Games - Digital distribution

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	Games - Digital distribution

Digital distribution (Also known as digital delivery) is the principle of providing digital information or content over the Internet, either in the form of products or services. It has been growing steadily and increasingly rapidly since the turn of the century thanks to the rise of consumer broadband. At the time of writing digital distribution's main uses include:

Music
Videogames
Films
Books
Software

Each of these forms of information can be easily digitised, if they are not already, and most can be transferred over a standard broadband connection to all intents and purposes instantly.

Basis

The major attraction for digital distribution is its direct nature. Usually to make a commercially successful work an artist must enter his or her industry’s publishing chain. Publishers help artists advertise, fund and distribute their work to retail outlets. In some industries, particularly videogames, publishers are so vital that artists find themselves bound to them and in many cases unable to make the content they want because the publisher does not believe it will sell well enough. This can quickly lead to the standardisation of the content and stifling of new and thus considered risky ideas.

By opting to digitally distribute an artist can get his or her work into the public sphere of interest easily and potentially with minimum business overheads. This often leads to both cheaper goods for the consumer and increased profits for the artists, as well as increased artistic freedom.

Digital distribution also opens the door to new business models. For instance, an artist could release one track from an album or one chapter from a book at a time instead of waiting for them all to be completed. This either gives them a cash boost to help continue or warns that their work is not financially viable before they have sunk excessive money and time into it. Videogames have increased flexibility in this area, as is demonstrated by micropayment models such as the one in Gunbound. A clear result of these new models is their accessibility to smaller artists or artist teams who do not have the time, funds or expertise to make a new product in one go.

Flaws

Loss of publisher support

There are drawbacks of an independent approach, not least the loss of publisher funding. This can be solved in one of two ways:

Hybrid deals where content is digitally distributed while also receiving publisher support. This usually means compromise: the publisher might get a cut of online sales, or demand that online prices are the same or even higher than retail prices. This is rarely desirable for those interested in digital distribution.
Utilising the new business models that online distribution allows, as described above.

The loss of advertising is another issue that stems from the dropping of publishers, and one that does not yet have a genuine solution. Videogame theorists have come closest by suggesting a model where trial versions are free and ‘unlock’ for a price once the hook has been made – the game effectively advertising itself. However, this still does not solve the issue of attracting consumers in the first place!

The upside for indie artists is however huge. For the first time they can access the same distribution chain as major record labels and there are none of the restrictive practices or inflated manufacturing costs (there are no manufacturing costs at all). Companies such as CDBaby.com and Antenna-usa.com both offer distribution to unsigned or indie artists directly to iTunes. The latter also offers a suite of marketing and promotion services offering a truly viable alternative to the traditional music industry.

DRM

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