Sony Music Corporation has announced that it will make about 4,000 of its music titles available for digital downloading. All of this will happen through kiosks placed in stores around the country.
WALLY's COMMENT. . .There's a take on the basic retailing business model here that's interesting. Stocking in a traditional music retail store is limited by physical space. But whatever the music that you stock doesn't take up any space on your shelf?
Then what you've got is a very new model with very small stores can compete with very large stores. This means that a small store in a small town can effectively compete in some ways with a large mall store nearby. Some of the advantages of physical browsing go away, but those are replaced by increased searchability and, very likely, the ability to hear the music before you buy it.
Another advantage of the digital format is the ability to mix and match individual songs on a single CD.
Let's expand this idea just a bit. Digital downloading makes it possible for people who aren't music retailers to get into the music retail business. Try out the following scenario.
You and your date head out to a fifties style diner. Yep, the red leatherette seats, the chrome on the tables, all of it. In the old fifties diner, you'd have a little jukebox selector at your table. Folks all over the diner would be selecting music and their mix would appear on the big speakers.
At this new diner, though, what you have is a miniature version of the kiosk system. You select music which plays in your booth. At the end of your meal you have the option to buy a CD of the songs you've selected and maybe even add your own comments so that you and your date both have a reminder of your experience.
Digital downloading will work for just about any product that can be put into digital form. That includes music, graphics, and a variety of information. If you're in that business, look at downloading as one of the great opportunities of the digital age.
If you're at the retail end of things, think about ways that you can integrate digital downloaded products into your mix. The amount of floor space that the kiosk or other system may take up would be minimal compared to the additional revenue that you might be able to generate.
Created/Revised/Reviewed: 11/15/99
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