Time for content providers to relook biz model
Over lunch earlier today at the launch of Internet Society's regional office in Singapore, president and CEO Lynn St. Amour reiterated the need for a paradigm shift in the way content providers operate.
I had asked for her views on online piracy in Asia. Noting that this was a global issue, St. Amour said people should look at content piracy as an act, regardless of the medium, so if they accepted that stealing in the physical world was wrong, then they should view copyright infrigement likewise.
But she pointed out that most consumers today recognized the value of content and were willing to pay a fair compensation in return for quality content. She urged content providers to ask themselves why online piracy continued to be a challenge, stressing the need for these organizations to relook their business model and the way they generated revenue.
St. Amour's points aren't exactly new. A previous ZDNet Asia report also discussed the need to fix the problems, not simply the symptoms, related to digital piracy. Rene Summer, Ericsson's director of government and industry relations, had also called for content rights owners to establish new business models that "give users the content they want, at the time, place and device they want, and of course, at a reasonable and sustainable price".
The challenge, as most things do, comes from defining what is "reasonable" and "fair" compensation. No doubt the amount would differ vastly between content owners and consumers.
Because of the success it has, and continues to enjoy on the iTunes platform, Apple probably is one company that has come close to defining a sweetspot, at least, for music downloads.
But it's not just about finding the right pricetag, it's also about providing consumers with easy access to the content they want--a point I've highlighted repeatedly in this blog.
More about ISOC Asia Having moved from its previous location in Fiji, the Internet Society's (ISOC) new regional bureau here will focus on various initiatives across Asia including capacity building, driving IPv6 adoption and working with governments on Internet-related policies such as user privacy and security.
St. Amour said ISOC currently has 17,000 to 18,000 individual members and 20 organization members in this region, which comprise 20 of the society's over 90 Chapters worldwide including four in India and one in Singapore. Each Chapter forms a community that leads various activities and initiatives, such as technical workshops and networking events, relevant to the organization.
The Singapore bureau is one of five regional bureaus which include Europe and North America. Worldwide, ISOC has some 60,000 individual members and over 130 organization members.