MySpace

I don't have a MySpace account and know little about it, but this article caught my attention. MySpace is going to give its users the ability to sell their original music on the site by the end of the year. Because MySpace is a social networking site, the problems of marketing content are reduced somewhat. Once you accumulate "friends," you've got a ready-made audience for anything you release. MySpace will be doing a copyright check before allowing the music to be available so that they'll avoid legal problems.

There are already video sites that allow users to upload content and sell it. This mode of retailing is going to become more widespread in the next year or two and has potential for people who are making animated shorts

The pieces are slowly coming into place. Distribution and exhibition are no longer the problem. In the past, both were limited resources. There were only so many movie theaters or broadcasters. Now, the distribution pipeline is infinitely big and every computer in the world is a potential movie screen. MySpace may prove to be a good marketing tool. The last piece of the puzzle is financing and return on investment. Once we have some examples of real numbers generated by animated shorts, we'll know what's possible.