jueves, 27 de junio de 2013

Qué quieren los consumidores?...de Bloomberg BusinessWeek

Internet

What Do Consumers Want? Watch the Pirates

 
Media companies are trying to lure fans away from the dreaded pirates—sometimes, by copying them


If you want to run a media business, you should study how savvy users are consuming media. To that end, Warner Bros. (TWX) executive David Kaplan wants to look at the savviest of media consumers: the pirates.

“Generally speaking, we view piracy as a proxy of consumer demand,” Kaplan, the head of anti-piracy efforts at Warner Bros. Entertainment, wrote in a piece posted on the website of this week’s Los Angeles-based Anti-Piracy & Content Protection Summit. “Accordingly, enforcement related efforts are balanced with looking at ways to adjust or develop business models to take advantage of that demand by offering fans what they are looking for when they are looking for it.”

Kaplan says it makes sense to loosen up on copyright infringements that don’t pose legitimate threats to business, acknowledging that fans who make mash-ups of your material are like an extra ad department that works for free:
“We give a wide berth to ‘fan use’ and permit fans to use and interact with our content in ways that might technically still constitute copyright infringement, but do not directly substitute for the full length feature, episode or game. Warner Bros. and Time Warner, for that matter are content creating companies. Indeed, we include major news outlets. Freedom of expression is key to our businesses, and any actions pursued on the enforcement side are taken with that in mind.”
Many video-game companies have taken this approach to the insanely popular in-game replay videos that fans make and post to YouTube (GOOG) through channels such as Machinima. At the same time, Nintendo (7974)‘s recent decision to start claiming a portion of the ad revenue from these videos is a reminder that openness seems more threatening when money is on the table.

Media companies may also be coming around to the idea that the models for moving pirated content are worth imitating. A 2010 study by researchers at the University of Texas, Dallas found that legal digital music marketplaces blunt demand for illegal ones; while the impact of music piracy continues to be disputed, legal online music services have since then gained steam.

Hollywood studios have begun to question some of the basic tenets of their distribution model. According to the Wall Street Journal, Disney (DIS) and Sony Pictures (SNE) are letting Korean consumers stream movies at home, even while theaters are still showing them, in an attempt to reduce the incentive to pirate new releases.

The idea has its opponents. Major U.S. movie theater chains require a period of exclusivity from studios, precisely because they’re concerned that many people would stay home if they could. This idea is probably not going to be coming to the United States any time soon.

The streaming movies aren’t necessarily cheap, either. But there’s definitely a school of thought within media companies that customers would be willing to pay for the relative convenience and safety. And anything that might steer people away from BitTorrent is worth a shot.
Brustein is a writer for Businessweek.com in New York.
 
 
 
 
 
 

jueves, 20 de junio de 2013

Small Business: This Week's Top Story, from Bloomberg BusinessWeek

Small Business: This Week's Top Story

Small Business Administration's Karen Mills

Small Business Administration's Karen Mills

Policy

Every Week Is Small Business Week. This Week It's Official

 
By

Every week is small business week at millions of small businesses across America. Positive recognition is always nice, but most small business owners would prefer to do a little bit more business—or to rewrite federal policy on taxes, immigration, health care, or any other number of issues—than to win an award. So why all the fuss over National Small Business Week, which kicks off today?

First held in 1963 by the order of President John F. Kennedy, the annual event has the hallmarks of a Hallmark holiday—a celebration that serves commercial and political interests. President Obama issued a presidential proclamation touting “America’s entrepreneurial spirit,” and Republican members of the House Small Business Committee will publish Op-Ed columns on the state of small business. Washington Democratic Senator Patty Murray recorded a video message to be shown at a National Small Business Week event in Seattle today.

Nor will the private sector miss out. There are myriad sponsors, including Microsoft (MSFT), Staples (SPLS), and ADP (ADP). Speakers include Square Chief Executive Officer Jack Dorsey, Angie’s List (ANGI) founder Angie Hicks, and NFL quarterback-turned-entrepreneurial coach Fran Tarkenton. All have something to sell small business owners.

Still, a Hallmark holiday is a holiday all the same. (Don’t Valentine’s Day roses smell just as sweet?) For the small businesses being honored at Friday’s closing ceremony, the occasion is a welcome bit of recognition of their hard work and success. For small business owners who attend regional events in Seattle, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Arlington, Tex., and Washington, D.C., there are networking opportunities. For those who can’t attend, many of the educational panels are being streamed on the Small Business Administration’s website.

National Small Business Week is interesting to the degree that its agenda gives insight into the issues that matter to small business owners—or, at least, the issues that matter to the SBA and corporate sponsors of this week’s events. Along those lines, here some recurring themes:
Going global. In 2010, President Obama pledged to double the nation’s exports by 2015, and is counting on small businesses to play an important part. A study published by the National Small Business Association last week indicated that small businesses want to expand internationally, but don’t know where to start. Panels held today through Thursday and streamed online may be a place to start.
  1. Obamacare. With the main provisions of the health reform law going into effect in 2014, and many small business owners confused about the law, it’s no wonder that National Small Business Week is devoting several sessions to Affordable Care Act 101.
  2. Financing. The SBA and Treasury Department hosted a summit on small business capital last week; this week’s events feature several sessions on raising capital for small businesses, including a Google+ Hangout on small business loans.
  3. Social media. Most small business owners aren’t keeping up with bigger companies when it comes to online marketing—which may be why National Small Business Week is dedicating a series of panels to social media and managing online reputation.
Supporting underrepresented groups. There’s a panel today called “Resources for Tribal Business,” and a discussion on immigrant entrepreneurs on Wednesday.
Clark is a reporter for Bloomberg Businessweek covering small business and entrepreneurship.
 
 

lunes, 3 de junio de 2013

This Week in Small Business: From Bloomberg BusinessWeek

In Hot Housing Markets, Are Investors Fanning Flames?

Real Estate

In Hot Housing Markets, Are Investors Fanning Flames?

 
Home prices are on fire, according to new data today from the S&P/Case-Shiller index. Home prices made the largest 12-month gain since April 2006, with prices up 10.9 percent from March 2012. The sharp gains have fanned fears that we might be seeing another bubble, so we thought we’d look at one facet of the market: the role investors are playing.
 
First, some broad context
In the big picture, first-time and existing homeowners drive the market and make up just under 80 percent of all sales. That leaves the remaining fifth of sales to investors, according to the latest Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking Survey. Tom Popik, research director for Campbell Surveys, says tight lending standards have contained first-time buyers to about 35 percent of the market, with the rest coming from existing homeowners.
 
Who are the investors?
Investors have long been mom-and-pop operations that buy and rent out a few homes at a time. That profile began started shifting over the past two years as Wall Street firms entered the game. Major institutional investors have been buying up foreclosures and other low-cost properties by the thousands, rehabbing them, and then renting them out to families that can’t buy homes.
 
What are they buying?
Investors have come to dominate the market for foreclosures that need repairs, making up about two-thirds of so-called damaged REO sales, Popik says. Regular buyers don’t compete much for those damaged REOs because they often don’t have the time, money, or interest to make major repairs. But everyone likes a deal, so regular buyers do compete with investors for foreclosures that don’t need major repairs. Investors make up only about a fifth of all purchases if the foreclosures are habitable and generally move-in ready. This means that when foreclosures in good shape, investors are more directly competing with homeowners. The same goes for short sales, for which investors now make up more than a third of all buyers.
 
Does that mean investors drive up prices for regular buyers?
Investors aren’t likely to participate in the bidding wars that are happening for the best properties in hot markets. “The investors tend to be frugal buyers,” says Popik. “They pay with cash and they bid low.” But just because investors often don’t compete directly with homeowners on individual properties, doesn’t mean investors don’t still broadly affect that market. “The investors take inventory out of the market, especially on the front end at foreclosure auctions,” he says. “That constricts the supply of property for owner-occupants, and then the owner-occupants bid against each other.”
 
Will investors keep being a force in the market?
According to the HousingPulse survey, foreclosures and short sales combined made up about 33 percent of the market in April, based on a three-month moving average, down sharply from 43.6 percent a year earlier. If those distressed sales become a declining share of the market, the impact of investors may wane over time.
Weise is a reporter for Bloomberg Businessweek in New York. Follow her on Twitter @kyweise.