Can The Movie & Music Industries Survive?

Blog post by Sally Smith

This is an image of Netflix, the most popular streaming service available today (SOURCE:// Tube Filter).

We’ve looked into how the traditional movie and music industries have been rocked by the streaming revolution of film and music. Now, we are left with a major question that is subject to controversy and differing opinions: Can the move and music industries survive the digital age? And if so, how? This is something musicians, music labels, film makers, and movie theater companies have been wrestling with ever since the widespread growth and use of streaming services. According to SelectUSA, The Media & Entertainment (M&E) Industry in the U.S., which are the businesses that produce and distribute films, television programs and commercials, music, radio, games, and publishing, is worth a third of the global industry and is the greatest M&E market worldwide. It is no wonder that this industry effects the economics of our country and therefore, it is a major concern for the traditional film and music companies today. We cannot stop the continuing inevitable use of streaming, as it is an attractive service for people wanting to listen or watch all types of music and movies, at any time, and for a reasonable, monthly price. Netflix, Hulu Plus, Spotify, Pandora, Apple Music: you’ve heard of each of these streaming companies and that’s because they are a part of the daily routines of millions today. Despite the great economic growth of these streaming services, they’ve undoubtedly threatened the potential profits of traditional music and film industries.

Can the Movie Industry Survive in Our Digital Revolution? 

Data has shown that movie theater attendance has fallen dramatically over the past several years due to the rise of the streaming revolution. In order to survive in this  streaming revolution, movie theaters need to stop trying to “buy” customers for convenience but rather “buy” them for experience. If movie theaters can someone re-invent themselves and make movie-going a unique, exhilarating experience, they can potentially gain back a following. Some examples of a more exhilarating experience are already being implemented, while others could add a lot to the experience; this includes 3D Imax, smell-o-vision, kinetic seats, thematic theater designs, private screenings, food and beverage ordering service in-theater, etc. Perhaps movie theaters could implement a “free-to-watch” model and then charge for the perks (like a kinetic seat in the theater, for example)? This model may be able to work. Getting people to come watch a movie for free would not be difficult; the difficult part would be selling them on the perks. But since the movie is free, some people might actually pay for a better seat in the theater or the soundtrack to that movie that they’ll loved.

Dine-in theaters have popped up around the country. This is all part of an initiative for movie theaters to create a special experience for viewers and to gain a more frequent, popular following in this digital age (SOURCE:// AMC Theaters).

Can the Music Industry Survive in Our Digital Revolution? 

In a PBS article, the argument of whether streaming services like Spotify and Pandora are hurting musicians is discussed. While musicians, both established and aspiring, have taken both sides of the issue, it’s certain that the new model has had a major impact on the music industry and its revenue. Hari Sreenivasan makes the argument that streaming services are great for exposing young artists’ music to a mass audience. On the other hand, Roseanne Cash, the famous Johnny Cash’s daughter, makes the argument that what if she’s already created a name for herself in the public eye. Clearly, she is concerned about making her deserved profits and she has made it apparent that streaming services like Spotify are not paying her fairly. She stated, “For an 18-month period, I had 600,000 streams, and I was paid $104.” Roseanne Cash and other frustrated artists are essentially getting paid nothing for streaming their music for free. Like the film industry, the music industry ought to craft ways in which they can make their business model offer a convenient, unique service that’ll compete with streaming services.

The Plus Side to Streaming

While there are several apparent advantages to music and film streaming services, another plus is its ability to democratize music and film. Democratization is making something available to all people and thanks to streaming services today, music and film is easily accessible to all. Streaming services have taken away the control from the giant music and film moguls and traditional media outlets. As the public audience, we have the ability to discover, distribute, share, promote, watch, and listen film and music online. The hope is that our accessibility to this immense amount of content will motivate us to decide for ourselves what we like to see and hear, instead of the traditional media moguls deciding what we should want. We, as the audience, get to decide what we like and that agency we receive from streaming services is something we should not take for granted.

Why do we share so publicly? And How It’s Beneficial

According to Danah Boyd in her book, It’s Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teen, she tackles the idea of teen’s and their willingness to share so publicly online. It is evident that streaming is our future and that teens are our future as well. Teens’ presence online and their willingness to share their lives, including their music and movies choices, will continue to occur. Boyd states that the sharing and spreading of content willingly on the Internet is a part of teens’ social interactions today. Furthermore, she doesn’t spite them for this, rather she encourages them to continue to be social, to experiment with establishing their online identity’s and to spread their interests in music, movies, and other areas. Sharing content online and connecting through shared interests creates a sense of unity in our diverse world today.

Sources:

Danah Boyd’s It’s Complicated- Chapter 2 on Privacy

Make Use Of

PBS

Select USA