Wal-mart

Ahh, I love when I'm perusing the news and Wal-Mart pops up under a failed venture. This time its with their online video sales venture. What, you didn't realize Wal-Mart had an online video sales venture? Well, they did. And it failed. Mostly due to high prices and DRM which meant you could only play it on one computer. So, they spent lots of money and got little in return. Haha!

I don't like Wal-Mart. I don't like their business model and I don't like how they treat both employees and customers. I shop there, on RARE occasions, but I am blessed to have a Kroger's right around the corner, an Aldi's down the street, and a K-Mart and Sears in the same town, both slightly closer than the Wal-Mart. This is besides the various other stores I shop at to avoid WM. I don't like them because they pretty much force their suppliers into making things overseas (read: China). Nelson sprinkler's are a good example of that. Wal-Mart wanted to sell their products, but at X price. Nelson said, we can't even MAKE them for that price. So then Wal-Mart laid out for Nelson a plan on how to get their sprinkler's not built here in America (many in Peoria, IL) or even Mexico, but China. So now they are cheap, and you get exactly what you paid for even though their is a quality name on the box.

I also don't find it cost effective to walk into a Wal-Mart and have to spend a minimum of 25 minutes in the store. I have to be saving LOTS of money to make going their worth my time. 25 minutes of my time is worth at least $5. At least! Not counting the frustration of waiting in line while 10 or 12 registers are unmanned (or unwomanned). I understand, it saves money. But time is money to me, and so usually the net result is NOT any money saved on my part. And they don't get my business.

As far as online video or music goes, DRM has to go. People are getting tired of buying media and being told HOW they can use it. If I buy a CD, I should be able to do whatever I like with it as long as what I bought stays in my possession. If I can play it on my microwave (you can't, it just makes the back of a CD look really cool) that should be ok, as long as I'm not reselling or giving it away to others. And, in case the media companies haven't caught on DRM doesn't prevent people from doing that, it just makes those of us who try to get our media legally upset.

Services where you have signed a contract and understand you're only "renting" the media are different. I believe that's sort of how Microsoft's Zune works. And if you understand that, and are ok with that, then its all good. But if you're expected to pay full price for media, and only get a VERY limited way to use it, that's not going to make customers happy or want to buy from you again.

I'm not a marketing genius. I don't know what the best business models for digital media are, its still a relatively new market and while growing, its also going through its growing pains. But, the media companies are going to HAVE to learn they must change. And people who work for or make money from the media companies must adapt too. (Sorry Hollywood writers, that includes you. You'll have to figure out how to make it work.)

Me, I still like to hold my media. Movies it doesn't matter so much, but as far as my music, I like liner notes for many of my favorite bands. And since many of them are on indie labels anyway, I like to support them. I don't file-share music or movies. I'm not a better person than people who do, its just I do view it as stealing most of the time. (There are gray areas. I might download a song that's CONSTANTLY on the radio I like. I'll be sick of it in a month, and there are so few good ALBUMS anymore that I view it differently. Maybe I shouldn't, but I do. Oh, this amounts to maybe 10 songs a year...) But to all the file-sharers out there who, if there was a simple, cheap way to get their media how they want it, lobby for it. Make it known you'll pay for and use a good system. And hopefully, one will be coming. (Aside from iTunes :)