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Usage of paid content sites is expected to double in the next year, but many such sites are augmented by free areas to pull users in. That’s one of the conclusions drawn by a new study by Intermarket Group’s Content Matrix, culled from more than 340 subscription sites and services. One of the most interesting findings is that 81 percent of paid content sites still offer some free content. Sixty-one percent publish at least one free email newsletter. Not surprisingly, the report finds that business-oriented categories are the most expensive, with median subscription prices of $22.45 per month. The lowest-priced categories are entertainment (a median $6.95 per month), sports ($5.95) and weather ($4.95). Business- and consumer-targeted sites are most likely to offer free trial subscriptions, though only 35 percent total did. Among those that do offer free subscriptions, the average length was two weeks. Finally, almost all of the properties surveyed supplement subscription income with other sources, including single-purchase digital/downloadable content sales (32 percent); syndication or licensing of digital content (49 percent); marketing of related merchandise on the site (43 percent) and advertising (72 percent).
AOL tells subscribers: Give MusicNet a try
Legitimate online music services, which have floundered against free file-swapping sites such as Napster and Kazaa, may soon get a boost. America Online has decided to offer MusicNet, a joint venture between three heavyweight record companies, to its 27 million U.S. subscribers. It’s the broadest invitation yet for a commercial music service, a real boon considering that during Napster’s peak the service boasted 60 million subscribers. EMI Group, Bertelsmann and Warner Music, the latter also a division of AOL Time Warner, own MusicNet. Music companies have been in a four-year panic over the rise of file swapping and the coinciding decline in CD sales. This year, sales of U.S. albums are down 10 percent compared to 2002, an off year itself. Meanwhile, blank, burnable CD sales rose 40 percent in 2002. AOL members can get MusicNet services for a basic $3.95 per month, including 20 streams and 20 downloads. AOL will enable the MusicNet system to work faster for dial-up customers, which comprise most of its clientele.
Overture aims at Google, buys another search site
For the second time in a week, Google rival Overture Services has acquired a major search site. Overture bought AltaVista last week for $140 million, and now has agreed to a reported $100 million deal to secure the internet search division of Norwegian Fast Search and Transfer (AlltheWeb.com and its PartnerSite). Overture says the purchases likely will cut 20 or 21 cents per share from 2003 earnings, but could add to 2004 earnings. Google hasn’t commented on the deals, through which paid search company Overture may basically consolidate three rivals into one. Overture uses different technology than Google, which does not charge companies for listings. AltaVista and Fast Search provide both types of searches. Overture has named former NEC Research Institute scientist Gary Flake to oversee the research and development division, where he’ll try to integrate the three properties. The company is based in Pasadena, Calif.
Scientists: Electronic voting isn't problem-free
After the hanging chads flap of the 2000 presidential election, electronic voting might seem to offer a less problematic alternative to paper ballots. But some researchers have declared that the revolution should come to a temporary halt, at least until paper backups have been prepared for all electronic voting machines. During the 2000 election, about 10 percent of voters cast electronic ballots. Silicon Valley computer scientists warned this week, though, that without paper backups, electronic systems may be even more vulnerable to mistakes. The scientists say that hackers have an easier time tampering with results without a paper check. The warnings coincided with a Santa Clara County board vote this week to introduce 5,000 machines, at a cost of $20 million, that would produce paper receipts. No other county in the country uses the system, dubbed the voter-verified paper backup. Scientists also cautioned that any computer system is subject to server crashes, power outages, software bugs and frozen screens that can inhibit or temporarily shut down voting. They say allowing voters to look at paper receipts would also cut down on errors, allowing incorrect votes to be recast.
Male trucker e-poses as incestuous woman
Since 2000, 39-year-old truck driver Norman Rickley has been posing as a 19-year-old woman having sex with her father. The deception began in a series of emails to an underaged girl and culminated with Rickley’s recent offer to buy the 16-year-old Ripley, W. Va., girl from her family for $15,000. Rickley was arrested this week and charged with felony counts including child sexual abuse and child pornography. Rickley, of Cranberry, Pa., allegedly told his young correspondent that he and his sisters were engaging in incestuous father-daughter relationships. Rickley and the girl exchanged dozens of emails over the past three years. Apparently unaware that incest is not usually an appropriate ice-breaker, Rickley explained to police that he posed as a female because he had trouble conversing with women.
February 27, 2003© 2003 Media Life
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