Users Will Pay For Content–And Not Just iTunes

Saul Hansell writes in his post “Why Are iPhone Users Willing to Pay for Content?“:

What’s most interesting is how iPhone users are willing to spend money in ways that Web users are not.

I’ve criticized Apple from time to time for not having a coherent approach to delivering free content with advertising. But in some ways, the development of a market for paid content is a bigger and less expected achievement.

I’ve had my sanity questioned for believing that there’s life beyond ad-supported content. In fairness, Apple has learned that it’s got to sell content cheaply, whether it’s $0.99 for a song or $4.99 for an ebook. But cheap is a lot better than free, and it gives authors / content providers a model that is not beholden to advertisers.

So, the next time someone mocks my opposition to the ad-supported model, my battle cry will be “What Would Apple Do?”,

Saul Hansell writes in his post “Why Are iPhone Users Willing to Pay for Content?“:

What’s most interesting is how iPhone users are willing to spend money in ways that Web users are not.

I’ve criticized Apple from time to time for not having a coherent approach to delivering free content with advertising. But in some ways, the development of a market for paid content is a bigger and less expected achievement.

I’ve had my sanity questioned for believing that there’s life beyond ad-supported content. In fairness, Apple has learned that it’s got to sell content cheaply, whether it’s $0.99 for a song or $4.99 for an ebook. But cheap is a lot better than free, and it gives authors / content providers a model that is not beholden to advertisers.

So, the next time someone mocks my opposition to the ad-supported model, my battle cry will be “What Would Apple Do?”,

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