Written by Kurt Scherf, Vice President and Principal Analyst, Parks Associates
I was also grateful for the participation of Vickie Nauman from 7digital and Nick Chakalos from Catch Media on the "Who is Monetizing Digital Media?" panel yesterday. Obviously, the music industry has struggled to get its legs under it in the age of the digital download, but there are some interesting conecepts that can help turn the tide. Certainly, how social networking tools bring the artist and the fans closer together is one key to driving higher loyalties and ancillary revenues. At the same time, 7digital and Catch Media are heavily involved in "Cloud Media" and "Digital Locker" services, where music collections can be accessed from multiple devices. Nick gave an interesting perspective on post-acquisition licensing deals from the music industry, which allow for cloud music services to build a complete playlist of a listener's collection, regardless of where the music was acquired. So, the music industry should work within this framework and find ways to add value to the collections that we own - maybe I did pirate a Neil Diamond song back in my wayward youth, but now, I'm willing to pay for singles or perhaps even a concert ticket now.
