A Coming Shift in the Media Business
Although the writers' strike has been portrayed, depending on whom you ask, as David versus Goliath (writers), greedy David versus the poor viewers (the studios), and a bunch of people arguing about money (everyone else), it really is a portent of a new business model.
Check this LA Times piece. NBC has decided to air a show that started on the Internet. Why? Because it hasn't been on television yet. (Does that mean it hasn't existed any more than the tree out in the forest?)
It's already produced, so isn't affected by the WGA strike - and probably won't be, because the writers involved are the ones who own it. Suddenly, there is no question about who is going to get a slice of Internet revenues, or who, for that matter, is going to get most of the money, period. The writer/entrepreneurs.
Read the LAT article carefully. A number of recent movies that have done well were financed by outside money people - and largely in control of the writers:
It's now happening in television and movies. Some authors have found they can control their books through self- and cooperative-publishing. The reins are slipping out of the fingers of those who traditionally controlled them as writer-producer-directors get outside investment money and blaze their own path, and then find their own audiences.
What does it mean for the market? More decentralization, a likely greater drive toward better quality scripts, and a lot of studio managers who will end up learning that maybe they weren't adding all that much to warrant their jobs. You've heard of the long tail? That appendage is getting pretty wide, as well, and could end up smacking a great many people about. Add in the degree of animosity that writers have developed toward studios, and it will likely be thrashing about. After all, why play nice with all those businesspeople if they really can't do that much?
Check this LA Times piece. NBC has decided to air a show that started on the Internet. Why? Because it hasn't been on television yet. (Does that mean it hasn't existed any more than the tree out in the forest?)
It's already produced, so isn't affected by the WGA strike - and probably won't be, because the writers involved are the ones who own it. Suddenly, there is no question about who is going to get a slice of Internet revenues, or who, for that matter, is going to get most of the money, period. The writer/entrepreneurs.
Read the LAT article carefully. A number of recent movies that have done well were financed by outside money people - and largely in control of the writers:
Being entrepreneurial isn't for the faint of heart. If you want a sweet upfront paycheck, you may not have the stomach for it. But after seeing studios bowdlerize their scripts, many writers will swap a big payday for more control. [Writer-director David] Twohy says that after Relativity read his script, "They told me, 'Script approved as-is.' I've never heard a studio ever say that."
It's now happening in television and movies. Some authors have found they can control their books through self- and cooperative-publishing. The reins are slipping out of the fingers of those who traditionally controlled them as writer-producer-directors get outside investment money and blaze their own path, and then find their own audiences.
What does it mean for the market? More decentralization, a likely greater drive toward better quality scripts, and a lot of studio managers who will end up learning that maybe they weren't adding all that much to warrant their jobs. You've heard of the long tail? That appendage is getting pretty wide, as well, and could end up smacking a great many people about. Add in the degree of animosity that writers have developed toward studios, and it will likely be thrashing about. After all, why play nice with all those businesspeople if they really can't do that much?
Labels: entertainment, Hollywood, strike, WGA, writers
Permalink posted by Erik Sherman at 1:21 PM
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