Music/film industry parallels with publishing

Blog on the Harvard Business Review about the film and music industry after reading it I couldn't help thinking about how the comments could be applied to publishing as well.

"Innovation has emerged as a key means by which the US can pull itself out of this lackluster economy. In the State of the Union, President Obama referred to China and India as new threats to America's position as the world's leading innovator. But the threats are not just external. One of the greatest threats to the US's ability to innovate lies within: specifically, with the music and movie business. These Big Content businesses are attempting to protect themselves from change so aggressively that they risk damaging America's position as a world leader in innovation."

 Sound familiar?And this...

"Many in the high technology industry have known this for a long time. Despite making their living relying on it, the Big Content players do not understand technology, and never have. Rather than see it as an opportunity to reach new audiences, technology has always been a threat to them. "

I've, and many others, have posted on eBooks, DRM, electronic lending, ePublishers vs print etc...  Technology is something that publishing is struggling with. It's facing challenges that film & music have been facing or years - the question is whether they learn from what's gone before & deal with better... or not.

I won't post the whole article, but it is definitely worth reading.