Category Archives: Information Products

Company of One

Posted on November 19, 2007 by Basab Pradhan

The English word company means “A group of persons”. I would surmise then that the business entity “company” got its name because it comprised of a group of persons engaged in a common business purpose. An individual can start and … Continue reading →

Posted in Information Products, Startups, Technology | 4 Comments

Joost – Internet TV for Real

Posted on May 27, 2007 by Basab Pradhan

I got an invite for Joost and tried it out yesterday. It rocked. Joost, for those who haven’t heard about it yet, is basically internet TV. Full screen, high(er) quality, mainstream TV content streamed to your computer over broad band. … Continue reading →

Posted in Information Products, Technology | 11 Comments

Don’t Believe Everything You Read

Posted on May 19, 2007 by Basab Pradhan

On May 16, Engadget, a blog on consumer electronics, posted breaking news that Apple’s iPhone and Leopard OS were going to be delayed. This was based upon an internal Apple email that they had been able to lay their hands … Continue reading →

Posted in Finance, Information Products, Technology | 7 Comments

The Napsterization of Sell-Side Research

Posted on April 1, 2007 by Basab Pradhan

Cross-posted on the Gridstone Blog. Candace Browning, Head of Research at Merrill Lynch posted an open letter last week that talked about the “Napsterization” of sell-side research, justifying why Merrill Lynch would have to take control of the distribution of … Continue reading →

Posted in Information Products | 5 Comments

Open Letter to the Bollywood Music Industry

Posted on March 12, 2007 by Basab Pradhan

Dear Mr./Ms. Music Executive, First of all, let me compliment you on your pricing strategy so far. You have aced the test on how to price information products. Information products like music are tricky – the content is all in … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Culture, India, Information Products, Technology | 21 Comments

Apple and the Music Industry

Posted on March 4, 2007 by Basab Pradhan

Last week’s post on YouTube and Viacom got some great comments. If you get a moment go read them. Ram Medury brings up the case of VAS content providers in India, who get a small fraction of the revenues. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Information Products, Technology | 11 Comments

YouTube vs Viacom: The Return of the King

Posted on February 25, 2007 by Basab Pradhan

The old adage “Content is king” doesn’t seem to be borne out by the post-bubble resurgence of new media. The three companies that have benefited by this resurgence the most are Google, Apple and YouTube, which is now part of … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Information Products | 11 Comments

Go South, Young Man

Posted on August 6, 2006 by Basab Pradhan

A few months back in a post on ‘Paperbacks in India’ I had talked about how information products have some interesting challenges when it comes to pricing in the developing world. I believe that in what is called Software as … Continue reading →

Posted in Information Products, Startups, Technology | 3 Comments

Paperbacks in India

Posted on March 18, 2006 by Basab Pradhan

Every trip to India, I bring back half a suitcase full of books. My wife is a voracious reader of fiction and she reads a lot of Indian fiction too. Also, we want our children to read Indian mythology and … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, India, Information Products | 8 Comments