that over the weekend, the Vancouver Sun put up a freely downloadable compilation of songs from Nettwerk Music. You may recall Nettwerk as being the Canadian record label that seems to actually understand that the trick isn't in fighting against consumers (or in suing them), but in giving them what they want. Thus, it's not really a huge surprise that it would be this label that took part -- allowing well known acts like Sarah McLachlan and the Barenaked Ladies to take part in this promotion. What's a little strange is that the promotion only lasted for one day. However, it is good to see more newspapers (and bands) at least experimenting with this type of model. It has a long way to go, but through this experimenting the next generation of music business models are going to be discovered.

Filed Under: canada, downloads, music, newspapers
Companies: nettwerk, vancouver sun

How Big A Problem Are Unauthorized Downloads In China?

from the well,-when-you-only-tell-one-side-of-the-story dept

How much unauthorized downloading of music happens in China? According to the IFPI (sort of a global RIAA) nearly 100% of downloads in China are unauthorized. Of course, that could simply be a function of the types of music download services have available, rather than any indication that China is some sort of "problem." Yet, of course, it's much more fun to blame an entire country than recognize that perhaps the people there are trying to send you a message. More important, however, is what the story left out. Even if it's true that 100% of music downloads in China are unauthorized, many Chinese musicians have learned to adapt to the different marketplace -- and thrive. That means encouraging the free spread of their music and using the ensuing attention and fame to make more money -- whether by concerts or more potential sponsors or a variety of other business models that have been popping up. Given that these adaptations have worked out quite well for many Chinese musicians, it would make sense for an article highlighting the "risks" of downloading to also include the details of how the the musicians have coped and new business models have been adopted with success -- suggesting that for all the handwringing of the IFPI, maybe the impact hasn't been that bad.

Filed Under: china, downloads, music
Companies: ifpi

MTV Still Learning That Things Don't Come So Easy On The Internet

from the you-actually-have-to-offer-something-useful dept

MTV has had an awful lot of trouble over the years trying to become the MTV of the internet. It seems that the company rested on its TV laurels for way too long, and then totally misunderstood what the online world wanted, originally insisting that its archive of video would make it a player in the space. More recently, it tried to get into the music download business, but offered a me-too package that wasn't even remotely compelling. Almost no one used it. So, it should come as no surprise that MTV is now killing off its Urge music offering, that was launched together with Microsoft, and instead focusing on a new joint venture with RealNetworks' Rhapsody music service. Of course, once again, it's going to face the same questions as before about what differentiates this from anything else out there, and once again, it seems likely that MTV won't have a very good answer.

Filed Under: downloads, music
Companies: mtv, realnetworks

Once Again, Russian Court Finds Allofmp3 To Be Legal

from the nothing-wrong-there dept

Back in 2005, following a criminal investigation of the site Allofmp3.com in Russia, officials declined to press charges, noting that the site did appear to be operating legally under existing Russian laws. That, of course, set off a string of events, including having the US pressure Russia to change its laws or risk being kept out of the WTO. Eventually, Russia did change some laws and forced Allofmp3.com to shut down, though it quickly popped up again under another name. It didn't take long for the big record labels to then push for the criminal prosecution of the site's owner, when all he had really done was help demonstrate a business model for selling music that seemed to be working well (i.e., price it reasonably and don't restrict it with DRM). Also, he tried to pay royalties to the RIAA, but they wouldn't accept them. Luckily for Allofmp3, it didn't take long for a court to see through the recording industry's arguments and throw out the case, pointing out (once again), that the site didn't break any Russian laws, while also noting that the record labels did an awful job presenting any real evidence of copyright infringement on the part of Allofmp3.

Filed Under: downloads, music, russia
Companies: allofmp3

Blockbuster Takes Movielink Off Studios' Hands For A Pittance

from the on-the-cheap dept

Movielink, the movie download site started by major movie studios, has been up for sale for quite some time. The studios have had a hard time finding a buyer, though, because it's blindingly obvious (to everybody but the studios, apparently) just how badly the site sucks. The studios' desire to lock down the content with restrictive DRM, along with other flaws make the site wholly unattractive for users. It now looks like the studios have finally talked Blockbuster into buying Movielink at a fire-sale price -- less than $20 million, according to the WSJ, compared to the $100 million-plus the studios pumped into the site. Blockbuster may have picked up some download infrastructure on the cheap, but if it hopes to wring any sort of success out of Movielink, it's going to have to completely change the way the site works. But the studios wouldn't let that happen before, since controlling the content was their top priority; since they'll still be licensing the content to Blockbuster, it's unlikely that they'll let it remove any of the barriers to uptake they've put in place.

Filed Under: downloads, entertainment, movies
Companies: blockbuster, movielink