"I think people are willing to pay for content. I believe it for music
and video, and I believe it for the media."

                                                                                                Steve Jobs

Steve made the comment at D8 on Tuesday.  About the same time I was having an interesting conversation with some smart people about the same subject.  And here was the most interesting point of the conversation.  Music, video, and whatever the heck media is are very different. 

People purchase music for the most part because it is provides very repeatable consumption.  The number of times I have listened to Damn The Torpedos is countless.  But with the exceptions The Lord of the Rings, T2, and whatever your personal favs happen to be, video is generally rented or subscribed to because you really only need to see it once.

Music, as content, is a little bit ahead of video in terms of consumption via new technology distribution methods.  The buying model has held serve.  I would surmise that as video becomes more Internet oriented that the traditional model of renting or subscribing and not owning will become the predominant purchase method. 

People will indeed pay for content if packaged the right way. The big question is who will figure out the right way to package and deliver these next generation video rental/subscription services.  It is going to be an interesting game.