To make a long story short, it seems as though the value of content, (and in some ways even its role), and that of distribution have reversed. This is not reflective of any market research, and I won’t be held to the anecdotal value of my observations, but I speak here from serious experience and attentive scoping.
Whereas we used to hang around the water cooler Friday mornings to talk about the Seinfeld episode of the night before, the truly hip and with it are now more likely to talk about their home networking setup which allows them to watch Seinfeld on-demand at any time. Whereas we used to wear all sorts of shirts and promotional garb featuring the emblem or the picture of our favorite rock idol , we are now more likely to show off our iPod or iPhone or MacBook Pro, on which, true enough, there is a playlist featuring said idol betwixt all manner of other virtual possessions. Whereas we used to leaf through the pages of certain authors riding on subways or sitting in cafes, an act in which the book-cover served a function similar to that of a concert t-shirt, we are now more likely to hide that cover inside the neutralizing and anonymous Kindle or Nook or some such. But we don the Kindle or Nook or some such with pride.
At the end of a long post about what seems to be ailing the music industry and what needs to be done to remedy its woes, I came around to the subject of eBooks and online video but only touched on it by way of analogy to music. The analogy is in my opinion a little disconcerting, and I probably should have spent more time on the subject. The fragmentation of content, in terms of both the number of alternatives and the arbitrary and personal on-demand mechanism by which it is procured, as well as the obscurity of it inside an electronic device or personal playlist that feature its owner, its brand, or its compiler foremost, not only devalue this content but put the emphasis on its delivery platform. The star is less the artist than the medium.
As stated all the way up at the top, so there is no confusion, these observations are not scientific, but I would bet that somewhere there is a focus group that, even as I write this, is voting in favor of a free iPhone over the complete Beatles collection. Feel free to substitute some other subject in place of the Beatles, it doesn’t matter, the result would be no different for the focus group which is my gut feel.
I am reminded about the widely circulated email response from Steve Jobs to a long but humble and doting letter, composed by one of Steve’s fans – a gentleman who built his entire business (The Little App Factory) around Apple products’Â functionality. In this letter, Jobs was asked to please intervene on the fellow’s behalf and see that Apple’s lawyers dismiss their complaint against his company for naming its most popular product the iPodRip. After all, the iPodRip works in conjunction with the iPod, explained Steve’s faithful fan, and has for more than 5 years made it a more versatile product (at no cost to Apple). On and on the letter goes, with paragraphs of justification, recitation and pleading.
After a pause the stage-lights dim, the singer steps up to the mike: “Just change your apps name. Not that big of a deal.”
Signed, “Steve Sent from my iPhone”…
Lights flash, the guitars blast, the crowd goes wild.
