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Stop the music or stop the presses?

Is the news business like the music business? I would argue yes, especially after reading a recent post by A-list blogger Seth Godin. He lists 14 rules that, if followed, would help the music business evolve in the digital age. Almost all would apply to the news business, so I highly recommend you read and circulate them. Each item has a thoughtful explanation with details and examples. See the full post at Seth’s blog.

In order:

0. The new thing is never as good as the old thing, at least right now. (The first rule is so important, it’s rule 0)
1. Past performance is no guarantee of future success
2. Copy protection in a digital age is a pipe dream
3. Interactivity can’t be copied
4. Permission is the asset of the future
5. A frightened consumer is not a happy consumer.
6. This is a big one: The best time to change your business model is while you still have momentum.
7. Remember the Bob Dylan rule: it’s not just a record, it’s a movement.
8. Don’t panic when the new business model isn’t as ‘clean’ as the old one
9. Read the writing on the wall.
10. Don’t abandon the Long Tail
11. Understand the power of digital
12. Value is created when you go from many to few, and vice versa
13. Whenever possible, sell subscriptions

Translated (and abbreviated) for the news business:

The new thing - in most cases with the news business, that would be the web - is not as good as the old thing, at least right now. Of course, in some ways it’s better, but it’s not as lucrative yet so it’s easy to dismiss.

Which leads us to No. 6: The best time to change your business model is while you still have momentum. Evolution is difficult without any new staff, as most news organizations are discovering. Evolution with less staff is even more difficult, as a growing number of newspapers are finding.

So it’s important to recognize No. 8, as well: Don’t panic when the new business model isn’t as ‘clean’ as the old one. The new business model for news web sites is not clean at all. We can’t charge for subscriptions. We can’t deliver inserts. Our classified franchise is evaporating. All things that would logically make a publisher panic. But now is not the time for panic, it’s time to ...

- Not abandon the Long Tail
- Understand the power of digital
- That value is created when you go from many to few, and vice versa

That’s Journalism 2.0, and it should power Media 2.0. Where there’s quality, where there’s community and where there’s connection, there will be audience. And where there’s audience, there is money to be made.

Which brings us back to No. 1: Past performance is no guarantee of future success. News organizations have made a lot of money over the years, and most continue to do so today. But it won’t last. New business models need to be launched now, before the resources completely dry up to fund innovation for the future.

Posted by MarkBriggs on Friday, January 11, 2008
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