Tectonic shifts in the media landscape
p2pnet.net News View:- Yet another sign of tectonic shifts in the media landscape – The New York Times looks at upcoming contract negotiations in Hollywood and the role that changes in new media technology are having on power relationships there:
But it is the growing area of new media and technology that has made the relationship between studios and talent most fragile. Mr. [Brent] Ratner, who also directs music videos, said he wanted to share in the profits from music videos when they were downloaded over services like the Apple iTunes Store. And actors, writers and directors are pressing to be paid fees for shows they worked on that are streamed or sold on the Internet, as well as for new programming on cellphones.
And another indication that the studios will need to be increasingly mindful of disintermediation:
Recently Mr. Ratner, the director, was driving down Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood when he noticed a going-out-of-business sign at Tower Records, the music retailer that once thrived on selling the music of superstars like Prince, Elton John and Madonna. Many here, like him, fear that the problems that plagued the music business are heading their way.
“What happens if the film business is not ahead of the curve?” he asked. “What is going to happen to me? To all of us?”
Mr. Ratner said he had been well compensated as a director. Still, he has urged the Directors Guild of America to look at several issues facing directors, including the fact that they are not paid when music videos they direct are sold on the Internet.
But he is not waiting around to see what the guilds will do or studios will offer either. Mr. Ratner said he was close to announcing a deal with an Internet company to create his own “Saturday Night Live”-style program that he would own outright and distribute online. Then he can bypass studio bosses altogether.
It would be foolish to predict the imminent demise of BigMedia. But there’s also little doubt that BigMedia has put a lot of effort in recent years into conditioning its customers to jump to something else at the first credible opportunity.
The moviegoer’s experience is a good example.
Last night I saw a theatrical release (for the first time in months), and as feared, had to sit through 30 minutes of advertising before the feature began. Predictably, that advertising was also targeted to someone else – 16 to 25s, generally (only about 30% of the crowd last night) – and was at best, well, quite remarkably inane – no one’s A game, essentially.
Finally, the development of the factory theater model – mega cinemas dotted through the city – means I have to sit in traffic for at least 20 extra minutes to get to the film, rather than walking to the 2 cinemas that used to be in my neighbourhood.
All in all, a nice evening out has been replaced by an ordeal.
I’m certainly primed for an alternative, and I’ll wager that I’m not alone.
Rob Hyndman
[Hyndman is a technology business lawyer and technology fanatic who says he spends (too much) of his spare time tracking and writing on developments in technology and the business of technology. He lives in Toronto with his wife, their dog, 4 PCs and one MacBook Pro.]
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