My experience is in content production, distribution, Broadcasting and electronic Media.
Just doing some more research on the current “issue” or alleged issue of Piracy for the motion picture industry. The major players of which is primarily represented in the by the Trade Organisation the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America, http://www.mpaa.org).
Now until recently I was aware of the issue, but not of the financial details, now after looking at the issue I am actually wondering if there even is a real issue, with the effect of the Global Economic Crisis being seemingly felt across every market segment imaginable, except the motion picture industry, which has according to their own figures had a 15% domestic increase and an International increase of 30% over the years between 2006 and 2010 … wow ! This despite the fact that the number of actual releases in theaters increased just 10.1%.
The price of the admission ticket, rose by 39.4% from 2001– 2010 and yet the cumulative cost of the CPI rose just 27.95% …. ?
OK all that aside …. the rise in the income 2008 – 2009 for theater sales can be expected, as if we go back to the depression, even in harsh economic times (because of the times in fact) the industry has been pretty much recession proof. The major demographics for the audience goes from 12 to 39 year olds, it is a very niche audience which in these harsher than normal economic times seem to be the only ones that actually have any access to disposable income.
I could go on and on .. however the point is essentially this …. Yes there is a problem with Pirating ( a small one ), but it is not serious, how can it be when year on year the income from sales of theatrical releases has increased far in excess of the CPI … the figures for loss of income presented by the MPAA are not believable.
The following from the immediate past interim CEO, of the MPAA, Mr. Bob Pisano is basically unsubstantiated rhetoric, more commonly known as spin, how can there be a serious problem with over time the income to the industry has increased 30% … such statements as “We will continue to work with our industry partners to fight for common sense ways, through legislative, enforcement and legal avenues, to vigilantly protect the creativity at the heart of our industry from theft.” These kind of statements are making the industry look ridiculous.
I do not agree with piracy, however, this mis-information, is on going and has not been substantiated, they are beat ups by what is essential a trade organisation with a big voice - these statements are not showing the industry in its best light … there are many other industries that employ far more people and families in the USA and worldwide … that actually are in serious and dire straits .. because they don't have access to the Hollywood Media their voice is lost. Many families on main street, also have no disposable income to currently invest in any sort of recreation, except free to air TV and maybe cable … remember cable, content on demand and it new variances will be the ever increasing choice for the distribution of content to the wider market.
There are a few issues that the MPAA and the industry in general needs to address… urgently.
The price of tickets is not sustainable, bearing in mind that on top of these are the travel, parking, food etc .. taking your children is not the escape it used to be … I took my son to see Avatar at the local cinema and it cost one adult and one child over $40, not including parking, vehicle .. drinks etc…
The lack of growth is also a social one, and manifests as a result of the niche interests of the population, in their online lives - there will come a time, and it is not that far away where people will not go to the movies in anywhere near the same numbers, it is trending down in real terms and will continue to, for lots of reasons, some social, some concerning access, transport and financial to name just some, hopefully before then the studios will have come up with a way to reach people directly via Video Streaming in their lounge rooms, using the dreaded internet … this is here now - so change your business model or else basically ... you have less than 5 years, probably less. I wrote about the effects of technology on the film industry over 12 months ago, and it seems very much to be following the path and the time frame suggested then … in Australia with the NBN (National Broadband Network) this is supposedly designed to provide fibre access with data speeds from 100Mbps to 1 Gbps ... this will have a major effect on the access to On demand services including rich and video media content in Australia.
The Film industry, as with Television needs to start to make relevant stories - content that people will in the short term at least want to invest money in to go and see … perhaps the new business model is to make low budget movies that are truly an escape from the current meltdown and the huge pressures on families just to get by … but hopefully not too many more regurgitated sequels !!! - mind you that would not be too bad .. if they had a good story, as one can forgive just about anything if the writer and the Directors are at the top of their game - unfortunately that is not the norm.
Also I have been saying this forever, content production is inseparable from content distribution and visa virsa … you cannot have one without the other. if you have funds you need to have been or will be investing in infrastructure for program distribution - either in the historical bricks and mortar theatrical release or the new technology content distribution infrastructure, by Video on Demand, Bit torrent or similar technologies ..the future is not with the existing venues as now, if you don't now make these strategic investments or at least strategic partnerships, the future is going to be a difficult place as you are going to be a poor position at the bargaining table when it comes time to negotiation in 3–6 years …. because then you will have no distribution infrastructure that you influence, control or own.
Note Change is the only constant, be flexible, be awake to the social & technologically driven changes thaat are all around you, and respond to your market, your consumers - your consumers are not the distribution companies, or the theaters, your consumers are the people on main street ... engage with them, find out what they want ... if you do not listen to their feedback or even make a channel to listen (really listen) then I do not wan to be the one to say I told you so, while I cry over the carcass of the industry that help to inspire my imagination.
Future distribution will not be by a Bricks and Mortar Theatrical release, ultimately the distribution will be in the form of data perhaps via a Peer to Peer network such as a Bit Torrent data stream ... think outside the box people . Further the expansion of major releases will become a rarity, not the norm, and hopefully Hollywood will actually become a mature business instead of what it appears to be at the moment, an ego driven teenager with entitlement issues.
The uptake of new movies will have to have relevance to the actual market, talk to them, the real users, use the internet, that is its strength, where relationships and communities are the norm, not the exception .. also personally I am pretty tired of the predictability of the content coming out of Hollywood .. what about an original story please - also how about appealing to some level of standard and not the lowest common denominator.
To expand on the above via a personal observation, there are some unique and profoundly creative talents in the film industry, starting with unique writers that are true story tellers, their connection with the viewers illicit profound emotive responses, exceptional Directors with intuitive interpretation, timing and insight, fantastic Cinematographers, gifted actors and support staff ... with so much raw talent to draw from why is it so hard to put it all into an exceptional film that does not necessarily follow the prescribed formula ... but that creates a real connection, and is not just some faded copy of a something that was once a profound original work.
Mainstream mass media including film, is normally a passive experience (except in the case of that true creative work), this mass media model also includes Newspapers, Radio, Cable / Satellite and terrestrial TV .... there is normally little to no interaction with the viewer, that is not where we are going, the future will trend .... in the longer term your content will need to illicit a emotive response, or if you cannot create a masterpiece then at the very least, interactive ....ultimately the technology and the data speeds will materialize to make this a reality ... unfortunately, the current trends for content is that it will come out of virtual sets, and actors as we understand them now may be a thing of the past, computer generation will be much more prevalent than it is even now.
Concerning the future distribution model, basically the Telco's that currently own the fibre, need content just as much a you will need their fibre for distribution, however I guess if there is no successful negotiation, between you, then I guess content of the ilk of “I love Lucy” and “A Wonderful life” will be the only content … for distribution … funny that.
I realise that if I was again actively involved with the industry, that is back in the club, after a while, perhaps as little as three years, this type of objective perspective would be nearly impossible for me to create, as unfortunately those in the industry have an total inability to be objective and relate to their viewers, their users .. they are too busy doing, but doing what actually ?
A revelation, perhaps even a epiphany will be come to light and be forced upon the industry sooner or later, as they clearly don't get it ... change is here, recognise it, or suffer the inevitable changes that will be forced upon you, which you won't like so much - it's like I say “Change is the only constant, how we experience it, is up to us” ….
Here is the link to the MPAA Theatrical Report 2010 PDF ….
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