Comment What about a "new" business model? (Score 1) 209
First of all, I'll add my 2 cents to the "same price for less... and I pay for the bandwidth?? No way!!". Done.
Now, to my point. What would make sense to me, is a model similar to the cable/satellite TV: you pay a monthly fee for downloadable music/movies/TV series. That's it. Maybe you'll need to pay an extra fee for some "special channels", much in the way you actually pay for HBO or Cinemax today; as well as an equivalent to "pay per view" for special events. For example, I would definitely pay an extra fee for an "only for DJs" channel, or "pay per download" a recent concert, or a recent blockbuster movie (given that the "standard" content is really worth the price, otherwise, it would be just pretending; they would be charging a montly fee for worthless content, and leaving all the interesting stuff in "pay per download" format).
For a "decent" monthly rate I would gladly share my bandwidth and happily download lots of music and possibly videos and movies. What is "decent"? Well, for satellite TV I pay US$30 a month; + decoder rental US$16 - this in Mexico City. Only that I'd be using my own computer and sharing my bandwidth, so there would be no hardware to buy or pay a rent for.
What's in it for us, users?
* An interesting price
* The opportunity to try new music/series/movies without the "what if I don't like it?" that stops us from buying quite often.
What's in it for corporations?
* An lowered cost of operation, as the distribution cost is largely supported by the user base
* A somehow predictable income: say "one month for US$35, one year for US$28/month", many users will go for the yearly contract. You'll KNOW what minimum income you'll get, guys!
* US$30 equals 1 song purchase a day, for the current 99 cents per song standard. From how many of your customers can you claim that?
* A COMMUNITY (see below)
BTW: This would only work with standard, fine quality, non-DRM files. mp3 (LAME, standard VBR) for audio, for example. The message is "we want to build a community with you, our dearest customers; make this deal a win-win agreement". Current message seems to be "customer: you are a potential thieve; I must be protected from you, and take legal action when needed (and hook some spyware in your computer while we do it)". I dont want to do business with people who treat me like a criminal.
Now, to my point. What would make sense to me, is a model similar to the cable/satellite TV: you pay a monthly fee for downloadable music/movies/TV series. That's it. Maybe you'll need to pay an extra fee for some "special channels", much in the way you actually pay for HBO or Cinemax today; as well as an equivalent to "pay per view" for special events. For example, I would definitely pay an extra fee for an "only for DJs" channel, or "pay per download" a recent concert, or a recent blockbuster movie (given that the "standard" content is really worth the price, otherwise, it would be just pretending; they would be charging a montly fee for worthless content, and leaving all the interesting stuff in "pay per download" format).
For a "decent" monthly rate I would gladly share my bandwidth and happily download lots of music and possibly videos and movies. What is "decent"? Well, for satellite TV I pay US$30 a month; + decoder rental US$16 - this in Mexico City. Only that I'd be using my own computer and sharing my bandwidth, so there would be no hardware to buy or pay a rent for.
What's in it for us, users?
* An interesting price
* The opportunity to try new music/series/movies without the "what if I don't like it?" that stops us from buying quite often.
What's in it for corporations?
* An lowered cost of operation, as the distribution cost is largely supported by the user base
* A somehow predictable income: say "one month for US$35, one year for US$28/month", many users will go for the yearly contract. You'll KNOW what minimum income you'll get, guys!
* US$30 equals 1 song purchase a day, for the current 99 cents per song standard. From how many of your customers can you claim that?
* A COMMUNITY (see below)
BTW: This would only work with standard, fine quality, non-DRM files. mp3 (LAME, standard VBR) for audio, for example. The message is "we want to build a community with you, our dearest customers; make this deal a win-win agreement". Current message seems to be "customer: you are a potential thieve; I must be protected from you, and take legal action when needed (and hook some spyware in your computer while we do it)". I dont want to do business with people who treat me like a criminal.
