Nick Barbuto on the Digital Media Berlin wall

Nick is a really smart guy who runs interactive at Cossette. His comments on the threat of rights issues to Canadian digital media really hit a nerve for me:

“Canadians are being locked out of a North American content marketplace. Try buying a song from Amazon’s DRM-free music offering from a Canadian IP. Try downloading the latest movie from Xbox 360 with your Canadian-located console. Try visiting Hulu.com to watch your favourite NBC show from your comfy Canadian chair.

“Being a Canadian trying to consume content within the new media landscape is becoming a lesson in frustration. The net result is the potential to become digital laggards. Currently, the Canadian offerings simply do not compete at the same level.”

To me this is one of the biggest challenges facing our industry, as Canadians become second class citizens in the North American digital media landscape.

More from his interview with Media in Canada: Nearly all major demographics now reachable online: Barbuto