Monetize isn’t a word that’s used in every day conversation, and most certainly not in relationship to our music listening habits. Given the changing state of the music industry, however, it could very well become one of the hottest buzzwords for 2008. After Pepsi launched the first wave of ad-supported music during this year’s Super Bowl, advertisers have added consumers’ ears as targets as well as their hearts and minds. Though critics of ad-supported music say that the novelty of getting a free download will not sell enough product to justify paying the license for the music, Marc Cohen at Hypebot feels this view may be shortsighted. In the short run, paying for the music might not seem like a good deal, but the countless times that song will be listened to have inestimable value. Consumers may only have to purchase a single item to get a free music download, but the product connection is reaffirmed every time the song plays. In the age of Tivo and commercial-free satellite radio, the chance at monetizing the innumerable hours the United States spends plugged into mP3 players is hard to ignore. [Hypebot]
