February 4 2009
Many wine enthusiasts who habitué online are wont to throw-off glancing, sneering asides at eRobertParker.com and Winespectator.com for the affront of charging access to online content.
I am no different; I have done it, too.
This “walled garden” approach to online content is the source of derision for people used to getting everything for free. Even the New York Times is now free, goes the argument.
Dare I say it, though – eRobertparker.com, Winespectator.com and Jancisrobinson.com may have it right.
There has been an ongoing discussion in the wine space online about blogging, the current relevance of traditional wine media, bloggers being paid (or not) and, generally, where is this Internet thing taking us.
To answer this question, one really need look no further than the top 50 or 100 blogs on the Internet – every. single. one. of them has a team blogging approach with a lot of content and multiple contributors, and every single one of them is on an advertising supported model, these blogs consider themselves media companies not unlike, well, a print magazine.
However, here is the rub when you translate this model to the wine world – there are not many wineries advertising online, certainly not enough to go around for wine online properties, not until a bunch of wine marketing people get the gospel.
So, if you want to build an audience online and create a wine-related media property that rubs two nickels together to make a dime– you are left with basically one option – charge for it.
The natural reaction to this is, “Are you crazy?” “Who is going to PAY for content UNLESS you’re eRobertParker.com or Winespectator.com?”
I do not have the most ready answer for that one, but I do know that you are starting to see the movement in the wine space with aggregation of content by wine writers, mostly with a mix of traditional wine writers co-mingling with online wine writers. Appellation America is an easy example, but there are others – Organic Wine Journal, Enobytes.com and even sites borne by individual bloggers like Lenndevours.com and Catavino.net who are adding writers to diversify the types and frequency of content on their site.
This blog aside, which has no plans to add additional writers, I can tell you what I would do if I was a wine enthusiast and an investor who wanted to do some gambling on the next generation wine site – I would start doing an acquisition roll-up strategy on some of these wine sites. Or, I would start picking off writers to create a best-in-class site that speaks to an audience that wants wine information in an accessible way, without the lifestyle artifice. Bonus points if it is designed in a way that is not akin to staring at a solar eclipse.
With that in mind, let the Rupert Murdoch parlor games begin.
Who are candidates on my radar that I would want to potentially acquire?
First, I would hire Michael Steinberger from Slate.com to be Editor-in-Chief and I would pay him what he wanted. Second, I would hire Paul Lukacs to be Editor-at Large and likewise pay him what he wanted. Third, I would hire Jay McInerney to play the role of Hunter S. Thompson and then, only then, would I go shopping.
On the shopping list:
• Wineloverspage.com (kills it on traffic, good online cred., but site needs major interface work)
• Organic Wine Journal (Good start, needs content)
• Wine Review Online (perhaps the best collection of writers with the lowest profile online)
• A copy editor
• A strategic alliance with CellarTracker
Overall, I cannot fault eRobertParker.com and Winespectator.com for their subscription models online. Business is business and the wine business is a laggard adopter of most innovations, addressing the online wine audience with appropriate marketing being one them. Both Parker and Shanken have time to wait things out before they make additional moves to ensure continued dominance in their respective spaces, from offline to online, but, yes, there is room for another entrant who builds online out.
Who is going to be the Rupert Murdoch of the online wine information space?
Posted in, Free Run: Field Notes From a Wine Life. Permalink | Comments (12) |
Very interesting take.
And thanks for thinking of CellarTracker as part of the equation.
-Eric
I had called for a similar model before last year’s WBC. Glad to see I was not shouting in the closet.
On target as usual, Jeff!
There are people out there working on similar projects but we will see who ends up dominating the wine content space online.
Great insights and love the Jay McInerney play.
But as you said last fall, who will be the Rachel Ray of wine online?
Of course, there are other advertisers besides wineries who would be interested in reaching the wine consumer…...
Thanks for the comments, all.
Yes, Amy, it would seem there are people working on projects. I recall participating in a survey from a female blogger in LA a few weeks back ... hmmm…
You are right, there are other advertisers interested in reaching the wine consumer, but then you get into the lifestyle advertising thing and questions of relevance.
How many ads have I seen for Omega watches and Range Rovers? A lot. How inclined am I to purchase either one? Not very.
Keep me posted on the dl, if you can.
Jeff
This is the future.
Great post.
Amy—We don’t need a Rachel Ray ; )
Usually it’s Pamela who speaks out in this arena, but this post required I weigh in on the subject. We have tried for several years to get all of our friends in the restaurant industry to make notes and review all the wines they’ve tasted. No matter how good they are at approaching a table armed with minimal information and still making the sale; when asked to put their opinions on paper they would probably prefer a Chartreuse hangover.
The fear of being disagreed with, in our society has become a crippling factor in our progression as a species, and most apparent when it comes to voicing our opinions. As one of the last “baby-boomers” who can actually remember where we were forty (40) years ago in wine reporting, this aspect of expression is a bit unsettling. It is encouraging to know that someone somewhere is actually thinking about the future of wine journalism. On that subject I will certainly deny that I attempt to practice the art of wine journalism. Most applicable “ I just call’em the way I see’ em”. We are joyous that our humble (and sometimes not) opinions have curried favor with talented writers, winemakers and genuine wine industry celebrities. It has been extremely gratifying to have talented individuals agree to work with us.
MacDaddy Marc Elden (MDME)
A.K.A.
Marc Hinton
Editor at Large
Enobytes.com
Eat Well, Drink Well, Live Well
Can I be McInerney’s understudy for the Hunter S. Thompson role??? Please!????
This is interesting. So you want some info about wine and you are tired of reading the free stuff? You want the deep industry reports? You want field journals for how the current vintage is going in Burgundy? You can Google the subject and hope to get a good assessment or you can go to the world where it’s all right there for you.
I don’t agree with the point system and I do not read Wine Spectator anymore. I have a wine shop in NYC and do not have any Parker points on my shelves.
That being said I am a huge fan of Jancis Robinson and pay the $119 a year for her site. Talk about deep info. It is actually a bit overwhelming and so full of goodies that the site has some definite navigation flaws but I devour it daily. And I will keep paying because I want what she offers.
That’s all it is. They are charging. You want it. You have to pay. Unless there is a world wide boycott of the sites that charge nothing will ever change. If you don’t want to pay…then don’t pay. We can complain all we want but it is still the same.
I have had a blog for five years now and have not one ad on my page. It’s mainly because I am not sure how to make it happen. I get some viewership but I do it for the love of the wine. I would never charge for access to my site because it is a web log. But I am not Jancis Robinson. I am not a wine celeb. The New York Times argument is weird because it is a newspaper. I guess comparing a daily periodical and the depth of information you would get on a site like the Purple Pages doesn’t sound plausible somehow.
Your idea is brilliant. Having a site featuring serious wine bloggers’ input is very cool. The net could use such a thing. Sort of like Appellation America like you were saying. But would you charge? I hope not. The whole point of doing this is getting info to people.
It’s about the wine man.
EvWg
Jeff, you are turly ahead of your time. Let’s hope not too far ahead.
I think your model could be a reality sooner than later. Key = web-savvy AND wine-savvy person to get the ball rolling.
Hey, wait a second… that’s YOU!
EVWineGeek-
Thanks for the very thoughtful comment.
Generally speaking, I don’t think a straight blogger supported pay site is sustainable—it has to be a mix of pro’s in there as a drawing card.
The Internet wants to be free so we’ll see if wine is a stubborn about its content or not ...
Thanks for reading and my regards,
Wine enthusiasts spend a lot of time and money on magazines and guidebooks and I guess they are never sure if they’re getting the best advice. One of this blog’s most common referring links is the Google search query “world’s best wine magazine?” Want to know the answer? Read on.
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Nice post, interesting take.