is the charging mode possible?

Abstract: South All illustrations: Chen Ting Google shut down the Chinese music search business, Baidu music platform quietly change for 10 years to listen to the MP3, who can also from our pockets for silver? I have a crush on a Mercedes, can you give me a free one, and then I'll put it on the car.

South All illustrations: Chen Ting

Google shut down the Chinese music search business, Baidu music platform quietly change for 10 years MP3, who can also from our pockets for silver?

"I have a fancy for a Mercedes, can you give me a car for free, and then I'll put you on the bus for 20 years?" The good things everyone wants, but definitely not the way it is. "Shrimp NET CEO Wang Hao described the digital music industry chain in the past 10 years of survival ——— users to listen to music generated traffic, and then rely on advertising, online games and so on to earn money, the digital music industry slowly changed into" free "products, no longer someone willing to pay.

As a result, there were more than 2000 music sites across the country in 2008, and have now shrunk to only a dozen of the scale music sites.

October 23, Google China Engineering research general manager Wenluo confirmed that Google will close the Chinese music search business, ending its 4-year operation in China, and Baidu's music platform is also quietly changed, Baidu Ting! has officially changed its name to Baidu Music. South reporters understand that from next year onwards, the digital music industry is expected to enter the "Free + charge" dual operation of the new model, Chinese music Search is about to enter the monthly payment phase.

is the charging mode possible?

"It's not conclusive what kind of charging model to use, but several big music websites, including us, will start charging next year," he said. Wang Hao believes that the future of the two mainstream charging mode, one is in accordance with the single download fee, and the second is a monthly fee to listen to. But this does not mean that the free mode will be completely ended, and the charge is first to meet "those who have a higher demand for music users."

"Baidu, QQ, cool dog, shrimp and other 6 sites may be the first batch of water test site." Wang Hao said that the future model is "for example, free to listen to, but the sound quality is relatively poor, pay is free advertising, high quality, but will not be a monthly fee download mode."

At present, QQ Music is the use of this business model. Free users can download the standard sound quality of music, and QQ green drill users can download HD lossless quality music, free use of QQ space background music and other functions, the monthly charge is 10Q, that is 10 yuan/month. Official data show that QQ music daily active users more than 40 million, while online users over 11 million, is the only one in the country to declare money for the digital music service provider.

Shi Jianping, president of the Commonwealth, told reporters that the status of digital music is "the user is unwilling to pay one is a big environmental problem, the other is the service provider's product quality or to improve."

Such a large environmental problem, so that the "charging model" of the formation of still uncertain factors. "The healthy development of this industry needs to be free and pay, but the specific point of time has not been finalized, can not be said far." He said that about 10 platforms are frequently discussing viable business models, but there is no final verdict, including whether the downloads are charged or free.

"If we all charge, we need some consensus," he said. Like the video industry, to do a genuine or pirated, or to say that the premiere of movies to see in the movie theaters or directly on the Internet to see, these must have certain industry rules. ”

QQ Music in charge of the south are blunt, has not received any official notice to the "end of the year before the cancellation of free music download."

The embarrassment of no one to pay

"We started paying for music downloads in 2008, but there are very few base users because other sites are free." Wang Hao thinks, the big enterprise adopts the method is such as one-time payment copyright enterprise 500,000, then the copyright party provides to the platform does not have the tube, anyway the platform gives the user free. So, for ordinary people, the concept of free music is set up, since so much of the site can be free, you why a small site to charge it.

"But free music doesn't work at all, because even if you change it to advertising through traffic, it's too meager to support a website." Even if a website like shrimp has to pay tens of millions of royalties, but my income may be only 1 million. ”

But Wang Hao believes that as long as 5% of users are willing to pay, whether it is a monthly or single download, online music is expected to achieve break-even.

At present, the mainstream business model of digital music mainly has four kinds: the first is the download mode, the most successful is Apple's itunes, the user can choose their favorite songs in the digital music supermarket to pay for download; the second model is Pandora in the United States, and the Pandora mode is a free online listening song for users, Adopt the mode of advertisement, but the user has no choice to listen to which specific song; The third is the Spotify model, which uses a subscription-by-phone model that allows users to listen to the songs they want to hear and conduct specific searches; The fourth model is very successful in China, telecom operators value-added services, such as ringtones.

Shi Jianping believes that the digital music business model has long existed, but also needs a benign business environment, so that the business model can be formed scale.

But now, every family on the industry chain has not been a winner. The record company is not able to rely on the work to bring income, the music web site can not be bought through his copyright to bring him a return, there is no way to obtain a direct income.

In the past year, Google closed the music search, Baidu home page "MP3" was replaced by "music", Baidu MP3, Baidu Ting, thousands of listening and many other products are integrated into the new "Baidu Music" platform. The arrival of mobile internet makes "change" become the main melody of the digital music industry. "Mobile end users have the habit of paying, so everyone is thinking that this is not a good turning point." Allow users to carry out differentiated value-added services on the basis of free economy. "Shi Jianping thinks, for example can let the user at any time through different equipment to listen to the song, is also a reasonable request, believed that the present space is actually very big."

It is understood that QQ music has begun to solve the different devices between the user music assets synchronization, as well as mobile devices on the traffic problem. And the cool dog develops the convenient PC end and the handset side the one key copy, may the music liking list synchronization to the handset terminal. "The advent of mobile interconnection, making music plus the perfect product of technology is possible, only in this way can escape the digital music industry has been plagued by piracy problems, so that fees become more feasible." ”

Link

QQ Music

is already working to address the synchronization of user music assets between different devices, as well as traffic problems on mobile devices.

Cool Dog

Develop a convenient PC-side and mobile phone-side of a key copy, you can sync music preferences list to the phone terminal.

Baidu

Its Baidu m P3, Baidu Ting, thousands of listening and many other products are integrated into the new "Baidu Music" platform.