... But the current industry major players can't figure out how in the hell they're supposed to wake this sleeping beast. Hands up who else is waiting for some real innovation? Hands up who doesn't think We7 will last in its current incarnation for more than 18 months? Yeah, me too.
In lieu of a more long-winded post (which may yet happen), I thought it wise to note the latest info on paid digital downloads from the OCC:
London - Digital music sales in the U.K. were up across the board in the first quarter of 2007, with digital album sales rising 69.3% from the same period a year ago, and digital singles up 42.3%, according to data compiled by the Official U.K. Charts Company.
Source: DMW
So, what's the industry still complaining about this time around? Oh wait, the $100,000 legal bills they're having to pay from some of their frivolous lawsuits won't be helping. That, and all the other people who don't have iTunes gift vouchers are starting to realise (I think) that the current crop of legal P2P services just aren't fitting their requirements (and are STILL clunkier and less satisfying to use than the original Napster), and so continue to take to the pirate seas en masse.) Yarr!
The sage commentary shall return when I have a free moment to sit down and write more cogently - for now, that's about as intelligent as I get. (Why am I always horrendously busy in fits and starts, with long periods of downtime inbetween? Very frustrating. If anybody can suggest some effective time management strategies, I'm all ears.)
Until next time...
Tags: commentary, filesharing, itu, legal issues, music industry, p2p, RIAA
This is an interesting post. We see increasing evidence that the music industry is 'waking up' and I continue to meet good people who aretrying to enable change, its just the industries history makes change slow. As CEO of We7, I have been watching the industry closely and, as you mentioned, we’ve seen many different models and strategies that are beginning to be explored. At this point, it is impossible to say which one will reign, so it’s more likely that the various models – subscription, paid-for, ad-funded etc – will co-exist to suit consumer choice.
People didn't expect We7 to survive the first 18 months and we’ve hit 150 thousand users and over 3.5 million downloads so far and are continually growing our audience and track base.
We have confidence in ourselves but your comment isa valid one or any digital business at the moment.
Thanks for your thoughts, we look forward to watching this space with you in the future.
Steve Purdham – CEO – www.we7.com