| In a traditional model the Medium (or Media) is the way
of getting the copyrighted material to market. This doesn't deal with the new reality where content flows digitally to multiple platforms, often directly from the Content Producer. Previously it requires a large investment in technology to get content to the consumer. So technology acted as a barrier to new entrants to the marketplace. However, now the Content Producer can publish their material digitally and anyone with a computer can not only receive the content but easily aggregate or index it. This is the power of Craigslist or Google. These sites do not passively editorialise what is displayed but allow the users to dynamically affect the outcome. So technology is an enabler to new entrants to the marketplace. The only way to control your content in a digital world is to look to some kind of rights management model. This can be something as simple as a Creative Commons Licence or an encryption-based technological solution. The DRM model should allow the Content Producer to make their content available to the world, allow the user to contribute to and play with the content thereby becoming both Consumer and Content Producer and also protect the rights of all parties involved if the Consumer/Content Producer commercialises the fruits of their labour. Making content available online and allowing users to upload content to you changes the relationship you have with the end-user. They are no longer passive consumers of your content but active partners in content production. They then become commercial players, is they so wish with some of their User Generated Content. Media companies cannot stand back and simply say we're not responsible if it's an enabler of the commercial market in UGC. |
||
| Blog |