The New Gatekeepers Part 1: Online Retailer InSound.com
Interesting article in the July issue of Business 2.0 Magazine about online CD retailer Insound.com.
One of the unanswered questions of music on the net is
“when people can listen to a zillion online radio stations and get instant access to hundreds of thousands of tracks, how in heck do they decide what is worth listening to; much less what is worth buying?”
The answer is probably gatekeepers. People whose ears you trust. I (and at least a few thousand others already think of Bill at online station Radio Paradise as one of our gatekeepers. Insound.com has becoming a gatekeeper for more than 250,000 musicheads. And unlike many other burgeoning gatekeepers, Insound.com is (as a seller of music) uniquely positioned to make money at it.
The potential conflict between the promoting quality vs. selling quantity is a minefield, but check out these early numbers: Because Insound.com competes by selling hard to find and deep catalogue rather than competing on price; check out these numbers:
– Amazon’s gross profit margin on music – 10%
– Insound.com’s gross profit margin on music – 30%
– Sales from titles no found on Amazon – 80%
Who are your trusted Gatekeepers? Email us.
