From the strikes and general economic environment to Netflix’s subscriber slide in Q1, it’s been an interesting- and formative- year for the entertainment industry. Despite the difficulties, however, we’ve also seen an interesting year in which the domestic and global entertainment scenes have become more unified, and there’s plenty of positivity to find. Blake & Wang P.A. entertainment lawyer in the USA, Brandon Blake, explores some of these ripples.
Change and Consolidation
It has been a tough year to navigate, but that was inevitable given the massive shifts in the entertainment industry and the rise of the streaming boom. Once-in-a-generation shifts are rarely subtle, after all. But among the many strategic shifts that we’ve seen this year, a greater impact on producing locally for global eyes is sure to be a net positive. The digital age has broken through borders in how we work and play- and entertainment evolving to support that can only be a good thing.
Harder to adjust to has been Wall Street pressures and lost confidence in streaming. While this has axed the ‘blank check’ mindset that did bring to life some immensely worthy projects and has somewhat discouraged risk-taking, it could also lead to wiser investment in worthier projects instead of just throwing money at projects and hoping it sticks.
The Rise of Hero Titles
So-called ‘hero titles’, or big bets on massive high-end productions like Amazon’s Lord of the Rings, have been an interesting streaming-age phenomenon, too. Big risk? Yes, but big reward too if it pays off. This has helped to elevate the streaming original genre considerably and take it away from its previous low-budget perception.
This would also be the first time we’ve seen US-centric strikes take on a global impact, leading to some complicated dances around licensing and distribution as well as international crew shutdowns. But it has also fostered a returned interest in making local-for-local instead of always hoping to sell on to US markets. Additionally, we’ve seen a positive rise in co-productions that will benefit the industry overall.
While what some have called the ‘bursting bubble’ in the entertainment industry may be painful to weather in the short term, there are also the roots of some positive developments for the industry as a whole. We may leave the difficult 2023 year with the groundwork for a stronger, better entertainment industry after all.
Film and Television 