Judeumeh's Blog

Ok, so there is a lot of activity at the moment, especially around the push for more forward-looking approaches to digital content monetisation and governance; but will it all amount to just another bunch of ineffectual rhetoric, yet again?

I am referring to several ongoing and / or impending activities and events, key ones of which include:

Midem & MidemNet – This annual Cannes music business event is again the focus of the music industry, as the players get together to pow-wow, perhaps to lick wounds and try to remain optimistic for the future, such as there is. I wonder if we are witnessing the last of these annual gatherings. In any case, several interesting announcements and messages from the week long event can be found on the MidemNet website & blog, and sundry music and content blogs, to numerous too mention here.

Digital Britain – The impending announcement on this report by Lord Carter, on 26th of January, is already creating a lot of buzz in the digital content world, as it addresses everything from digital content rights to universal broadband access propositions. This is one to watch out for.

Future of Copyright Consultation – This is already covered in my last post of 2008. I am particularly interested in this one, as it might create a useful template for other countries – if done correctly.

Obama’s Presidency – The new US president has promised much, and his every move will be watched by every man and his dog, in all areas including US policies on digital content monetisation and access control. Again, as with the above, this transition period offers a great opportunity for the US to lead the way in laying foundations for a future universal digital economy

In all cases, there is the recurring theme of increased calls and activities to embrace new business models for digital content. This includes the recently published IFPI Digital Music Report, (which reports on the growth of the digital music industry). Overall, there is definitely a hint of impending change in the digital content and business landscape, perhaps more by necessity than by design, but an evolutionary event nonetheless. Should that turn to be the case, then it seems we might be in for some interesting times ahead.

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Note: This post was previously published on my BCS DRM Blog, where you can find the original post, and reader comments, in the archives.