Author: Minal Bopaiah - Page 48 - Subscription Insider

Do You Have a Designated Agent to Handle Copyright Infringement Claims?

Business Services, News, Technology / Minal Bopaiah

This past Tuesday, legal experts Tom Curley and Chad Bowman spoke to Subscription Site Insider members about end-user license agreements and protecting paid content. It was an informative Webinar, and one that helped subscription site executives double-check that all their legal Ts were crossed. For example, did you know that under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, a website can have limitations on liability for copyrighted material posted by others if the website has designated an agent to…

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Why Software Companies Should Adopt a SaaS Subscription Model

Business Services, News, Technology / Minal Bopaiah

In the U.S., software contracts usually forbid resale, but recently the European Court of Justice ruled that developers can’t forbid the resale of programs or forbid companies from downloading updates from the Internet. This puts a serious kink in the business model of most software developers, since many U.S. companies can now acquire used software through European subsidiaries. Companies spend $250 billion to $275 billion a year on software, according to Bloomberg. Meanwhile, software is usually discounted…

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Anime Subscription Site Gets an Estimated $8.4M in Revenue

Entertainment and Streaming, FInance, News / Minal Bopaiah

If you’re not an Anime fan, you probably haven’t heard of Crunchyroll, a San Francisco-based subscription site streaming a blend of Anime, Korean drama and Asian live action content. This niche-specific site has garnered 100,000 paying subscribers by offering viewers access to four out of five Anime shows the same day they are aired in Japan, reports GigaOm.With subscription prices between $7 and $12 a month, Crunchyroll’s annual revenues are estimated to be between $8.4 million…

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California Enforces Online Sales Tax, But Most Subscription Sites Selling Online Content Do Not Have to Collect

News, Payment Processing, Technology / Minal Bopaiah

This Saturday, Sept. 15, 2012, California will begin enforcing its online sales tax law. That means that eCommerce retailers with more than a million in sales in California will have to collect sales tax from customers. (Interestingly, this has led to a buying frenzy on Amazon by some California residents.) But most websites selling online subscriptions for digital content or access shouldn’t be affected. That’s because the law applies to “tangible personal property.” Sales and Use tax…

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Are Video Landing Pages Better For Selling Online Subscriptions Than Long-Form Letters?

Entertainment and Streaming, News, Subscriber Acquisition / Minal Bopaiah

For a long time, long-form letters have been a tried and true conversion tactic for postal direct mail — especially for financial newsletters. And many subscription sites have simply transferred those long-form letters online. But in this week’s Case Study on Subscription Site Insider, Eagle Publishing had some interesting test results regarding video landing pages. Specifically, Eagle’s financial division found that video landing pages converted a lot better online than those standard long-form letters. This just shows,…

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TheStreet Acquires The Deal for $5.8 Million [M&A News]

Business Strategy, FInance, News / Minal Bopaiah

TheStreet, Inc. (TST) today announced that it has acquired The Deal, LLC for $5.8 million. Both sites offer subscriptions to premium content, and will continue to do so after the acquisition. Founded in 1999 as The Daily Deal print newspaper, The Deal LLC transformed its business into a digital subscription platform that delivers coverage of “the deal economy” primarily through The Deal Pipeline, which provides transactional information and services. The acquisition will help TheStreet grow its subscription…

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Open Access Laws Threaten Online Subscription Business in U.K. & U.S.

FInance, News, Technology / Minal Bopaiah

The U.K. and Oklahoma may be putting a dent in two subscription businesses’ profits. The U.K. government recently called paywalls for scientific journals “deeply unhealthy” and announced plans to make all research publications “open-access” in order to promote knowledge sharing and scientific advancements. But Reed Elsevier calls the new rule “catastrophic,” saying it could reduce the company’s profits by 60%. While the new law is limited to the U.K., the European Union could adopt similar regulations, and paidContent…

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Apple Likely to Compete With Subscription Music Services Soon

Business Strategy, Industry Announcements, News, Subscriber Acquisition / Minal Bopaiah

Apple appears to be looking to create its own subscription-based music service, according to the Wall Street Journal (paywalled article). For years, Apple founder Steve Jobs resisted the subscription, cloud-based music streaming model, saying consumers preferred to own their music. For a long time he was right, but the advent of subscription sites Pandora, Spotify and Rhapsody is changing consumer expectations. The move might also be a reaction to news that the actor Bruce Willis is reportedly…

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2012 Mobile Marketing Guide Released by FTC in Time for Holidays

News, Regulation and Compliance, Subscription Apps, Technology / Minal Bopaiah

Yesterday I wrote about what options subscription and paid content sites had in terms of mobile strategy. Coincidentally, this week also saw the release of the Federal Trade Commission’s Mobile Marketing Guide, in time for the 2012 holiday season (If you’re looking for great holiday marketing ideas, check out our post on Selling Gift Subscriptions). Once again, the FTC is reminding mobile app creators to be transparent about data practices and build privacy considerations in from the…

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4 Mobile Strategies for Paid Content and Subscription Sites

News, Subscription Apps, Technology / Minal Bopaiah

Mobile usage is growing exponentially, but is it growing among your users and audience? That’s the first question you should ask yourself before exploring whether you should create a mobile site or app. If you decide your subscription site needs a mobile presence, then you want to make sure that mobile presence integrates with your business goals and philosophy. Paid content sites basically have four options: The “content everywhere” strategy — This strategy advocates for making your content…

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Insight to drive subscription growth

Minal Bopaiah