We were informed this week that ChinesePod is featured in a recently published book titled “Why Buy the Cow?”. The interview was done over a year ago (says a lot about the publishing industry), but the words still ring true:

ChinesePod’s business model threatens the industry incumbents because it re-arranges the supply chain. The company is competing against two types of business entities and taking market share away from both: the audio-book industry and language schools. The disruptive qualities of ChinesePod revolve around their simplified, yet hi-touch/hi-flex delivery methods. A broader application of their approach provides and obstacle for publishing houses that is difficult to respond to: “We give away for free (podcast lessons) what the audio book companies charge a lot of money for. They have no community of users, and receive very little feedback. Nor do the users have any input on the design of their products. The audio book companies are stuck with an infrastructure legacy of fixed assets, higher ratio of staff numbers, and fixed distribution channels. For them to copy what we do, they would have to give away their content for free, which kills their existing revenue streams.”

You can download the entire chapter here - Why Buy the Cow? (PDF 1.70 mb)

Via Lulu - Why Buy the Cow?

Hank.