It seems like hardly a day goes by without us catching wind of some new startup taking root in the valley. But Janko Roettgers over at GigaOM raises an important point--how many of these new ventures can be constructed with a little programming and access to widely available content?
Roettgers uses Last.FM’s recently announced video app as a model:
Although Roettgers goes on to state the shortcomings of these mashups (audio/video quality, broken links, etc.), he glosses over the real catalyst that keeps these startups in play—the licensing of content.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m as big a fan of ‘free’ as the next man and in many ways Roettgers is right—the content and capabilities are floating around out there. But, in fact it’s the quality that’s missing. Although tools like Yahoo Pipes can reveal chinks in the financial solvency of startups, I have more vested in Last.FM’s claim to secure the rights to every music video ever produced than in the hopes that Youtube’s user-generated content will offer the same.
Regardless of the content, Roettgers point rings true—it’s an exciting time for the grass roots entrepreneur and perhaps a scary time for the over hyped startup. If the legal climate ever settles, maybe we’ll be set to usher in a new era—one where both code and content are widely available with little red tape.
