The Roman Affair

Apps are the Future of Television

By 2014 you will have bought a new TV. Television is about to be revolutionized and you’re going to love where it’s going. Anyone who pays their cable bill knows they are ridiculously high. The model is bust. Yes, subscribers are still currently sticking to it, but in the wrong demographic. The hot sub-24 year old bracket is not signing up and they’re largely satisfied with Hulu and Netflix (or other more mischievious sources). Apple and Google (and potentially Amazon and maybe even Facebook) are best positioned to turn the industry on its head. Could the model be an a la carte app subscription model?

Imagine a world where you can download your favorite network or cable channel’s app to your Apple / Google TV, tablet, or smartphone, pay a small monthly subscription and receive live and on-demand viewing on any device. No more DVR. No more crazy channel guides. No more insane cable bills. It’s simple. Content straight from the source. 

And here’s the cool thing. It’s already happening. Bloomberg recently rolled out the free iPad Bloomberg TV app with live and on-demand viewing. You don’t have to stretch you imagination to see this on your TV. 

This model benefits everyone except perhaps the cable companies. Consumers get greater choice with less waste. Honestly, how many of your 250 channels are you actually watching? Probably only a handful. Content creators win by being able to market directly to viewers and potentially enjoy greater revenues. A $4.99 monthly subscription beats the few cents they get from the cable companies for each subscriber. Apple / Google will win massively with what will probably be a 30% cut of the monthly subscription price. 

The cable companies are aware of this threat and will fight to prevent it. Why else did Comcast buy NBC Universal? To control the content. Cable companies are the worst positioned in this equation and they’ll feel the pressure from declining cable subscribers and a heavier load on their data networks. They’ll also respond with tiered data pricing to offset their lost cable revenue. This is also already happening: see ATT Uverse. 

And here’s the best part: an app-enabled TV landscape creates a flat-structure for content creators. It allows a relatively small YouTube channel to be on the same level as the giant network and cable channels. With funding, these new nimble outlets will be able to compete directly with the established players and become the networks of the 21st Century. And in case you think YouTube is about sneezing pandas, think again. Google is sinking big-bucks in its ambition to pump out high quality premium content. 

Get ready for the TV revolution. It’s about to get very interesting.

The Artists Are Now Hurting The Music Industry

A recent Bloomberg Businessweek article gives some fascinating clues of what some of the music industry’s biggest names think of Spotify. 

Adele, Coldplay, The Black Keys, Tom Waits and others, are playing hard-to-get with the subscription services and not streaming their latest albums. Why? They’re worried that they will loose money on digital downloads. This ironic twist shows just how badly the industry is still scrambling to figure out their business model. 2011 saw digital downloads finally overtake physical album sales, and consequently the artist’s amnesia has caused them to forget that little over a year ago they were still vilifying downloads. It appears that the enemy is whatever technology forces them to change, which now seems to be streaming. 

Alas, such short-sightedness is typical in the entertainment industry. The studios, networks, record labels and now the artists would rather hang on to whatever forms of media distribution are currently making a buck, rather than embrace innovative models as the new profit drivers. Just as the studios are playing tough-guy with Netflix to save the last few cents coming out of their precious DVD / Blu-ray sales (Honestly now! You’re still focusing on physical media?!), the artists are now withholding their latest wares from the streaming services to protect digital downloads. 

Come on artists. Can’t you see the seismic shifts happening across the media industry? And don’t you realize that perhaps the cause of the malaise in the music business is perhaps your unwillingness to swiftly adjust to new forms of consumption? Your audience is starting to move away from sales to subscription. It might take a couple of years for the numbers to show it, but unless you adjust your sails now we’ll soon hear you whining about how desperately you’re trying to save streaming from whatever new model is in vogue. Have some courage because the more content you all make available to stream, the bigger your audience will be, and the more zeros you’ll see on your paycheck. 

End of sermon. 

What to look out for in an NDA

You’ll want a bullet-proof NDA if you’re planning on sharing any confidential information with another company. As a general rule of thumb, if you’re the disclosing party, you’ll want the NDA to be as broad and all-encompassing as possible. Make sure you consult with your attorney before signing, but in the meantime, here are some of the top things to look out for: 

1. Whose information is protected?  

One of the first things you should look out for is whether the NDA covers information flowing from both parties or just from one party. If you’re expecting both parties to be sharing information, make sure it covers this mutual flow. However, if it’s a one way street, the disclosing party will want to keep the agreement unilateral (ie, only protecting information flowing from them). In such a case, it may still be useful for the receiving party to push for a bilateral agreement to protect any information that is inadvertently disclosed. 

2. What does the confidential information definition cover?

Take a close look at how the NDA defines confidential information and make sure that it covers all possible disclosures you may be making - for example, documents, business plans, source code, software, financial analysis, marketing plans, customer names, customer data etc. This list will be specific to what you expect to disclose and from industry to industry. Also, make sure it covers oral and visual communication as well as the written words. 

3. Is anything expressly excluded?

Check to see if there have been any carve-outs of information that do not receive protection. If you’re disclosing, make this list as narrow as possible (or better yet, delete it) since you’ll want the broadest possible coverage you can get. 

4. What can the information be used for? 

NDA’s typically include a provision that states the purpose for disclosure. This is important as it limits the receiving party’s ability to use the information for other purposes. If you’re disclosing, you may also find it useful to include limits on who the information may be shared with at the receiving company. 

5. What’s the term length?

If you’re the disclosing party, you’ll want a longer term limit. If you’re the receiving party, the shorter the better. 

6. Will the confidential information be returned?  

If you’re disclosing, keep a tight reign on the information disclosed and require its return or certified destruction after your discussions have ended. If you’re receiving, try not to include this or alternatively keep it broad, loose and vague. 

7. Does it include a ‘residuals’ clause?

Residuals clauses are becoming increasingly popular amongst tech and entertainment companies - so much so that some will not even talk to you unless you agree to this clause. Essentially it allows the receiving party to use any information (such as concepts, ideas, known-how or techniques) that they remember in their minds after they have returned the confidential information. This may sound completely contradictory to the entire purpose of the NDA but here’s the rationale: since companies and their employees talk to many different parties, and read many different things, it’s really hard to remember where someone got an idea from - was it their own brilliance or did they hear/read something from the disclosed information? As a result the residuals clause is included to allow the receiving party to freely use any information they remember provided that the confidential information is returned and they are not relying on it to aid their memory. If you’re the disclosing party, you’ll want to limit this as much as possible and if you have the bargaining strength, remove it completely.  On the other hand, if you’re the receiving party, this could be a life-saver down the road so make sure you include it. 

8 Tips for Drafting a Privacy Policy

All online services need a well-crafted privacy policy. Not only is this required for compliance with US (and especially Californian) regulations, but it is essential to create and preserve your user’s trust. When consulting with your attorney, here are some of the key provisions you need to make sure are included: 

1. What information is being collected

Your policy must clearly outline all the various pieces of data that are being collected. This generally falls into three categories:

a. User submitted information. Your policy must specify what information is being collected that user’s themselves supply, either during the registration/account creation process, or through general use of the site. This may include their email address, phone number, billing information, demographic information, date of birth etc. You would still be required to disclose this information even if it is collected through a third party site or credentialing service, such as Facebook Connect.

b. Information collected automatically. The policy must address whether the site is collecting any information automatically through the user’s use of the site, for example, their IP addresses, mobile device ID, the location information, browser, operating system, URL of pages visited prior to visiting, ads clicked on, length of time on the site etc. As with user submitted information, you must disclose this information even if it is being collected through third party providers, such as Google Analytics.

c. Cookies. You must disclose whether your website is storing cookies, web-beacons or any other tools, on your users computers / devices to collect and track their online movements. 

2. What is done with information

Your policy must specify the intended purpose for which the information is being collected and whether any of it will be shared with third parties, such as service providers, analytics companies, law enforcement etc. Also, user’s should be informed whether the information is shared with its personally identifying elements attached, or if it is being shared in an aggregated and anonymized form. Furthermore, the policy should describe what happens to the information in the event of a merger, acquisition or bankruptcy. 

3. Children

All websites that direct their services to children under the age of 13 must comply withthe Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). The COPPA has a number of detailed requirements which are beyond the scope of this article, but if your site is not intended to be used by children under the age of 13, then a statement to that effect must be included in the policy. 

4. Date

This one is easy: include the date the policy was posted or last updated.

5. Review

Make sure your policy includes a provision which states how users can review and change their stored personal information. 

6. CalOPPA

In addition to the above, the California Online Privacy Protection Act (2003) also imposes some detailed guidance on where you need to post your privacy policy. This law applies to any site that collects personal information of Californian residents (which is almost every website). To comply, make sure that either: 

• The policy is posted on the home page of the website; 
• The policy is linked to the homepage with an icon that includes the word “privacy” (note: the icon color must differ from the homepage background); or
• The policy is linked to the home page by a link that contains the world “privacy” and is distinguishable from the surrounding text (ie. written in capital letters greater in size than the surrounding text, or in a type, font or color that contrasts with the surrounding text of the same size). 

7. Third Party Direct Marketing

If your site shares any personal information with third parties for direct marketing purposes, you need to make sure the site also complies with California’s Shine the Light Law. This applies if your site obtains personal information of Californian residents and your company has 20 or more employees. If that’s you, then make sure you: 

• Include a link on your home page that says “Your Privacy Rights” or “Your California Privacy Rights”;
• Include your site’s contact details for users to seek further information (and actually respond to their requests or your could be in trouble);
• Include a statement explaining the law and how users can opt-out of having their personal information shared with third party marketers. 

8. Drafting Tips

Importantly, when drafting a privacy policy, make sure you do not over-promise with statements like “we will never ever ever EVER share any of your information.” Even if you don’t intend to share anything now, you may in the future either due to changes in technology or due to a strategic opportunity, and back-peddling your privacy policy may arouse suspicions. It’s best to use broad, sweeping, and inclusive language that is disarming and provides a reasonable amount of latitude for your company to move around. 

One final note, draft the policy with the help of your developers and engineers. That way   you can confirm that the policy covers all information that is in fact collected and / or shared.