Although for the most part, free content has it all over the paid variety, "some sectors, such as adult entertainment, massive multiplayer games (MMPs), and dating services," are generating consistent revenue.

So says a strange Yankee Group report which attempts to present a sow's ear as a silk purse.

"The bursting of the Internet bubble has led to a stark new set of realities for media companies," states Yankee Group's "Content Maybe King, But Can it Pay the Bills?", which also says, "the days of free Internet content are numbered".

Companies must make money from online content and services, it says, and yet, "many companies continue to offer free content and services. However, some media companies are shifting high-profile, high-value content to premium services - "forcing consumers who want access to pay for content".

"Forcing?" Dream on.

Some consumers have begun to show some willingness to pay for content, the report adds, but, "the vast availability of free content is a significant hurdle to Web sites that want to offer paid content. Basic laws of supply and demand dictate that as long as the supply of free content exceeds that of paid content, Internet users will seek free content".

Hmmmmmm

haha. Them folks wanting our money are gonna go into the toilet. FLUSH!

Tip of the hat.
Captain C

Free P2P is NEVER going away, it is here to stay. whoever thinks that it is somehow going to dissapear needs to step into reality.

I totally agree with you directive!

These record executives just got too greedy for their own good and now have to face the consequences.

The EXECUTIVES are dragging there feet not adapting to P2P also.

They can't control the internet without destroying it.

"The bursting of the Internet bubble ," states Yankee Group's "Content Maybe King, But Can it Pay the Bills?", which also says, "the days of free Internet content are numbered".....

Sorry I must of missed the bubble bursting.

has led to a stark new set of realities for media companies......

mmm what is the mysterious stark new set of realities ?

"Content Maybe King, But Can it Pay the Bills".....

Well the new boss at the RIAA surely does not have a problem paying bills.

Companies must make money from online content and services...

Why MUST they ?

Give the web back to the nerds and stick your pop ups where the sun don't shine :=)

This is moronic .

I paid for the parts when I built my computer . I paid for the OS . (never again !!) I paid my ISP for my dsl connection . I paid all of these things so I could enjoy the "free" internet . Now I'm gonna have to pay on an as-use basis for that ? NO WAY !
WABBITMAN

lol wabbit..i think that the trolls who erect toll booths on highways stumbled onto the information highway!

~code

Trolls, lol. Why don't they just figure out a better way to make money with REAL assets... Like, DUH.

Content is like electricity, just stop paying all those fat-cat media managers, primadonnas and such and maybe you will figure out a better way to offer people something in a way that they are actually willing to pay for and not spend so much on the b.s. part of it.

The indies outnumber the RIAA by almost 10 to 1. We'll give away music for free as long as it takes.

We call it free promotion, not theft. We can't get on the radio, so we use the Internet.

They can't stop us unless they outlaw themselves. Art, of any type, only has value if it is recognized by the masses. If they want to protect their precious "intellectual property" why don't they just keep it to themselves? Because if the public does not embrace and share it, it is worthless.

And if you have to force people to buy it through extortion and litigation, well, it can't be that damned good in the first place.

gdZiemann, very well said mate!!!!!

When I go to the Internet, and I stumble into a site that wants my hard earned money,I just click and wave good bye! These people must be dreaming. On top of that you have to pay to access the Internet, and they want more money? Who are they kidding? Just think, $30 dollars to pay your Internet provider, $10 dollars to access a paid website, that's $40, you stumble with another site, another $10 dollars, please. Come on people get real!! There aren't that many people making $80,000 a year. I only make half of that,and really paying $30 to access the almost forbiden Web is too much to swallow.

as soon as you have to pay for a service a free alternative will show up since the barriers to enter the market are so low, even for multiplayer video games

Essentially it just states the problem with any and all online information services. On the internet, you can find anything you want for free.

In a post a few months ago I compared the internet to the worlds largest jumble sale. If you look hard enough you can find anything you want. Music, movies, books. Of course, its not nessicarily legal. Somewhere in the shady part of the sale will be people with instructions for making drugs, or a wide variety of unusual porno. There are people with scams, and people who yell about how great their snake oil is through the digital equivilent of a megaphone. But its all there somewhere, and most people will actually give it away.

The second part of that post said that some companies are working hard to demolish that area and build a giant shoping mall, where things are much easier to find and the dodgey people have gone, but the selection is much more limited, the prices much higher, the advertiseing even more ubiquidous even if it is mostly for more reputable products and the security guards constantly watch every move.

Makes me think of older ppl.......they're set in their ways....won't change even as the world around them change.
Next thing ya know, they'll want 8-track tapes to come back...

dragonspawn - "I hope you die before you get old". Gee, Who said that? LOL

don't forget that the cpu you paid for is going to be spying on you through MS's palladium soon. Linux all the way..

this is random, but i was thinking...

hypothetically...of course.

let's say I was an avid music lover who had made a hobby out of getting all of my music on to my computer. and let's say that I have over 5,637 mp3 files. now, when the riaa thing started, as a lawfully abiding citizen, I stopped sharing my files.

then, on July 16, a chinese security group announced yet another huge flaw capable of being exploited in winxp and 2000. unwittingly, i saw the news post but did not know how to update my software and so I failed to apply the patch.

This isn't a malicious worm, but it does open my computer up to file sharing and program changes without my knowledge or consent.

It might seem like a stretch...

but I would be surprised if the RIAA could actually see even one of the lawsuits to completion on a pending lawsuit filed after July 16 on any computer running a version of the affected OS that was not able to apply the patch prior to the date the worm was detected.

It might be a small window, but the view is incredible.

What do you think?

~Gavin

DAMN , dragonsawn ,

Just because I'm older means I don't care and won't accept change ?

btw I would like to see 8-tracks return . Yeah , they sounded like crap , but boy do they bring back some good memories !

Remember , BOYCOTT everything RIAA
WABBITMAN

Geesh, thanks for that wish of death. My point was that some ppl are set in their ways.....they think that why advance something when there was nothing wrong with it before, wanting things to stay the same.
And I don't have a prob. with 8 tracks; had some myself......so, yeah, I'm in the older crowd as well.....but I don't have a prob. with change.
Anyway, you have a pleasant day, kyodylee.

dragonspawn - It was a sarcastic pun, a line from the song "My Generation" by the Who. Roger Daltry sings "I hope I die before I get old." One of the most famous lines ever sung in the 60's. I even gave you a hint. Guess you didn't get it.

In your post you said "Makes me think of older ppl.......they're set in their ways."

This statment is offensive to us "older" types here (including Wabbitman, if you read his post). And since you don't include yourself in your statement too, it leads a person to believe that you are either very young or very naive.

Anyway, I didn't mean no harm, sorry if you took it wrong and didn't get the joke. Peace.

Hey, listen, I'm sorry I took it the wrong way! I'm no spring chicken either, mid-30's. I said that because were I work at (my boss is 77 and VERY set in his ways.....his way, or no way, lol) there's alot of ppl like that. They make fun of me just because I have a computer.

You're from a small town. That could be more of the reason why people you know are more set in their ways. I know because I grew up in a small town in the South and they were very SLOW to accept change. That's one reason I left. You can't change them, so you must be true to yourself. This is not to say they are bad people, but let's face it, many are ignorant. And ignorance is not bliss.

As for bosses, many bosses are just like yours. I think that goes with the territory. It's a control thing. I spent 12 years in the U.S.A.F. and had the same situation with many bosses, age had nothing to do with it.

But those folks making fun of your 'puter? Now that's where I would draw the line!

There are many well-informed, saavy, bright, intelligent, fun "older" people where I am now. And everyone of them has a computer. Tease you - never!

Sorry for sounding like "Dear Abby".

LMAO! Oh yeah, population of about 2,000 in the town I work in......where I live: maybe 100? AND I have 12 tattoos, and female. They tend to try to think I'm some biker chick! The the puter thing, that's what gets me. But eh, that's okay.....gonna update the jukebox.....put some mudvayne next to good ol' hank jr. and kentucky headhunters.....lol....variety...just adding variety. =)