Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Jordan
The article does acknowledge the essential question:
This is the issue that every company has to deal with, in order to establish a successful business. It's a basic business equation that is 50% desire, 50% trust, with the intention of profiting from the arrangement (and it is important to note that these terms apply to company and consumer alike). If this equation is unbalanced in either direction, the business model will not function.
And unfortunately, the digital realm is forcing alterations to the basic business equation that will impact both sides... and neither side seems to want to accept that. Both sides are demanding changes of the other, without wanting to relinquish any control themselves, and encountering heated resistance. It's become a perpetual tug-of-war, with mud both between the opponents, and behind them... so whoever wins or loses, everyone will get muddy.
We are still early in the digital business revolution, and hopefully other industries (like book publishers) will learn the real lessons of the digital music tug-of-war. But I think they're going to get very muddy first, before they finally come to their senses.
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It's really a shame that the big companies can be so slow to accept market changes, and go out of their way for hindering and keeping old models instead of hopping into the frontline and providing renewed value to their customers, which is how their money-making should always be oriented. I guess you can't expect too much when so many interests are at play. Nonetheless, if Apple tried to lead the revolution back then the way Xenophon has put it, well, kudos to them. I hope Sony takes up that helm for ebooks now, to antagonize Amazon.