Competing Successfully With A Multi Service Online Platform - A Music Industry Case Study

This paper presents a successful multi service online platform called Meteli.net within the music industry in Finland. The case platform is maintained by a network of actors either with a commercial or non commercial interest. Sources of value and revenue are identified for the case platform as well as challenges and prospects. The study gives practical insights into the business opportunities and challenges of online business and shows that music consumers are not necessarily interested in being paying customers of content but instead there is an interest to become contributors in a community or becoming so called prosumers (consumers acting as producers). A broad online partner network makes it possible for the Internet start up company to create a multi service platform instead of a stand alone music service and thereby compete successfully in the online marketplace.