Concert List

To get an idea of where Online music is headed it is vital to understand the history. Let’s think back to the time when music downloads 1st became popular. For me it has been spurred in the early Napster days. Everyone has been out there going crazy grabbing any and all music they may find in the absence of consequence. Then the RIAA came along and said “wait guys that is our copyrighted content you’re downloading.” Since that time the RIAA has been fighting an uphill battle to end copyright infringement.

After the early days of Napster and peer to peer file sharing a new crop of websites popped up provide ing legal music downloads. Even Napster went legit signing deals with major labels to provide unlimited access to their provide ings. In order to make this a reality the record industry had to come up with a way to protect their investment.

Along came digital rights management ( Digital Rights Management ). New Digital Rights Management technologies have been used to limit access to media. In essence as long as you’re subscribed to Rhapsody for example you could download and listen to as many songs as you prefer. You could even play them on your mp3 player (excluding iPod and Zune). The Digital Rights Management kicks in by restricting the number of devices you have access from and cutting access completely when you end the subscription.

Additionally,  organizations chose to run their personal brand of Digital Rights Management. This means that if you own an iPod or Zune player your choices are eminently restricted. Apple and Microsoft do their perfect to force you into using iTunes and Zune Marketplace.

Over the last couple years things have vary d quite a bit. Web sellers including Amazon and Wal-Mart signed deals with the major labels to sell Digital Rights Management (DRM) free song downloads. They key here is that you are paying a cost for each MP3 song you download but get the music without Digital Rights Management (DRM) restrictions. Even iTunes has started provide ing Digital Rights Management (DRM) free downloads.

Yet another challenge that faces Web media businesses is the ISP’s battle to reduce network traffic and thus reduce congestion during peak times. The lack of network infrastructure, particularly in the US, is a large concern. Throttling traffic or charging customers for metered access as Comcast and Time Warner are currently testing may drive away customers. all of us no longer live in a world of text email and static Web pages. web sites now provide rich content including streaming audio and video, social integration and an interactive  set ting for individuals to gather just as you would at your Regional watering hole. Hopefully customers will voice their concerns and ISP’s will in turn expand their network infrastructures to allow for our ever rising bandwidth needs.

So where does this leave us? I recall mentioning excitement about the future of Web downloads prior to my rants. Web music web sites are looking ahead to the future. With the ability to download songs to PC, mobile phone  or other web-enabled devices you will have access to the latest songs from anywhere at anytime. web sites like eMusic, Amazon MP3 and Wal-Mart Music have shown that the DRM free music is the way of the future. The next step will be to figure a way for web sites like Rhapsody and Napster to offer unlimited access to DRM free music for a monthly subscription fee. I’llbe the first to admit that this is no simple task but one that can prove extraordinarily profitable to the music business in this ever increasing digital age.

The excitement extends beyond music as businesses like Netflix provide a large selection of movie downloads free to subscribers. We’re not talking about just watching on your PC either. With a  set top box you could download films to watch directly on your television. Industry experts predict that within several years you will not run to your Regional video store to rent the latest DVD movies. Instead you’ll simply watch them anytime on demand via download. Alright so I could hear some of you saying yeah but how long do the movies take to download? I could tell you that with Netflix I could start watching about 30 seconds after the download begins. The rest of the movie downloads while I am enjoying the film.

In conclusion the future of Online media is shining bright. Customer’s spend ing habits can stimulate record labels and ISP’s accept that the future of music and movies is Online rather than in record and video stores. The instant gratification of having access to millions of tunes or thinking of a movie and watching it a minute later is enough to make me want to stop typing. So sit back, relax and enjoy what the future has in store.