It appears to be the expert opinion that ad-supported websites or software is the future. The same is true for TV shows. Any content distributed to users in digital form, actually (both physically and in the tubes). I strongly disagree that this is the future. As we know, DRM has been broken. In this article, I will describe the parallel between ad-supported content and DRM, which explains why ad-supported content cannot be the future.

The DRM
We can all agree that DRM will never work. The content is distributed to the user in digital form. The content is copy protected but since the content must be decrypted to be viewed/heard/used on the local platform, the decryption key must also be present on the platform. So we’ve got the encrypted content, but we’ve also got the key => we can decrypt the content => DRM doesn’t work. The key may be hidden, but it will be found eventually. The big labels are realizing this now and are releasing their music unprotected (and you could argue that they should have never started that fight – Microsoft has some of the worlds smartest engineers and Windows has and always will be pirated).

Content that is distributed to users cannot be protected. Users can do whatever they want with it: They can decrypt it and distribute it any way they want and they cannot be stopped – the record labels/movie studios have spent enormous amounts of money and their solution, DRM, failed miserably.

This is not an opinion, it’s a fact. Now have a look at the content that is supposed to be ad-supported now and in the future.

The ad-supported content
TV shows, radio, websites etc. have the same characteristic as what has been (previously) been protected by DRM: They are distributed to users digitally (and they may also be protected by DRM). The difference is that they are free and in stead paid for by advertisements. But the most important fact is that the content is used on a device that the user controls.

We have the content, we can do what we want!
It’s that simple. And we don’t want advertisements, just as we don’t want DRM. So we’ll come up with a solution to remove them, just like we did DRM. It’s that simple.

We are at an early stage in this process. At the moment we only have options such as AdBlock Plus (to remove advertisements from websites) and Greasemonkey (customize the appearance of any website). But this concludes that advertisement support in websites is already dead. It just hasn’t spread to the average user yet.

The natural evolution of this is that it will extend to all of the other content mentioned. Currently, TV shows are recorded and the advertisements are removed manually. It is not hard to imagine PVR software that looks for advertisements and just removes them – it will happen soon (if it hasn’t already happened).

What can content creators do?
Content creators have tried various solutions. DRM is one, which has failed. Proprietary devices, which exist at the moment but only in niche areas (e.g. the Amazon Kindle). As soon as they become more mainstream (if that happens for a particular device), they will be replaced by standards. And standards is the future.

By using standards, companies/content creators can spend time on true innovation rather than working on the same devices/products. Create a base for all to use and innovate on top of it, share the price of development costs. Customization is the future and we will achieve much more if we work together. If a content creator provides a truly unique device that is worth paying for, users will pay. Pirates will always exist, so true value must exist for consumers to buy rather than pirate.

The other possibility is proper use of advertisements. Use relevant advertisements like the audiobooks advertised in TWiT. Advertisements are very overrated, especially when they aren’t customized to the audience. This approach is also useful, as some consumers would rather get something for free rather and view advertisements rather than paying.

Final thoughts
To all of the companies out there: Don’t bother spending millions on implementing advertisements. It is not the future. Spend it on true innovations! Why does every company have to reinvent the wheel? Make a product that is actually worth the price you’re asking rather than wasting money on protection and alternative income styles – the internet is used by a huge number of people that can crack whatever you do… Turn those people into consumers by presenting a product with true value! And if possible: Use those people to extend your product by making it open source – use their amazing skills to your advantage rather than the pirates…

On a side-note, I believe that the experts suggesting this advertisement-based future are very US centric. This is in my opinion a very general problem. In this specific case, we aren’t used to advertisements every 5 minutes and you’re used to a much more corporate centric world than we will ever accept (both in advertising but also in politics etc.). But that’s a whole other article…