The media industry in an Internet age

[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Editorial Staff]
[Commentary] Music companies, television and radio networks, newspapers and magazines are all facing upheaval as the Internet changes how people receive information and entertainment. The producers of content - everything from news to soap operas - are losing their grip on distribution. The Internet has become a vast network for the free distribution of all kinds of content. You no longer to need buy a newspaper to read news or switch on the radio to hear a radio broadcast. The lone voice of the town cryer has given way to the babble of broadband networks. This creates a host of challenges for those that have made a business from selling content through tightly controlled distribution networks. Not only must they find a way to adapt what they do to a more open world, but new competitors are springing up, from small companies to individuals with their weblogs and podcasts. The first lesson is that it is useless to resist. There is a second lesson in the music industry: that upheaval does not simply mean destruction. The fact that distribution is becoming more open does not eliminate the value of good content. Whether they pay by watching advertisements or subscribing, people will still seek out interesting and original news and entertainment. Some of it will come to them in new forms, from blogs and other "user-generated content", but plenty will be researched, scripted and edited in the traditional way. There will be more competition and uncertainty in the new world but some things will be the same.
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/991e65a0-7cc6-11da-936a-0000779e2340.html
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