It started with Napster and Metallica got angry. Then came Kazaa and Limewire. Many of us download copyrighted material and did not think twice about it. Something had to be done about all this illegal activity. Maybe a business could find an answer. That is exactly what Pandora and Grooveshark did (Check out our interview with Tim Westergren, the founder of Pandora here). They found a way to offer people copyrighted music for free. That is what you call innovation!

The New Generation

Ages 20-25 specifically and everyone younger is in a generation seeking free content. I am in the category and I will admit that I do not like the idea of paying for content, except for books. Today on the internet there is a plethora of information. It seems endless as blogs publish new and exciting stories each day. Newspapers are online and so are the major television networks. We can enjoy all these things by just paying for internet monthly. No more newspaper subscriptions or cable bills.

How is anyone going to make money?

Innovate, Reinvent, and Create. Going back to Pandora: Really? It’s hard to believe someone came up with such an interesting concept. Pandora is everywhere to and continuing to grow. They are the best example of a company that took a change in the world and addressed it. Free content is here and it looks like it is here to stay. Instead of thinking of it as a problem, think of it as an opportunity.

An interesting consideration, what about Bloggers?

Reading about charging to use blogs was very interesting. Recently on the web, blogger Jonathan Fields asked the question: “Whose Blog Would You Pay to Read?” Seth at Bloggusion wrote an article: “Is Premium Content Really a Big Myth?” He expressed his doubt in people paying to view content on blogs.

Blogs need to be free! Being free is what drives traffic. Free is the reason you have readers. You can make money blogging in other ways which you can find out from blogs like John Chow’s blog. Many blogs prove you can make a living blogging, but charging people to read the daily content is not going to do it for you. Anyone disagree?

Innovation is the key to the future and it always has been. Something that may seem unbelievable may actually be a great idea.