The “end of copyright” - another angle is that the internet will ultimately re-shape 100 years of copyright jurisprudence. The notion of copyright as a monopolistic economic right governed by exclusive licensing just doesn’t fly any longer. However, creators need to be rewarded for the fruits of the labour. Rather than trying to limit use and exploitation, copyright owners and creators should embrace the opportunities opened up by the internet; monetising all manner of uses rather than simply trying to limit who can use their copyright as they have done for the last 100 years.

Best,

Randall Harper

Content providers have always felt they know best when it comes to deciding what their customers want to watch/listen, when and in what medium. Then along comes the internet, downloading, peer to peer; consumers have become empowered to take control of what and how they consume and, with that, we are seeing the disintegration of the old supply chain and markets, particularly in the music sector.

What a lot of “old” media/content companies failed to realize, or perhaps lost track of, until relatively recently is that the customer proposition or offer must be relevant to their customers; to satisfy the customer need or expectation. This is not a new concept – to be successful the products or services provided by any business have to be relevant to their customers. But now, with easy and inexpensive access to source from alternative channels, consumers in the entertainment and media space are demonstrably reinforcing this basic axiom.

Some say that this realization, for the music industry, has come too late, but whilst this is proving difficult and challenging for “old” media/content companies, massive and exciting opportunities to monetise this changing dynamic are being created every day.

I agree with you that we are seeing fundamental structural change in the relationship between consumers/viewers and providers. However, whilst this is true, it remains crucial that relevance to the end customer must be achieved. The technological revolution we are experiencing is truly wondrous, but simply applying exciting new technology is only half of it. The other half is applying technology in such a manner that the product or service is relevant to, wanted by, the customer.

As the world becomes a smaller and smaller place, the need to accommodate vastly different consumer requirements, cultural differences, differing languages, and the full range of socio-economic and demographic differences, will necessitate a more sophisticated understanding of who the customer is and what turns him or her on. This is the challenge.

Best,
Randall Harper