Thursday, January 12, 2006

Here's a thought to ponder on paid-vs.-free content from the article "Shifting stars: Why Howard Stern, Ted Koppel and New York Times columnists are moving from free to fee media by Fortune reporter Marc Gunther:

"Ironic, isn't it? Only big stars have the clout to persuade people to pay to hear what they have to say. But by doing so, those stars get a little smaller."

Here's what I think will happen. Yes, those big stars will get knocked down a notch as their content moves from free access to paid. At the same time, new stars created online will rise to match the celebrity stature of the Sterns, Koppels, and (Maureen) Dowds. And the new Internet stars will have bigger audiences, because they are free.

Is one form of celebrity better than the other? Personally, I'd go for the bigger reach if it's a consumer audience we're talking about. To go paid, it makes more sense in the online world to be a star in a niche, where it's more likely to find a paying audience.
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