Everybody Wins?
Phil
Despite all the bankruptcies, and reported future closings, of newspapers across the United States, I am one of those folks who still reads the newspaper. Not the free one that you can get online, but the actual papery one that you can buy at the store, or have delivered, for a buck fifty (yes, I know this is not very green). I will admit that, as a result of staying somewhat old school, and not moving to the digital version of my favorite papers, I typically have a pile of recent back-issues, on a chair in the corner of my apartment, waiting for me to read them (I guess when you pay for it, you feel like you need to read it). Anyway, I read an article last night from the January 29th New York Times called “Awash in a Stream of Movies” by David Pogue. The article described the current trends of online film distributors, like Netflix, and how online distribution is getting more and more affordablenow by leveraging online downloads.
While I found the article interesting and informative, I was struck by Pogues comment that, Theres genius to this master plan; everybody, apparently, wins. Consumers get a better on-demand movie deal than theyll find anywhere else: $9 a month, unlimited. Netflix attracts millions more subscribers. And the equipment manufacturers gain a marketable new feature without having to spend another nickel on hardware.
Huh? Everyone wins if your everyone only includes consumers, Netflix shareholders, and equipment manufacturers. But what about the independent mediamakers who produce a lot of this content? How do they win? What percentage of $9 are they getting? And does that amount qualify as winning? (Disclosure: I am a Netflix subscriber and a fan. My queue currently runs 61 deep).
Once again, it seems like a great business plan (based on more affordable is better) that, enacted in its current state, squeezes the artist. I am looking forward to the business model that actually includes artists as winners in real dollars and cents (that to date, as far as I know, has yet to materialize with Internet distribution) and not just abstract benefits. But I am optimistic. Someone will figure it out one of these days and we will be able to add mediamakers to the list of people who are fairly compensated for the work that they do.
In the meantime, I will continue giving my buck fifty to the paper version of my favorite newspapers in hopes that those other workersthe writerswill be able to stick it out a little longer. And maybe Ill have a blog response to something in todays newspaper by March. Have a great day!
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| Posted on February 4, 2009
Comments
i know i’m going to miss the feeling of a newspaper in my hands, the krinkling sound that it makes when you turn the page, the subtle ink stains left on the kitchen table when you leave it there too long, the great feeling of societal worth derived from recycling stacks and stacks of old papers. it’ll soon be a sad day.
Posted on 2009 02 13 by mforstein