Culture change could boost media revenues
May 25 2001
Media companies with a strong web presence will be cheered by the latest report which suggests that consumers - at long last - are willing to pay for information, music and other services online.
The report, which was commissioned by Mondex, an on-line smart card company, hints that the 'free culture of the internet' may be changing as 'people realise the true value' of information on the web.
According to Allison Greensmith, head of business development at Mondex, consumers are actually willing to pay 'small amounts' for the likes of news and reports. The report highlights that people would pay around 63p a go for up-to-date and archived news and up to 89p per transaction for downloaded music. Over half the consumers polled are willing to pay around £1.12 for financial advice/information, and many expressed an interest in paying for sports results, internet searches and tailored travel advice.
Greensmith suggests that since there are around 22 million UK internet users, these small sums could add up to considerable revenues in a short space of time. She says the publishing sector 'could bring in an additional £14 million per month' if it charged a small amount for news, while the music industry 'could be worth an additional £19.6 million'. Search engines could reel in 'an extra £15.2 million' by taking small transactions.
There are, however, many problems for companies in relation to internet payments of this sort. Apart from the security, small businesses would face difficulties collecting thousands of micro payments from the public every day. There are though new technologies - such as smart cards or e-cash payments (conducting transactions through the use of electronic currency) that could alleviate the problem.
For a fuller version of the research please visit www.mondex.com .
With thanks to Lloyds TSB Success4Business. For more news and information visit www.success4business.com .
(25/5/01)