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So what can a content owner do to protect their content and indeed their commercial existence? Like Mr Murdock's response, the logically response might be to lock it down, impose a rigid user experience based on business rules. Logic suggests that the way to “compete with free” is to block the free supply, locking down the content and funneling people through a pay per view or pay per use process. But is this the only and best alternative?

The music and film industry has been through this pain already. It has learned that attempting to lock down and control content that way can be a big mistake. And we at SinoTech Group tend to agree. There are better ways to increase market share and customer loyalty while reducing the impact piracy can have. This is no easy feat, given that common perception of piracy and content distribution (sharing) having no/little impact (irrespective of the nature of the content).

SinoTech Group’s five recommendations for Digital Rights Management:

1. Focus on usability, cultivating a cool 'user experience' rather than enforcement – win your customers, don’t bully or coerce them.I have seem some interesting interfaces (with simple purchasing process for music or films).  Once your consumer has an established account, the continuation of that service becomes habitual as the experience provides easy search, quality interfaces, great help features and seamless payment options.

2. Market your product or service through continuous, pervasive marketing campaigns. I love the way Apple has done this with their marketing of iPod and iTunes.

3. Content creators should leverage aggressive online pricing. Look at the sub $1 music downloads... this proved that consumers (in certain markets) would be willing to pay for content. Even now, we are seeing more video on demand sites charging for small fees for a pay per view experience.  Where there maybe an issue, is where affiliate programs are used to syndicate the offers or intermediate brokers. These middle men maybe trying to take too much profit out of this value chain which ultimately drives up costs to consumers and removes the low cost barrier.

4. Leverage loyalty programs. While this may not work for all content creators, some will have the ability to give something of value away to those that participate in the paid or 'premium' programs that incur fees. Providing services that have paid and unpaid elements don't have to be mutually exclusive.

5. The old but faithful, advertising supported models. As now, most content creators leverage advertising as their commercial model. For example, here in China music is downloadable free on top100.cn and artists are provided with a royalty out of advertising revenues. A unique solution where most music is downloaded free via Baidu MP3 search and no revenue flows back to the artist (this is a China only solution and top100.cn is not assessable outside the country).

What will the future business models be for content owners? Will we go down a draconian path of content lock down or will there be a more open model ? The future for me is still unclear even though one significant newspaper publisher is proposing one approach.  What models other content creators take ultimately depends on the economics for their business and their views/relationships that they wish to have with consumers.

Log in and comment below. What do you think is the way to compete with free content? Do we have to worry or will the market economics simply work that out for us?