Is digital content priced to high? In an word: Yes

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Let's review the history of a television show such as the 1990's show Homicide: Life on the Streets. It was a successful show with a long run that had plenty of advertising revenue attached to it. Enter the golden age of DVDs. You have a show that has hauled in a sizable profit from the first run, then more from syndication, and then a good dollar stream fromVCR tapes. Then, new life is breathed into the income stream with the advent of DVDs. You're looking for a pricing model and you figure $49.99 seems right, and what a bonus, you have seven full seasons. You're really looking at $350 in retail revenue for the entire box set.

The problem with this model is that it excludes many buyers who are not willing to pay the high price, notably myself. If it had been more reasonably priced, say around $20 per season, I would have bought in. And likely so would have thousands of others. In my opinion,  many of the DVDs were priced far too high, and many, many sales were lost as a result.

Fast forward to the age of digital content. I'm thinking about buying James Patterson's new hit book 11th Hour from Amazon. I can buy the Kindle version for $14.99 or the hardcover version for $18.77. If I purchase the hard copy version, I can read it, give it away, loan it out, or even sell it. If I purchase the digital version ... well I can read it. End of story.

 Publishers for years have bemoaned their high business costs, notably the printing and distribution costs. The claim always has always been that these two costs contributed to the lion's share of the book's cost. Somehow this "lion's share of the costs" amounts only to a miserly $3.78 savings for the consumer purchasing the digital version which virtually eliminates the two largest costs.

When digital products are priced too high, piracy in encouraged. Back in the era of CDs, prices rose to a whopping $24.99 for a new release CD, a price that help kill the entire market. iTunes hit the magic number of 99¢ a tune (now a slightly overpriced $1.29) that made the purchase of a song cheap enough enough to make piracy too bothersome for most people.

In business, it's adapt or die. The major content companies have long history of resisting change (remember it took a computer company to introduce viable digital music sales) of any kind. As well, there is often the mentality of getting the maximum dollar per sale, sometimes to make up for piracy. A great example of doing it right is the Netflix pricing model. At $8 per month, it's hard to imagine the need to illegally download any of the content they offer.

My solution is simple.  Lower prices, increase sales, reduce piracy. It's called the new math.

Read: First crack in digal content wall

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The first crack in the digital copyright wall? Company sells "used" iTunes songs

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My biggest complaint about digital consumer content is the lack of personal ownership. When I buy a Kindle book from Amazon the content is effectively stranded on my devices. I cannot give it to another person (except for the lame two week loan Amazon allows) after I have read the book. Likewise with music and video content. Contrast this with the hard copy counterparts. I finish a book and can pass it on to a friend. I buy a CD and realize I don't really care for it and give it to someone. I recall bringing in a box full of DVDs to a resaler and walking out with a pocket full of cash. I had watched all the DVDs and had no further use for them.

Finally, someone has challenged the ownership concept and is offering used iTunes songs and MP3s for sale. Is it legit? That's a question that will be answered in the courts, since they are being sued by Capital Records, EMI and I'm sure there are many more lawsuits to follow.

The company, ReDigi, claim they have researched the law and what they are doing is completely legal. Capital Records and EMI beg to differ. ReDigi says the legal action "reflects a profound misunderstanding of how ReDigi works and have no merit." The company says it uses a "Forensic Verification Engine" which determines if the uploader truly owns the rights to the music. They sell the tracks for a fraction of the original cost.

I tip my hat to ReDigi and hope this is simply the start of a movement allowing consumers to take back ownership of their content, just like in the good old pre-digital days. Read more here.

Read: Is digital content priced too high?

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• Selling used iTunes tracks? ReDigi insists it's legal (westudymedia.wordpress.com)
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Sinners: Catholic Church approves iPhone confession app

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The Catholic Church has approved an iPhone app the guides worshippers through the confession process. The app – "Confession" –went on sale in the iTunes store for $1.99. It's described as "the perfect aid for every penitent". Senior officials in the Church in the U.S. gave the app the thumbs up in what is believed to be a first. The app allows users to keep track of their sins. It does not replace confession, but is billed as a tool to help people with the sacrament.

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