Online publishing business models debated at the Highway Africa 2005 conference
Creative Commons SA was invited to address Highway Africa 2005 conference-goers on the second day of the conference at a seminar entitled Online Publishing Business Models. Other speakers included Elan Lohmann from News24 and Herman Manson from media.toolbox
The seminar offered audience members different viewpoints regarding sustainable online publishing models. Creative Commons, represented by Heather Ford and Kerryn McKay, argued for the inclusion of open content in online business models and presented a case study of the HSRC Press illustrating the success of this model. The HSRC Press adopted the model towards the end of 2001, and it has proven not only to create financial benefit for the HSRC but also to enhance and expand the HSRC ‘brand’ thus ensuring sustainability of the organisation.
Open Source, the daily newspaper of the conference, covered the seminar in an article entitled ‘Online publishing business models: is there a solution?’. The article outlined the three viewpoints presented, from the traditional online publishing model of News 24, which makes revenue from subscription and advertising, to media.toolbox which creates revenue from syndication feeds and Creative Commons’ case study of the open content model. The article concluded with a quote from Herman Manson who reminded the audience that there is no single ‘right’ business model for online publishers, stating that ‘there are as many models as there are objectives’.
The HSRC Press case study which was presented is part of a larger Open Content Business Model project that is being run collaboratively between Creative Commons UK, Brazil and South Africa. The project aims to investigate and record sustainable online business models that incorporte Creative Commons licenses into their open content models. The objective of the project is to create a usable resource for entrepreneurs, artists and producers of creative content to assist them in setting up and maintaining their enterprises. The project will be formally launched on 8 October in the United Kingdom, at The Tate Gallery in London.
