I know nothing about the technology involved in digital music. But what I know is that we are easily able to download pirated songs for free from various websites. These songs are then played on the computers and easily transferred to mobile phones, iPods etc.
Now the first thing that you notice when you open a site like apunkabollywood dot com for a 'pirated' music download is the number of advertisements flashing all around - supposedly their primary source of revenue.
So if they can do it, why not the record labels themselves? Open a website, put up ads on it and let the users download the songs for free. (Presently, the websites have the songs and they are available at a very low price of Rs 10. But still I have to pay that Rs 10 which takes considerable time. )
Apart from the ad revenues, you can gather a lot of data on what people are searching, consuming, their preferences, patterns, trends. They can be segmented geographically, demographically and so on. All this can also go as an input while creating music. And the information can even be sold off to other interested marketers from different fields.
This can also be used in other dealings by the music labels. You instantly get an accurate update on what songs are popular and differential pricing can be used to benefit more from licensing to radio and TV channels, to mobile companies for caller tunes, to concerts where it can be sung by artists etc. Every marketer wants to pull customers . And here are people from a variety of backgrounds who will automatically get pulled for the sake of free music.
The point is that the labels are crying that piracy is killing their revenues. So why not change the revenue source which they are blocking. Those who want it for free are already getting it for free and giving nothing in return to the music company. By this, at least gets some data, some information. And today, information is not cheap. Google has become a behemoth simply by gathering data and using the information.
Speaking of Google, it is taking music to another level itself - to the Cloud. Buy music online and Store it on an online library. Then listen it anywhere on any device. The basic requirement - a very fast internet connectivity, which India lacks. But who knows, with 3G round the corner, we make take a long jump!!
2 comments:
Can you talk to me daily 1 hr .... for free ... No Right ...bcoz you get boared after few talks ... similarly there is some businees strategy which stops them from giving the things free .... "Pukat ka maal Has no value ..."
We are presently enjoying free music from various websites but that has not reduced its value.
And I talk to my girl friend for more - for free.. Point is that value is not only derived from Money...
It is also derived from the enjoyment I derive from it...
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