Print is Dead: Books in Our Digital Age

As reported by USA Today, “CNN will give away access to an online video service that now costs $25 a year, becoming the latest news organization to revamp its revenue model on the Web.”

This is pretty interesting since it’s yet another media company changing its mind from a paid-subscription model to a free one. This is both good and bad in terms of the “print is dead” debate. One of the main problems facing eBooks since the beginning has been pricing. No one’s been quite sure what to charge for something that doesn’t really exist. A few bucks? Full price? And in the midst of this confusion, not to mention loads of DRM, competing formats, and less-than-elegant technological interfaces, consumers have — for the most part — stayed away in droves.

So while big media companies begin to give away more of their product online, while that’s of course good for information that yearns to be free (if you believe in that argument), it makes it more difficult for publishers charging consumers for digital content. In terms of why CNN made their change, a company spokesperson is quoted as saying, “People don’t like to pay for stuff on the Internet.” This is unfortunately true. And even though the success of iTunes has shown that consumers are indeed willing to pay for digital content — provided the price point makes sense, and it’s easy for them to do so — publishing has yet to figure out what to charge for the virtual computer file of a hardback book that costs $27.95.

USA Today: CNN.com dropping fees for live video