Broadband content, accessed using new media tools like wireless smartphones and Internet streams, continues to draw people and money away from traditional media outlets like radio and TV, according to an annual report on the Canadian communications industry. Even so, broadcast revenues increased three per cent to $14.4 billion, mostly as a result of the specialty and pay television sector. The Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (or CRTC) said in its report that overall revenue reached $55.4 billion last year, up about two per cent. The CRTC says the media and communications ...

Chris Anderson responds to Malcolm Galdwell's critique of Free on his blog, The Long Tail

The battle of pop sociologists just got a lot more interesting: in the latest issue of New Yorker magazine, Malcolm Gladwell does a fisking of Wired editor Chris Anderson’s new book “Free”, the book about the future of pricing and the value of IP (and by definition business models) in a digital world. Anderson’s iron law: “In the digital realm you can try to keep Free at bay with laws and locks, but eventually the force of economic gravity will win.” ...

Apple and Amazon are forging paid access models with applications and digital content that could generate enough revenue and market share to give Google ulcers.

Apple's iPhone and iTunes and Amazon's Kindle are onto something very big.

Their approach to making the digital future financially viable represents as much of a psychological break with rampant free content practices as a template for conditioning consumers to pay for relevant content and valuable applications, especially for mobile devices.

Just as important, they dodge reliance on media advertising that will remain in flux ...

What is the changing face of gamers? If yesterday’s sweet spot used to be the geeky, single, 18-34 year old male with disposable income who played increasingly complex games on average 30-hours per week, then today’s demographic looks like the polar opposite: grandmotherly pensioners and pre-tweens snacking on casual portal games. From the very old to the very young, these “bookend” generations are changing the face of gaming and the business models at its core. There are all kinds of strange ...