Playing for Profit: How Digital Entertainment Is Making Big Business Out of Child's Play

by Rich Seidner and Alice LaPlante

A little over a century ago, an intense explosion of technical innovation transformed the way we spent our leisure time. Inventions like the phonograph, television, radio, and motion pictures sparked a revolution in entertainment that captured the hearts--and the wallets--of the average consumer. In recent years, we've seen some improvements on these feats: LPs disappeared and made room for CDs, movies were augmented by computer-generated special...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0471296147
• ISBN13: 9780471296140
• Release Date: April 1999
• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
• Length: 287 Pages
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.2" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Truly interesting and informative

A plain-spoken and skillfully argued roadmap to the future of entertainment. Plenty of provocative assertions and predictions. I'm not sure I agree with all of the conclusions, but it was fun going along for the ride. Much better writing than you find in a typical biz book.

Truly terrific book! Educational AND entertaining both.

As a professor of business administration for adult continuing education classes in Silicon Valley, I was delighted to discover this title. Whether you are a savvy businessperson wanting to know more about the possibilities of the Internet; a Web-savvy entrepreneur; or just interested in this whole Internet phenomena(and confused by all the jargon that's out there), this is a great read. I'll be using it in my graduate seminars next academic year. What's truly amazing is how Seidner and LaPlante managed to write a book that will be relevant for some years at a time when technology and business is changing at the speed of light. Highly recommended.

Very cool. A fascinating (and nonjargony) book about the Web

I was skeptical. I manage a radio station (talk radio, golden oldies, etc.) and, frankly, hadn't believed all the hype about the Internet. This completely changed my mind. What I really liked was that I could actually *read* it--it told a story, and a truly compelling one at that. From the early days of radio to what's going to happen in coming decades. I'm a believer. There's gonna be a revolution. The chapter on "Family Feud" (how radio broadcasters and recording labels and artists and webcasters and folks like Microsoft are all going to be battling it out in cyberspace) had me on the edge of my chair. Totally cool. Did I say that already?

A Excellent Depiction Of What The Net Can Really Be

Seidner and LaPlante have taken the time to clearly lay out where the Internet and entertainment are going in Playing For Profit. Hard to believe it was written and published all within the last twelve months, yet so accurate with where the Net and music have come so far and so fast, in the ever evolving net media space.Their easy to read, yet insightful comments make this a must read for every broadcast,webcast or wannabe Broadcast.com executive.Bravo,Andy Abramson Co-Host, TTALK.COM's World Technology RoundU