The music industry has heavily suffered from digitalization, and technology in general when studied closely. It all started with the radio in 1923. The year the radio was introduced, people gained a free access to music which thus eliminated their need to purchase vinyl records. But the music industry adapted and survived, not doing badly until Napster brought the idea of free music around with the internet. Technology does not kill an industry, it revolutionizes it. The music industry is not doing badly, on the contrary, people have never listened to more music than nowadays. Only a part of the music industry is suffering from these advances in technology (the record labels, mostly). A little part of the revolution from this new technology came in the form of bringing back live concerts to scene. Artists have noticed that selling their music to customers through the traditional medium (physical discs) is not profitable for them anymore. Live concerts, and the consequent sale of their merchandise (t-shirts, etc.), are.
This situation could apply to the movie industry in close to the same fashion as what happened in the music industry. Following this train of thought, the digitalization of the movie industry would make movies more affordable and available to the public (something which is already happening now). If it turns out that 3D technology does not save cinemas (as discussed in previous posts) and that they will suffer a similar fate than that of music distributors, it could be argued that theater will make a comeback. Actors and producers will be payed much less than they are now if the margins gained by the studios get thinner and thinner. The actors (or/and producers) could then be compared to music artists, and will then realize that the best way for them to continue making a living with their passion will be to come back to traditional distribution, one which cannot be digitalized, theater. People who love movies for the art of it will behave in much the same way as music lovers do nowadays and go see more concerts. In other words, the movie industry could move from a content focused industry (which is what I believe it is now) to an experience focused industry. And who knows, if this happens, cinemas could transform their premises, for a reasonable price, to host live shows instead of projections!
Interesting take on things. So, you think the market will separate into smaller and smaller niches, paying artists/actors less but reaching a more specialized audience? Sounds like little motivation for those actors/artists, no? (Unless you're James Franco and love being indie...)
ReplyDeleteThat is the point that I was trying to get across. If we look at the history of the movie theaters, we can note that this segmentation has already happened. In the past, most movies produced and projected in cinemas were directed towards the general public. Now, this is a different story, movies are categorized in genres, age, production year, etc. and thus directed to different market segments, or niches.
ReplyDeleteIt is certain that many actors/artists will have little motivation to go on if the next step is theater production (and its limited budget) but this only means that the most passionate about this art will stay, and one could argue that this will raise the quality of the performances.