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Technology - The Good With The Bad
March 10, 2006
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"Technology ... is a queer thing. It brings you great gifts with one hand, and it stabs you in the back with the other."
-- C.P. Snow, New York Times, March 15, 1971As we all know by now, because of technological advancements, the public has shifted its habits for buying and listening to music in the past decade and things will never be the same again. CD sales continue to slide globally ( in the United States, Soundscan revealed a 7.2 percent drop in album sales in 2005, while global label body IFPI pointed to a 2 percent drop) and the music industry is in a state of transition that will radically alter the way it's structured and the way it operates. The same transitions are now taking place in the film industry.
If you watched the Oscars last Sunday night (ratings were down over 8% from last year) and weren't bored, you might have actually heard Academy President Sid Gannis (and at least one other person … can't remember who) talk about how nothing is better than seeing a film in a dark theater, and how the theater experience is part of enjoying great films. I agree. But to be honest, these little nods to prod audience to enjoy the "theater experience" were probably a direct result of 2005's disappointing box office receipts.
If you haven't already heard, last year was not a great one at the box office (see article below 'World box office dipped 7.9 pct to 23 billion dollars last year : study' ) and when that happens, Hollywood tries to rally the public in some fashion. Unfortunately, nothing moves the public like great entertainment. The public at large has decided to forego smaller films at the theater (where ticket prices now average $9-$12 in major cities) and rent DVDs instead.
Films like' Star Wars-Episode III,' 'War Of The Worlds,' 'Harry Potter, ' The Chronicles of Narnia,' 'King Kong' and others, truly represent what "big screen" entertainment is all about. But, most of us now wait for the DVD or pay-for-view to watch films like 'Capote,' 'Good Night and Good Luck,' 'Brokeback Mountain,' and others where the size of the screen won't much matter in regard to the film's content and quality With state-of-the-art technology built into home theater systems, they are proliferating at retail, and we can now enjoy these films at home just as much without going to a theater. In many cases, we can enjoy them more because we don't have to deal with the distractions that are now a part of the going to the theater. (Cellphones, people talking too loud, etc.)
Several off-handed comments were made about DVDs as well on the Oscar broadcast, but since DVDs now generate the greatest percentage of profits, I have no idea why anyone in Hollywood would want to bite the hand that feeds the distribution machine, and generates so much in revenues for the studios and people involved in making each film. Indeed, in many cases, DVD sales account for almost all the profits. Ask any profit participant in any film production if they're happy with the checks they receive from DVD sales. But of course that's a rhetorical question.
The day after the Oscar broadcast, George Lucas talked to the press and said the following: "The market forces that exist today make it unrealistic to spend $200 million on a movie. Those movies can't make their money back anymore. Look at what happened with 'King Kong.' I think it's great that the major Oscar nominations have gone to independent films. Is that good for the business? No - it's bad for the business. But moviemaking isn't about business. It's about art! In the future, almost everything that gets shown in theaters will be indie movies," Lucas declared. "I predict that by 2025 the average movie will cost only $15 million." (Source: http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/397167p-336664c.html )
Lucas is probably right. The whole industry model will shift (as it has and will continue to do so in the music business) and the emphasis will be on producing more content at less cost and generating greater returns on investment. The technology that enables the public to now enjoy films in their homes and listen to music on portable digital players is the same technology that will deliver new formats for content delivery in the future. Blu-Ray DVDs are coming this summer and beyond that, there's still a possibility that both film and music content might be produced on silicon chips.
Hollywood might not like the fact that less people are going to the theaters, but they should start getting used to it and concentrate on their new model for the future, as the music industry should. The consumer continues to gobble up iPods, each sale diminishing the need for that individual to purchase CDs. The same consumers have been gobbling up DVDs at an incredible pace now for several years, so Hollywood should've seen some of the handwriting on those studio walls.
POSTSCRIPT: Just this week Warner Home Video reported sales of more than 5 million DVD copies of the latest Harry Potter film in one day.
World Box Office Dipped 7.9 pct to 23 Billion Dollars
Last Year : StudyHollywood movie ticket sales around the world dropped by 7.9 percent last year to 23 billion dollars, with the US box office accounting for nearly 40 percent of the haul, a study showed.
Movie ticket receipts in North America dipped by six percent in 2005 to nine billion dollars, according to a study by the ratings statistics firm Nielsen Entertainment/NRG that comes as movie-goers increasingly stay out of cinemas.
Read more about it by clicking here.
iTunes In Monthly Deal with ComedyCentral
Apple Computer's iTunes music and video store on Wednesday launched a new service called Multi-Pass that lets users buy TV shows on a monthly basis.
iTunes is launching the service in partnership with Viacom's Comedy Central Network, which is rolling out "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and "The Colbert Report" on the service. Fans will be able to buy the next month's series of 16 new episodes via Multi-Pass for $9.99, or to pay $1.99 per episode.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Scottish Singer's Webcam Concerts Attracting Crowds
Armed with just a Webcam and a guitar, Scottish singer Sandi Thom sets off around the world every night from a basement room in south London. In a packed field of wannabe pop stars looking for exposure on the Web, she is attracting up to 200,000 people a night from as far afield as Pakistan to her Internet concerts. Next week she is re-releasing the single and then putting out her debut album in April on an independent label.
"The Internet offers the opportunity for mass distribution and it is in that sense a level playing field," said Matt Phillips of the record industry trade group BPI.
Read more about it by clicking here.
CD-swap Network To Slip Through Copyright Loophole?
A new online music service called La la Media aims to offer full-length CDs for $1 by letting users trade discs, in a bid to avoid legal pitfalls that face online song trading. Backed with $9 million in funding by Bain Capital and Ignition Partners, La la works like an online music co-op by enabling members to trade physical CDs they own for physical CDs they want, Bill Nguyen, co-founder of La la, said ahead of the Tuesday announcement.
With 1.8 million album titles available, members trade the CDs in prepaid envelopes, much like the way popular mail-order DVD service Netflix operates. La la founders argue that, unlike underground online file-sharing services, which have been sued for copyright infringement, La la is protected under an exception to the U.S. Copyright Act. They argue that the owner of a CD can transfer a legally acquired copy without permission or payment of additional royalties.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Ruckus Network Makes Noise with College Students
Ruckus Network, an online social and entertainment community for college students, will soon host advertising on its site. Ruckus has partnered with over 28 schools, including Arizona State University, Michigan State University, Syracuse University and Seton Hall University, to offer a library of 1.5 million digital music files which can be shared and downloaded completely legally. As it begins to incorporate advertising into its site, Ruckus will be able to offer the songs free of charge.
With college students representing an estimated $231 billion in consumer spending last school year, the available space on the Ruckus Network could be a tremendous advertising opportunity.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Project 'Origami' Comes To Life as 'Ultramobile PC'
www.usatoday.com/tech/products/2006-03-09-origami_x.htmMicrosoft showed off its ultra-compact computer Wednesday, which the software giant was scheduled to officially unveil Thursday at the CeBIT technology trade show in Hanover, Germany. The product, heretofore code-named Origami, has been christened the Ultramobile PC, Mika Krammer, a company spokesman told the Associated Press.
Looking a bit like a handheld video game console, with the heft of a large paperback book, the inch-thick PC features a 7-inch screen and weighs less than 2½ pounds. It runs a full Windows XP computer operating system, accessed with a pencil-like stylus, and supports Bluetooth and Wi-Fi wireless hook-ups.
Read more about it by clicking here.
THE CONTINUING SAGA
Axl Rose responding to a lawsuit filed by his former bandmate Slash with a counterclaim of his own, asking a federal judge to confirm his "ownership of his own creative works."
WHEN YOU GET PAID AND DON'T PLAY, THE MONEY STAYS IN VEGAS
A federal judge ordering Rod Stewart to pay a Las Vegas casino more than $3 million for a canceled concert in December 2000.
WELL, IT'S A QUESTION ANY DAUGHTER WOULD ASK IF THERE MOM WAS TYHE MATERIAL GIRL
Madonna telling Out magazine's April issue that daughter Lourdes asked if she was gay after she kissed Britney Spears at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards. "I am the mommy pop star and she is the baby pop star. And I am kissing her to pass my energy on to her," the Material Mom replied.
THE BIG BUCKS 2005
U2 topping Rolling Stone magazine's fifth annual list of the highest grossing musical acts of the year, raking in $154.2 million for 2005, followed by the Rolling Stones and the Eagles, with $92.5 million and $63.2 million, respectively.
BEING BOBBY
Bobby Brown arrested over the weekend on an outstanding warrant stemming from 1992 motor vehicle violations. Brown spent about an hour in custody before posting $40 bond.
THERE'S A JOKE IN HERE SOMEWHERE, YOU WRITE THE PUNCHLINE
Yanni arrested at his home in Manalpan, Florida, for allegedly roughing up his girlfriend in a domestic dispute, according to police. The new age superstar faces a domestic battery charge. He has denied the allegations.
GEE, MAYBE THIS IS WHY THE RATINGS FOR THE SHOW AIN'T WHAT THEY USED TO BE
One week after picking Sarah Stone on the finale of ABC's The Bachelor in Paris, ER doc Travis Stork saying the two have already gone their separate ways.
INSTANT KARMA CHAMELEON
Boy George agreeing Wednesday to enter a drug rehab program and perform community service to resolve his arrest on a cocaine charge last year as part of a plea bargain deal that spared him possible jail time.
MACCA PROTEST
Paul McCartney penning a letter to the governor of Arizona stating that he does not want drug developer Covance Inc. to build an animal testing lab in the state where he owns a ranch.
POTTER GOBLET ON FIRE
Warner Home Video reporting sales of more than 5 million DVD copies of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in a single day, putting it on track to become one of the top-selling DVDs of all time.
NEVERLAND NOW CLOSED
The state of California effectively closing Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch, citing his failure to provide his employees with health insurance and fining him $69,000, TheSmokingGun.com reports.
COMING SOON!
- Donald Fagen, Morph the Cat (3/14)
- Prince, 3121 (3/14)
- Tim McGraw, Greatest Hits Vol. 2 (3/28)
- Morrissey, Ringleader of the Tormentors (4/4)
2006 Industry Conferences
Date Name Location South by Southwest (SXSW) March 10-19, 2006 Austin, TX CEA Entertainment Technology Policy Summit March 14-17, 2006 Washington, DC Digital Hollywood Spring March 28-30, 2006 Santa Monica, CA MusExpo 2006 April 30-May 3, 2006 Los Angeles, CA Streaming Media East 2006 May 23-24, 2006 New York, NY Home Entertainment 2006 June 1-4, 2006 Los Angeles, CA
Quotes of the week
" The real shocker was that "Crash" upset "Brokeback Mountain" to win best picture. They were not happy in West Hollywood. They were looting pottery barns, flipping over Volvos, smashing Liza Minnelli records. It was ugly. I feel bad for "Brokeback Mountain" - they make this great movie about intolerance and then they get screwed by a movie about racism."
-- Jay Leno" I don't think Ivanka would do that, although she does have a very nice figure. I've said if Ivanka weren't my daughter, perhaps I'd be dating her."
-- Donald Trump, when asked how he would react if his daughter, Ivanka, a former teen model, posed for Playboy. Trump added, "It would be really disappointing-- not really -- but it would depend on what's inside the magazine."
NARIP Information
NARIP (The National Association of Record Industry Professionals) promotes career advancement, education and good will among record executives. To find out more about this great organization, how you can join or attend their events, just go to: www.narip.com.
The B-Side - 'Blips'
BEFORE YOU PUT IN THAT POOL, CHECK THE PRICE OF WATER IN YOUR AREA: PALM BAY, Fla. -- A Brevard County man loves his brand-new swimming pool, but the cost of filling it has sent him off the deep end. He just received a water bill for more than $6,000. It takes 11,000 gallons to fill Hugh Chin's pool. But the city of Palm Bay said, in December, when Chin filled the pool, he used one million gallons and they sent him a huge bill. Chin had the pool built in early December, filled it with water in late December, and then got his water bill. Palm Bay Utilities said that's how much Chin owes for using one million gallons. "You're talking about 100 average-size swimming pools. That's a million gallons of water," said Utilities Department Director Jason Yarborough. "I'm paying for water that I know I did not use," Chin said. He still realizes he might get stuck with that bill, so he has a bit of advice for anybody putting in a new pool. "Make sure you get them to read the meter before you start filling and read the meter after the filling. Then you really see what the hell went on," he said.
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