Dear Abby, How Can My Industry Stop Alienating Our Customers and Making Money Again?

Dear Abby, How Can My Industry Stop Alienating Our Customers and Making Money Again?.

Stopping the Pop-swappers

“According to the RIAA, CD sales dropped by 10% in 2001 and a further 6.8% last year, largely because of file sharing.

But the figures tell a different story.

In America and the rest of the world the biggest culprit in falling music sales is large-scale CD piracy by organised crime.

In just three years, sales of pirate CDs have more than doubled, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI).

Every third CD sold is a pirate copy, says the federation….

The pirate CD market is now so big, $4.6bn (£2.86bn), it is 'of greater value than the legitimate music market of every country in the world, except the USA and Japan'….” [BBC News, via Slashdot, emphasis above is mine]

Although this article doesn't really say anything new that the RIAA's critics haven't been saying for years, it's a good summary. The whole issue, though, is indicative of the media industry's attitude in general, that technology in the hands of ordinary people is bad if big business can't control it and keep it focused in one direction (them to us rather than interactive) in order to maintain their business models and bottom lines.

I don't work for a media or technology company that has to sell things to customers, but even I can see some of the obvious ways in which these businesses could start innovating and enhancing the user experience as the user wants to experience it.

To prove it, here are some ideas I'm throwing out to them for free. Dear Abby….  [The Shifted Librarian]

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