Saul J. Berman's “Not For Free: Revenue Strategies for a New World“ offers a solid approach to understanding revenue innovation in a constantly shifting digital landscape. Berman discusses revenue innovation with numerous examples from media companies which he considers canaries in coalmines.
Though his examples focus on larger enterprises, the message which should resonate with anyone promoting and selling music or almost anything else, is to examine one's assets and abilities and act flexibly to develop new revenue streams, often from assets already at one's disposal.
Berman does take an academic approach but he grounds his perspective with real world examples.
Not for Free: Revenue Strategies for a New Worldby Saul J. Berman shares the insights of research mostly conducted at IBM with a focus on revenue innovation and the following key concepts:
Segmentation—by behavior rather than traditional demographic groups
Pricing Innovation—finding new ways to charge for a product
Payer Innovation - changing who pays including cost deferred approaches such as advertising
Package Innovation—finding different ways to offer the product to the customer
Berman shares an IBM segmentation model that is based on media consumption and use of technology. This approach offers a different view of one's market, switching the perspective from segmentation via such divisions as age group to a regrouping around activity in the world.
Berman maintains that such segmentation should be the basis for targeting new revenue models. He also points out that the music industry's resistance to customer interest in digital music sales meant that other companies, such as Apple, innovated and reaped the rewards.
Streaming music audio services are an example of Pricing Innovation with the switch to a subscription rather than ownership model and a seemingly limitless all-you-can-eat bundle of selections.
Streaming music video has taken a different path with a more successful focus on Payer Innovation via ongoing exploration of approaches to advertising.
Ringtones represent a now fading example of Package Innovation by repackaging tiny clips of music and then sometimes charging more for the ringtone than for the single.
Though Berman's emphasis in “Not for Free“ is on large corporations, I think these insights can be applied to musicians as well. For example, now individual acts can be involved in industry innovations, such as crowdfunding an album's recording and production, or in personal innovations, such as repackaging a club act for the sidewalk during busker season.
Hypebot contributor Clyde Smith is a freelance writer and blogger. Flux Research is his business writing hub and All World Dance: World Dance News is his primary web project.
Though his examples focus on larger enterprises, the message which should resonate with anyone promoting and selling music or almost anything else, is to examine one's assets and abilities and act flexibly to develop new revenue streams, often from assets already at one's disposal.
Berman does take an academic approach but he grounds his perspective with real world examples.
Not for Free: Revenue Strategies for a New Worldby Saul J. Berman shares the insights of research mostly conducted at IBM with a focus on revenue innovation and the following key concepts:
Segmentation—by behavior rather than traditional demographic groups
Pricing Innovation—finding new ways to charge for a product
Payer Innovation - changing who pays including cost deferred approaches such as advertising
Package Innovation—finding different ways to offer the product to the customer
Berman shares an IBM segmentation model that is based on media consumption and use of technology. This approach offers a different view of one's market, switching the perspective from segmentation via such divisions as age group to a regrouping around activity in the world.
Berman maintains that such segmentation should be the basis for targeting new revenue models. He also points out that the music industry's resistance to customer interest in digital music sales meant that other companies, such as Apple, innovated and reaped the rewards.
Streaming music audio services are an example of Pricing Innovation with the switch to a subscription rather than ownership model and a seemingly limitless all-you-can-eat bundle of selections.
Streaming music video has taken a different path with a more successful focus on Payer Innovation via ongoing exploration of approaches to advertising.
Ringtones represent a now fading example of Package Innovation by repackaging tiny clips of music and then sometimes charging more for the ringtone than for the single.
Though Berman's emphasis in “Not for Free“ is on large corporations, I think these insights can be applied to musicians as well. For example, now individual acts can be involved in industry innovations, such as crowdfunding an album's recording and production, or in personal innovations, such as repackaging a club act for the sidewalk during busker season.
Hypebot contributor Clyde Smith is a freelance writer and blogger. Flux Research is his business writing hub and All World Dance: World Dance News is his primary web project.
