Digital Innovation Newspapers vs. Music Industry

Two old industries that have had the impact of the digital age hit them are Newspapers and Music.  The Music industry went digital with CDs, then MP3 ripping and digital distribution pretty much destroyed the business models of selling albums.  Newspapers have been hit from two sides.  The wealth of choice in getting the news, and the changes in advertising and running classified ads.  What to do?  Here are two different comparisons.  Music is having record revenues if you bet on live-music.  Newspapers are still trying to figure out the new way to make record revenues.

WSJ reports on the Live-Music industry and their hot summer.

 

The Concert Industry's Big Hot Summer

The live-music business is predicting a record-breaking summer with big tours by Beyoncé and Jay Z, Eminem and Rihanna, George Strait and Outkast

Technology is changing the Music events and making them more money.

Technology is also changing the concert-going experience. Live Nation, which now sells 16% of its tickets on mobile devices, is testing and integrating an app that allows fans to reserve lawn chairs, skip entry lines and access VIP areas using their phones. At more festivals, fans will be able to leave their credit cards at home and purchase food, drinks and merchandise with chip-embedded wristbands, such as those designed by Front Gate Tickets. At Bonnaroo, fans can use the festival's official app to find their friends and live-stream shows from the bathroom lines.

The music industry has been following the money.

Lucrative album sales are now a thing of the past and Internet buzz doesn't always translate into revenue. With acts reliant on touring for their income, many are working harder to put on better shows, says Live Nation's head of global talent, David Zedeck.

GigaOm’s Matthew Ingram reports on the NYTimes

Internal innovation report says the New York Times needs to up its digital game or else

 

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NYT newspapers
photo: Getty Images / Mario Tama
SUMMARY:

An internal report that looked at how the New York Times is performing in terms of its digital strategy says the paper needs to focus a lot more on audience engagement and analytics — but can it take the steps necessary to disrupt its traditional culture?

When I read about the NYTimes it seems like the publisher has trouble hearing what the audience wants.  The competition has figured out how to listen to readers.

“Start-ups like Vox and First Look Media, backed by venture capital and personal fortunes, are creating newsrooms custom-built for the digital world. BuzzFeed, Facebook and LinkedIn are pushing deeper into the journalism business by hiring editors and unveiling new products aimed at newsreaders. Traditional competitors like The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Financial Times and The Guardian are moving aggressively to remake themselves as digital first.”