En plus de la réflexion de Micheal Geist, le dernier numéro du magazine First Monday publie l’étude des professeurs Nancy Bogucki Duncan et Mark A. Fox, chercheurs à la Indiana University South Bend, sur l’avenir des modes de distribution des fichiers numérisés sur Internet.
A common criticism of the recording industry’s methods is that they are alienating customers and such a strategy can only come to grief . Trade in recorded music is completely dysfunctional: suppliers are suing customers; some labels have colluded to fix prices; and, consumers are foiling the suppliers’ distribution systems wherever possible. Various industry commentators have suggested that the music industry’s business model is obsolete. We suggest that not only is the model for pricing and distribution outdated, but the industry’s understanding of its product, even of its business, is as flawed as its customer relations practices.