Page 146 - AC/E's Digital Culture Annual Report 2015

Cultural business models on the Internet146Although this past quarter-century has seen a succession of countless occurrences, changes and landmark events, we are still at the dawnof the transformation process we call the digital revolution. Nevertheless, despite the uncertainty and friction it triggers, a few signs are gradually appearing of its future evolution. We are there- fore at a unique stage in digital development, as discovering the keys to how we have come so far will to an extent allow us to anticipate its future evolution.Welcome to the expanded InternetDigitisation has especially affected the sectors of content, leisure, culture and entertainment, as they work with products or services thatare easily digitised. In order to understand the current state of digitisation, it is appropriateto identify the key factors that explain whatwe have defined as the expanded Internet and embody the game rules of the digital economy:1. The cloud economy: from products to servicesThe Internet has provided distributed access to services and content, which has been conceptu- ally defined as the “cloud”. The digitisation of content and hyperconnectivity have led access to become more important than ownershipof goods. There is no longer any need to own physical formats (books, discs, DVDs...) or even to download them in digital format (files); users can simply gain online access where, when and how they wish.Success in the cloud economy has been achieved by companies that have managed to offer value-added services. A salient feature in this connection is the capability provided by distrib- uted computing with respect to automation, personalisation and recommendation models, by improving the user’s experience and modifying consumption habits. All this has triggered the emergence of new agents not belonging to the culture sector, such as Amazon and Google, which have changed the previous rules. An example of this is the launch of Kindle Unlim- ited, which provides access through its tabletto approximately 700,000 titles for a flat rate. This model has been followed by publishers such as Bertelsmann with Skoobe, which provides access to some 50,000 titles. In Spain there is the case of 24symbols, a pioneer in our country in converting cultural products such as books into services. Not to mention platforms such as Spotify and Pandora in music, or Netflix, Waki and Yomvi for audio-visual content.The Internet has provided distributed access to services and content,which has been conceptually defined as the cloud.2. Social2005 saw the start of the “Web 2.0”, which has been gradually evolving to give rise to what we now call the social Internet. Irrespective of the birth, rise and, in some cases, disappearanceof some social networks or others, it seems inarguable that the social sector is now part ofThe challenge of the digital transformation of the culture industries