The internet is free to have a future

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Finally, someone bravely stood up and claimed that CDs are better than music downloaded from the Internet in almost every way. Who is the man who is so keen on music? He's the analyst at Jupiter Research, Mark Jupiter. Mulligan (Mark Mulligan).

Some people want to make money on online content and services, at least in Europe. For them, he said in a sobering report: "CDs are a simple way to buy and enjoy music compared to paid downloads." He went on to point out that the quality of downloading music was less than CD, that flash plastic CDs were more durable, easier to back up, more compatible, and less susceptible to complex digital rights Management (DRM) software. Digital Rights Management software is a necessary means to prevent piracy and unlimited backup.

This last hurdle may be cancelled. This year, EMI, the third-largest record company, announced plans to sell the company's music through Apple's itunes service without copyright protection.

A few weeks ago, EMI and online retailer Amazon (Amazon.com) announced a similar partnership. The move could lead other record Giants to follow suit.

But Mulligan's other complaints were founded. In my opinion, the relationship between CDs and downloading music is like the relationship between the digital photos that retailers print and the pictures they print at home with a laser printer. The digital photos printed by the retailer are really good, but is it worth it?

There is some evidence that consumers do not use Apple's itunes to download music, but instead store the CDs they routinely buy into MP3 players. At the very least, older consumers (not seniors) are.

However, Mulligan is relatively optimistic about the future of online music sales. He believes that by 2011, online music sales will become the largest proportion of music content sales revenue, by then, sales will reach about 1.5 billion euros.

However, his research suggests that there is still a certain degree of uncertainty about the future of online commerce, which is no match for an earlier, extremely optimistic attitude.

Jupiter's research says that fundamentally, Europe's demand for online content and services is small and likely to continue.

In the future, people will want online content for free. In fact, in most categories, the demand for paid content is already falling. Because consumers are experiencing it, they are aware of the "true nature and limitations" of paid content offered online. This has led to the prediction that, by 2011, a non-paying audience would be far more than a paid audience. "Only 14% of the total content and service audiences are willing to pay," the study found. Games and music are far above average in this respect. ”

Although for early adopters, and some people who are prepared to pay for what they think is particularly important, such as sensitive financial information, there will still be some sales, but the logical conclusion is that free content will be supported by advertising.

In 2011, Mulligan estimates, paid content and services add up to € 6.8 billion, while in the same year Europe's total online advertising spending will reach € 8.3 billion.

These free ad-supported services will attract younger audiences with lower disposable income and more likely to download illegal content without free content.

Spiral Frog may be an example of this model. This is an American start-up that provides music for a major record company for free downloads. The service will have ad support, and Spiral frog will share the benefits with the record company.

So, with just one jump (or maybe one foot hop), the restricted fighter is free. Spiral Frog earned the money, the record company made money, the company's artists got paid for their music, and Spiral Frog's consumers got free music without fear of being caught.

If this mode starts, it could pose a huge threat to paid music services, such as Apple's itunes and Amazon's new service.

On the face of it, the US market may be slightly different from Europe.

According to data from the Online Publishers Association (OPA), US consumers spent just over 100 dollars in online content in 2005, creating a market of $2 billion trillion – with record levels of earnings and a record number of content-paying consumers, all showing signs that There will be strong and steady growth in this market.

However, Mulligan that this is because the U.S. online market is relatively more developed. In his view, the United States will eventually follow the footsteps of Europe.

However, there is such a statistic to support this argument. "The Silver Surfer" (Internet users over 55 years old) is about to become Britain's largest online group, according to a British Hitwise competition intelligence Service. According to data from April and May this year, the group accounted for 22% of the total number of visits to various sites in the UK, compared with 23.5% per cent of people aged 35 to 44.

This may just be a demographic problem, as the population of Britain is ageing. But free content will face new and pressing needs as savings pensioners (grey perspectives), underpaid pensioners (twilight subsistence) and penniless young people appear in cyberspace.