Most industry insiders look at wireless and see the future. Van Toffler looks at wireless and sees 1981.
The president of MTV Networks Music Groups unveiled a deal to create wireless video content with Warner Music Group Corp.’s stable of artists. The network said it will work with Warner artists such as Green Day, Big & Rich and Twista to make both mobile-specific and cross-platform content.
In addition to music videos, the Viacom Inc. subsidiary plans to develop two- to four-minute clips based on its network shows and Internet programming and will distribute content through its cable brands including CMT, VH1 and various MTV channels. But while the mobile video pact is a first for Warner, Toffler said it presents an opportunity to bring imaginative new content to the platform-much as it did on television when it launched more than two decades ago.
“For us, it’s really about creating compelling content for the mobile experience. It’s kind of MTV going back to its short-form roots,” when the network earned as much attention for its promotional spots as it did for its music videos, Toffler told Mecca attendees Monday. “The creativity was happening between programming.”
The new platform is yet another opportunity for the 25-year-old MTV to stave off middle age. While the network gained traction initially by simply airing music videos, it has evolved into a full-fledged brand based on aggressive marketing, hit TV shows and its interactive Web site.
Carriers will determine pricing for the MTV offering, Toffler said, and network executives are working to strike similar deals with other labels. Operators likely will offer the content on both a subscription and pay-per-video basis.
Subscription-based models increasingly are gaining interest from operators, particularly in the music-download arena. While Apple’s iTunes may have established a benchmark selling 99-cent downloads at razor-thin margins, operators likely will be forced to price songs markedly higher to generate substantial revenues. But users aren’t likely to pay such a premium simply for the ability to download songs to their phones, warned Mark Donovan, vice president of products and senior analyst at M:Metrics.
“Ringtones are fashion, for which a premium will be paid, but music tracks are a different animal,” Donovan said last month. “Although some people will pay $2 for the immediacy or novelty of downloading a song on their phone, this isn’t a pricing model that I see surviving over the long-term or driving a mass market.”<
