A number of events have shaken up the already agitated music industry in the past two months. On the one hand, the sector’s corporate merger process has continued, with the sale of BMG Publishing to Universal. On the other, MySpace, the Rupert Murdoch-backed social networking site for young people, has announced plans to sell music downloads. Meanwhile, the search for a business model capable of halting the growth of music piracy has taken a step forward with SpiralFrog. This new company, which plans to offer users free songs from its website in exchange for viewing adverts, has signed distribution agreements with Universal Music Group and EMI.

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Title: E-Communications Household Survey
Source: European Commission
Date: August 25, 2006
Abstract: Telephone services are practically universal in EU member countries, with a 97% penetration rate, according to the special “Eurobarometer” conceived by the European Commission. The penetration rate for mobile telephones (80%) is nearly equal to that of land lines, which registered a score of 78%.
In terms of ICT equipment in households, the leaders are the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark, where 7 out of 10 residents have a PC at home. Spain sits at the number 14 spot on the list, with a penetration rate of 46%, a percentage slightly below that of the European Union average of 52%. Portugal and Greece, whose figures are below 20%, are two of the countries with the lowest percentage of household Internet connections. It is also noteworthy that nearly 60% of EU citizens do not have Internet access at home. The three main factors for which people decide not to sign up for these services are lack of interest in terms of what the Internet can offer them, the nonavailability of means for getting connected and unaffordable prices.
As for connections, broadband ADSL networks take the lion’s share of the market. At 80%, ADSL technology is far more widespread than connections made through conventional telephone lines.
The study also reveals a trend toward signing up for telecommunications services packages, especially those combining land line telephones with broadband Internet access.

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Title: Las Tecnologías de la Información en España, 2005 (Information Technology in Spain, 2005) 
Source: Asociación de Empresas de Electrónica, Tecnologías de la Información y Telecomunicaciones de España (AETIC) and the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade
Date: July 25, 2006
Abstract: The recovery in the Spanish ICT market that began in 2003 is gaining pace. Last year, consumption of information technology in Spain by business, government and domestic users rose to 10.7 billion euros, a 7.7% increase over 2004. The autonomous communities of Extremadura, Baleares, Galicia and Asturias experienced the biggest increase in technology expenditure, with rises of between 13% and 16%.
This eighteenth edition of the report shows some positive trends, such as an 8% rise in the ICT market’s total revenue to 15.5 billion euros last year; the number of people employed in the industry, up 7% to 96,934; and R&D expenditure, which rose to 427 million euros, a 13.2% increase.
Less encouraging findings include a 9.5% increase in the Spanish ICT sector’s trade deficit, currently 4.65 billion euros, while Spanish investment in new technology as a percentage of GDP came out at 1.6%, well below the EU average of 3%.

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Marketing strategies focused on attracting consumers through entertainment channels —a practice called branded entertainment— are becoming increasingly effective. Among others, this category includes advergaming, a term referring to the creation of online games designed to highlight and promote the virtues of a certain brand or product, a practice that is taking off in Spain. Companies such as Coca-Cola, Panrico and Nestlé and institutions such as the Thyssen Museum have already used this technique.
Advergaming offers substantial benefits to advertisers. First of all, it boosts the interactivity between users and the brand while considerably increasing the amount of time users stay in contact with the brand. Another advantage of advergaming is that it allows multiple target groups to be reached, such as children and adolescents. In fact, according to the study by the Kaiser Family Foundation, 80% of the leading american children’s food brands use this technique to reach their target consumers.

Definition in Wikipedia
Article in eMarketer
Report in Kaiser Family Foundation

Google has upped the ante in the software applications sector, having just announced the launch of Google Apps for Your Domain, a package of online tools designed for small and medium enterprises which includes the electronic mail application Gmail, the instant messaging program Gtalk, as well as its Calendar and web design tool Pages Creator. These applications, currently offered in English in beta versions will be free, with financing to come from the inlaid contextual ads, and will have the domain chosen by the company. Besides, Google is preparing a pay version of these applications for a year-end release, aimed at large companies, which will offer greater storage capacity, technical support and an ad-free interface.
Google’s investment in these web applications could save companies time and money as well as allow for accessibility from anywhere at any time. It remains to be seen whether in the long term Google Apps for Your Domain and other applications currently in beta, such as the word processor Writely and Google Spreadsheets, will become a viable alternative to Microsoft Office.

Articles in CNN Money and The Wall Street Journal (payment service)
Google Apps for You Domain

Por Steven Tolliver, colaborador del e-business Center PwC&IESE
Los blogs se están convirtiendo en un canal a través del cual los consumidores pueden hacer llegar a las empresas mensajes que tradicionalmente se han negado a escuchar. Pero para mantener la credibilidad, la empresa que impulsa un blog debe comprometerse a proporcionar la máxima información posible a sus lectores y a saber encajar las críticas.

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