Entertainment Industry

The entertainment industry is booming because play has become as important as work. Just as the nature of work and the workplace has changed, the entertainment industry too has undergone an amazing transformation.

Electronic equipment and advances such as MP3 players, DVDs, personal video recorders, video-on-demand has changed the definition of entertainment. Now the consumers decide what they want to watch not the media barons. Consequently, the traditional business models in the entertainment industry have given away to subscription-based models; which rake in more money than regular advertising, once the lifeline of the entertainment industry.

What does the entertainment industry cover?

Now the entertainment industry can be broadly divided into traditional entertainment and the new-age entertainment. The traditional entertainment industry includes:

• live entertainment
• publishing
• amusement parks and trade fairs
• music
• movies.

Live entertainment such as dance, music, opera, orchestra, sports and theatre has evolved with human civilization. In fact, the entertainment industry of the new millennium can trace its roots to these art forms. Now live entertainment includes largely music concerts. The preparation that goes into the live shows of popular rock stars is as intricate as the one that goes into any big business project. The sums involved in live music shows are also large.

Print publishing, which brought the written word into public domain, is now fighting for space and visibility with the new-age mediums like the Internet, which disseminate the written word much faster. Most print publishers have made a seamless transition to the web, but print publications such as newspapers and magazine still nurse misgivings about the digital medium.

Amusement parks and trade fairs is an important segment of the traditional entertainment industry. While amusement parks provide entertainment to the younger generation, trade fairs have become vehicles for ‘promoting business.’ But this segment has had to keep up with the new-age entertainment in more ways than one. The growing consumerism and globalization have boosted these forms of entertainment beyond imagination.

The Music industry is an important, but turbulent part of the traditional entertainment industry. The global music industry is dominated by American and European artists. The music industry, however, is suffering from rampant piracy, aggravated by Internet.

Cinema is another enduring medium of the entertainment industry. A new era in the history of American cinema was heralded with the opening of Regent Theatre in New York City. The 1920s and 30s witnessed the advent of the ‘Big Five’ theatre chains: Paramount , Warner, Loews (owned by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer), Fox and RKO. Thus began the golden age of Hollywood. India, which has the distinction of producing the largest number of films in the world, has an equally vibrant movie industry, popularly known as the Bollywood.

Radio was once upon a time used for maritime purpose, but became a source of entertainment for masses later. Television came alive as an enticing medium of the entertainment industry post World War II. Initially, television signals were transmitted through terrestrial broadcasting, but the entertainment industry scaled new heights with the introduction of satellite broadcasting. Cable television has also become popular in the entertainment industry. Now computer programmers are working on software programs that will learn the habits and tastes of consumers and pick and choose appropriate entertainment for its viewers and prepare a media plan for the advertisers!

New-age entertainments such as computer games are close on the heels of the traditional entertainment industry . The introduction of gaming devices such as Sony PlayStation and Microsoft Xbox has taken the gaming industry to a new level. The Internet has also led to the proliferation of online gaming sites. With the convergence of technologies, the entertainment industry is likely to grow.