5 posts and columns on subscription service

YBuy’s Subscription Service Lets You Try Gadgets for 30 Days

in Commerce on January 18 at 11:10 am PT

Here’s a twist on the popular subscription services: A site that lets you try out consumer electronics and home and kitchen gadgets before buying them.
ybuy_screen

Don't Count on Music Subscriptions or Streaming From Apple Tomorrow

in Media on November 15, 2010 at 10:20 am PT

What’s Apple planning at its iTunes announcement tomorrow? Good question! But I’ll be very surprised if it is music related–like a new music subscription service, or even one that lets you stream music you already own to multiple devices.

Is YouTube Ready for Primetime? Google Wants to Stream TV, for a Fee.

in Media on December 1, 2009 at 3:00 am PT

YouTube, which is already trying out the movie rental business, wants to get into TV too. Google’s video site has been trying to convince the TV industry to let it stream individual shows for a fee. It envisions something similar to what Apple and Amazon already offer: First-run shows, without commercials, for $1.99 an episode, available the day after they air on broadcast or cable.
whatsinthehatch

Bertelsmann Backs Away From Scoyo, Its Educational Kids Site

in Media on November 23, 2009 at 9:37 am PT

German entertainment conglomerate Bertelsmann, which made a move into the online kids/education market earlier this year, appears to be having second thoughts. Bertelsmann is looking for an investor to buy some or all of Scoyo, which it launched in Germany in January of this year and previewed in the U.S. in September.
scoyo

Ticketmaster CEO Irving Azoff: How to Make Money While Music Becomes “Demonetized”

in D7 on May 27, 2009 at 9:31 am PT

As a longtime music executive and talent manager, Irving Azoff has had to find a way to work with everyone from inebriated rock stars to David Geffen. But he’s never had to placate Washington, D.C. before. But that’s what Azoff needs to do in order to pull off the deal of a lifetime: A merger between his Ticketmaster Entertainment, which dominates the ticketing business, and Live Nation, which dominates the live concert business. When Azoff isn’t busy trying to convince people that the merger doesn’t violate antitrust regulations, or running his ticketing company, he manages the careers of everyone from the Eagles to Christina Aguilera. Note the one thing in the music business he doesn’t spend time on: Selling recorded music.
Irving Azoff