DRM’s still got a place
[…] some DRM-based business model innovations may go down (and then, who cares or likes nifty-smarty pricing schemes that depend on DRM etc. when all that is really needed is simplicity of use), but there will be other chances for business model innovations in the music industry …
Updating my take on Jobs’ Thoughts on Music, David Card blogging at JupiterResearch sheds a little light on good uses for DRM that remain: After talking with Real Networks (who offer Rhapsody):
Real is totally committed to unlocking new business models with DRM, just like we think they should be. You can’t build the jukebox in the sky without it.
Well, but there’s still the option of a flat-fee, yet this seems to attract few followers, right? Then, how would a flat-fee influence business model innovations in the music industry and/or the related business ecosystem? Some ideas are old but still valid, like e.g. discovery services (yeah, Rhapsody’s on track …).
There are other good opportunities in the music space like e.g. Recommendation & Discovery … to help listeners discover new music, by calculating recommendations on what other users listen to, personalizing etc. or Supporting Band/Music Communities … adding to the social aspects of this business: offering new stuff that may well go beyond MySpace’s offerings etc. and of course all technical/infrastructure/DRM/etc. undertakings.
So well, it is likely that new business models and alternative revenue streams will continue to emerge.
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