My view is that internet music subscription services may be facing a situation not unlike the market for sat phones, sat radio, etc. These markets all have small cores of enthusiastic users who will pay whatever to get the service. But the business model ain't there because the market is too small. The barrier to growth isn't the price, but rather the limited attraction of the service that results in a too-limited market opportunity.
With all the alternatives available, I think the Napsters of the world are finding that it's hard to charge for something that most people find is equivalent to what can be obtained for free. Whether it is equivalent or not is not the issue. My prediction is that most of the current providers will be gone in a few years. Ironically, there are some similarities between music (whether sold or streamed) and the now-struggling print media. In both cases, people thought the Internet would provide opportunities for new growth and revenue forms. It turns out instead to be an agent that breaks the historical business model altogether. -- Goodsounds ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Goodsounds's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=14201 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=63479 _______________________________________________ discuss mailing list discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/discuss
