Friday, January 24, 2003

RIP. MIX. BURNING BUSINESS MODEL: When I lived in my fraternity house in college, I had this roomate named Mark Leppo who would step in my face and scream "cry me a river" everytime I wrung my hands over something that was within my control.  Judy B. dumped me ("cry me a river");  I flunked my Philosophy exam ("cry me a river"); or I didn't get that job I wanted ("cry me a river"). Wired Magazine devotes a bunch of ink this month to the old issue of MP3's and the libraries of shiny CDR's with Sharpie scribbles living in dorm rooms all over the world.  Much of this hand wringing is attributed to Hillary Rosen, the head of the RIAA who has made life very difficult for folks that think IP should be free (I think Hillary is right on this one).  But her strategy was flawed then, and it remains flawed now.  It is clear that the recording industry thinks that the market for packaged music will never change.  Amazing.  The market that I compete in changes every few months.  We adjust by morphing offerings, packaging, and adapt to what our customers want (and will PAY FOR).  It's now been three years since THE killer app of the net showed up.  Remember the first time you typed "Aerosmith" into Napster?  The hair on the back of my 42-year-old neck still stands up thinking about the return results.  If the recording industry had looked at the changing marketplace, they would have morphed their model.  Would I still be paying US$15 a month for all the singles I could drink via Napster/Kazaa/Limewire if Hillary had asked?  You bet. I wonder what Mark Leppo would say to Hillary and the RIAA today? 12:58:04 AM