Paywall resistance is slowly melting away from the psyche of online consumers as corroborated by a recent digital media professionals survey by Digicareers (April 2012). Paywalls were earlier perceived as deterrents for user traffic on websites. It was believed that as soon as users encountered a paywall, they were most likely to leave the site immediately. But the Digicareers report shows a different reality. According to the survey, although a little more than half the users take the exit route, a considerable part (42% respondents) actually explore and reflect on making a purchase decision seriously.

 

Of the people surveyed, 42% said that they understood that paywalls were essential for companies that provide high quality or premium content. Since more and more people are accepting the importance of valuable information available on the Internet, they are prepared to spend a few extra bucks because they feel that the quality is worth the cost.

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Elevation Partners’ Roger McNamee  brighten my day today claiming in the interview below that: “Everything That Mattered Over the Last Eight Years Won’t Matter Anymore and that HTML5 will be the next big thing”. Elevation Partners is a leading private equity firm focused on large-scale investments in media, entertainment and technology businesses. Among their prestigious portfolio we find: Facebook, Forbes or Marketshare…

No doubt that his vision for the future of the web will make sense to the publishing industry and content creators: 3 messages extracted from his 13-minute videos were particularly interesting in terms of content monetization:

- First he explained that the commoditization of content, as we have been knowing it for the last decade has come to an end. Not only premium and highly differentiated content will prevail, but both content creators and users will benefit from it and to a certain extend, software vendors that enable it.

- According to McNamee, HTML5 will be the next big thing because “it will allow new form of monetization for content that have never been possible online before” as it free the user from existing constraints coming from Flash or Apple devices and basically will allow in-page monetization that brings more convenience to the consumer.

- He also stressed that more convenience will bring more engagement from the user which is key for a successful content monetization.

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The Publishing industry elite was gathered last week in London for the 2012 edition of the Digital Media Europe: The New York Times, CNN, Guardian Media Group, Axel Springer, RBS just to name a few…and Cleeng!

Gilles Domartini – our CEO and founder – was thrilled to be among the happy few key speakers, next to Arthur Sulzberger (Chairman and CEO of The New York Times) and Andrew Miller (CEO of Guardian Media Group) to discuss and shape the future of the media industry.

 The main focus was on the hottest trends and best examples in digital advertising and the approaches media companies are taking to create new business. We could not think of  any  better audience for our 30-minute presentation: our  experience with monetizing digital content.

Thanks again to the DME team for the invitation, and wish the analysis provided was helpful.

Paidcontent.org just broke the news: “Go Press digital kiosk bundles Belgian newspapers, magazines…and payment is powered by Dutch online content payment facilitator Cleeng, which already powers payment on France’s LaTribune.fr”.

Gopress’ users, utilizing the first of its kind online kiosk for Belgian press at www.gopress.be, can now also simultaneously make use of the monetization solution developed by Cleeng to purchase all national and regional publications editions. This service will also be extended to the foreign press in the near future.

When using Cleeng, right after payment, users are able to immediately access their selected publications. With as little as one click, they can buy everything that publishers are willing to offer. The publishers can set prices according to the type of content (text, video, PDFs, etc.) and propose various forms of payment using a single tool. With Cleeng, users need just one account to access the entirety of the Belgian press. As explained by Daniel van Wylick, president of the strategic committee of Gopress, “the advanced features of online payment and excellent graphical integration greatly ease the shopping experience for the user.”

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After the Midem last January, we are back from the two-day MIP TV conference in Cannes, where Cleeng was finalist of the MIPCube Lab. We were thrilled to be recognized  by broadcasters and Live events organizers, as a promising disruptive start-up!

The 5 mn pitch was a great opportunity to network with some of the industry’s most influential figures like Sandrine Dufour, EVP Innovation and Deputy CFO at Vivendi, who explained that “on-demand” is one of the key evolution in recent years and that large corporations like Vivendi monitors closely start-ups new business models and technological solutions that could change the future of TV: “Also what’s key in a company like Vivendi is open innovation. We absolutely need to be in touch with the outside world experts, and get closer to the innovative eco-systems, like the start-ups.”

Listen to the 5 mn pitch to understand how CLeeng can help you generate more revenue with your online content.

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Great night at the Rebelution live concert last saturday. The 5-hour live streaming show presented by My Live Ticket featured Rebelution, alongside The Wailers, The Green and Pep Love  from Chicago’s Congress Theatre for $5.99 and it was a huge success.

This new form of concert is the hallmark of  My Live Ticket: the firm facilitating social media presence and interaction with fans with the aim of boosting an artist’s marketability. The bands have selected six causes and thousands of viewers could select to which they’d like to donate. The $5.99 donation allowed viewers to stream the entire high definition and multi-angle audio and video as well as interviews with each band between sets, and answered questions submitted via social networks.

MyLive ticket chose Cleeng to manage the virtual pre-booking phase and tickets sale since the purchase could be done directly through the band’s website and be compatible with Apple iOS devices (iPhone, iPad).

“We are very happy to have selected Cleeng as our monetization partner, with our previous supplier we used to convert at 0.6% . When we implemented Cleeng the conversion rate jumped above 4% which is really positive!  The potential for live streaming concert monetization is huge and we believe that our unique approach to webcasting combined with their smart e-commerce solution bring a real breakthrough: allowing artists to leverage their fans community  boosting the average revenue per user dramatically.” reported Rob Helmstetter, CEO, myLive Ticket.

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