Selling music via SMS in Malaysia
The Malaysian rockband Search announced that its newest, forthcoming album will be sold exclusively via SMS. They state that this would reduce the price dramatically since it would sideline retail outlets.
It is a new and very interesting distribution channel, and seems to try to counter piracy of CDs and VCDs solde via nightmarkets in many locations across Asia.
The band is quoted in Tech Direct of The Star that they support the government's effort to reduce the CD prices (the Malaysian government initiated a dialogue with the software and the record industry in 2003 with the aim to reduce CD and software prices).
While the success of the experiment is not clear - the record industry, for example, puts forward the argument, that this purchasing process doesn't fit with the Malaysian culture - it surely is an unique way of challenging traditions and trying new things.
Considering the growth and usage of SMS in Malaysia, it might well be a successful experiment. Sure, the ordering process is tedious and it takes a long time until one receives the order (5-7 days).
The main argument against it is the many, many steps that one has to follow to purchase the product. Too much can go wrong here.
But who can think about a "normal" purchase in a shop in Malaysia - when was the last time, one had a real good, and rewarding shopping experiment? Malaysians are surely not pampered with excellent service and it takes time to beat the traffic jams on a Saturday just to enter the parking lot of nearly any shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur.
So I for myself hope that this works!
(by Asia Business Consulting)
It is a new and very interesting distribution channel, and seems to try to counter piracy of CDs and VCDs solde via nightmarkets in many locations across Asia.
The band is quoted in Tech Direct of The Star that they support the government's effort to reduce the CD prices (the Malaysian government initiated a dialogue with the software and the record industry in 2003 with the aim to reduce CD and software prices).
While the success of the experiment is not clear - the record industry, for example, puts forward the argument, that this purchasing process doesn't fit with the Malaysian culture - it surely is an unique way of challenging traditions and trying new things.
Considering the growth and usage of SMS in Malaysia, it might well be a successful experiment. Sure, the ordering process is tedious and it takes a long time until one receives the order (5-7 days).
The main argument against it is the many, many steps that one has to follow to purchase the product. Too much can go wrong here.
But who can think about a "normal" purchase in a shop in Malaysia - when was the last time, one had a real good, and rewarding shopping experiment? Malaysians are surely not pampered with excellent service and it takes time to beat the traffic jams on a Saturday just to enter the parking lot of nearly any shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur.
So I for myself hope that this works!
(by Asia Business Consulting)
posted by Andreas @ 6:59 pm
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