globalEDGE Blog - By Tag: entertainment

Live concerts and shows have been around for the longest time. The first live concert hosted by the public was conducted by John Banister, a violinist, in London in 1672. However, throughout the years, it has become a social phenomenon for many artists worldwide to partake in for the fans. With every ticket purchase, we not only secure our entry but also engage with the business behind ticket sales. This ties in with the music industry as it is known to build one of the most profitable for artists and record companies besides merchandise and is more modern with streaming services. But what problems are we seeing regarding the business behind artists distributing the tickets and fans obtaining the tickets?

A wave of anti-tourism protests has hit Europe as residents in popular destinations push back against the overwhelming influx of visitors, with demonstrations flaring in the Netherlands, Greece, Italy, Portugal, and notably Spain.

The UEFA Champions League is a well-known competition from around the world. It brings all the top soccer clubs together from the top European Leagues. Around 80 teams can compete in the 32-team group stage in its current format. The competition allows for great matchups that domestic leagues can’t. For the 2024/25 campaign, UEFA, the Union of European Football Associations, unanimously passed a new format for the league. While the changes might seem small to the average eye, the implications can benefit the current state of European football.

The countdown is on for Super Bowl XLVIII, and all eyes are on the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, where the San Francisco 49ers are gearing up to take on the defending champs, the Kansas City Chiefs. This 2022 rematch is scheduled for February 11, 2024, and this clash marks the 58th consecutive Super Bowl - a staple event that’s become engraved in American culture. The Super Bowl is not just a clash of titans on the field but a powerhouse of economic activity. With millions of dollars flowing in each year, it transforms the chosen host city into a focal point of notoriety and attention.

With the releases of movies and television shows such as “Return to Seoul,” “RRR,” “All Quiet on the Western Front,” and “Alice in Borderland,” 2022 has been an explosive year for the international film industry. In fact, foreign entertainment content has experienced significant growth as streaming service-giants like Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon Prime continue to expand their audiences and markets.

Only a decade or two ago, music enthusiasts had to either purchase physical albums, buy songs and albums on a platform like iTunes, or risk their computer security by downloading music illegally. Today, all of that has changed. Music streaming has disrupted the music industry and rapidly altered the way consumers listen to and purchase music. Music streaming services offer millions of songs from thousands of artists for a recurring fee each month, allowing users to access music at a much cheaper rate than previously possible.

Netflix has been considered the leader in the streaming market since its inception in the late 2000s, and its longevity of success is no mistake. While competition grows fiercer year after year and the U.S. streaming market becomes increasingly saturated, Netflix maintains the largest market share, and its success can be largely contributed to its international presence.

One of the most afflicted industries from the pandemic was entertainment.  The prevention of travel and crowded environments, as well as the cancellation of many global sporting events, had a significant impact on the gambling industry. Brick-and-mortar gambling companies experienced decimated levels of revenue in 2020 due to lockdown restrictions.  However, these events gave way to the rapid growth of the online gambling market—an emerging trend that is here to stay.

The Coronavirus pandemic has greatly modified every aspect of modern life for over a year now. The entertainment industry has had to change in many ways to adapt to the inability to perform in-person. A previous globalEDGE blog covered how the music industry has seen a massive drop in revenue, especially since up to 80% of a musician's revenue is gained during live concerts. How have other versions of live entertainment held up during the last year, and what are they planning on doing going forward?

The pandemic has largely stood to benefit the gaming industry, as discussed in my blog from early April.   Since that point, we have seen a large increase in gaming screen time, as well as increased revenues across the board generated from video game companies.

BTS, Justin Bieber, and The Rolling Stones; what do all these artists have in common? All have been forced to cancel or postpone their scheduled concerts or tours. These are just a few examples of the numerous concerts, festivals, and other large gatherings that have been forced to reschedule due to the pandemic and it’s sending shockwaves throughout the global music industry and more specifically, the music events industry.

Around the globe, people enjoy the escapism, art, and joy brought about by the media and entertainment industry. In the United States alone, entertainment is worth $717 billion, a third of the entire world market. This monumental number continues to grow, with predictions that the industry will grow by over $100 billion more dollars by 2023. Which areas within this vast industry pull in the largest amounts of dollars?

One staple of entertainment for over a century has been attending movie theaters.  However, the introduction of the COVID-19 pandemic stagnated movie theater operations, not to mention the entire film industry as a whole. Major release films such as No Time to Die and Wonder Woman 1984 were delayed until the end of 2020, and there are still questions regarding how they will be distributed.  

As many across the globe become confined to their homes amidst the coronavirus pandemic, one outlet people have turned to as a form of entertainment and social interaction has been video games.  In a campaign titled #PlayApartTogether, the World Health Organization has collaborated with 18 major video game companies including Activision Blizzard, Riot Games, and Twitch, in order to promote the message of physical distancing from one another while remaining connected with friends.  This campaign has included special events and activities being added to games to encourage their play. With poor mental and psychological effects of isolation and loneliness being well-documented among studies, video games can be a good outlet for staying connected with others and relieving stress by taking one's mind off the negative things going on in the world. 

By now, everyone has heard of the newly discovered virus called coronavirus (COVID-19). Despite its short existence, its impact has already spread to countries all over the world. There have been over 169,000 confirmed cases worldwide, including over 6,000 deaths. Being a virus that spreads from human to human, the general advice given by the World Health Organization is social distancing. As a result, many major conferences and events are postponed or canceled. People are strongly encouraged, sometimes even mandated, to avoid crowds and public events. Due to these precautionary steps, many industries are taking a hit, including the film industry.

Cable television was the staple of entertainment for over 50 years until the arrival of streaming services was introduced at the start of the 21st century.  The introduction of this concept revolutionized our accessibility to television, making ‘on-demand’ video readily available from any electronic device (phone, laptop, or T.V.).  While cable television continues to diminish, with 19% of households already having "cut the cord," streaming methods continue to evolve with new companies emerging into the market trying to get a stake in the game.

Stan Lee, an exceptional individual who helped to create remarkable characters like Iron Man, Thor, the Hulk, and the X-Men, passed away last week at the age of 95. He was a comic book writer and more importantly, revolutionized the comic book industry. In his stories, the superheroes are more relatable. They go through hardships that normal people experiences, that the readers experiences. For example, he created a new superteam, The Fantastic Four, that broke the tradition of flawless, impeccable superheroes. He targeted his audiences well, and as a result, helped Marvel in becoming an important pillar in Hollywood.

Flipping on the television, powering up a gaming device, and relaxing on the couch has become a routine for millions of people around the globe—in fact, it’s estimated that more than 1.8 billion people are playing video games worldwide on a range of devices from smartphones, to game consoles and computers.  In the US alone, there are 2,858 video game companies and 65,678 workers within those companies based on Forbes estimates.  According to Newzoo, these people along with the billions of players will help the market value grow 7.8 percent to $108.9 billion in 2017.  The major leader in the market is the mobile games sector, which accounts for 42 percent of revenue—$46.1 billion—and the profound interest from the Asia-Pacific market.  With the current growth expected to continue, the video game market is expected to reach $128.5 billion by the year 2020.

In 2015, Netflix streamed 42.5 billion hours of programming an incredible rise from the "mere" 29 billion hours in 2014 with the numbers predicted to continue growing. This averages out to about 568 hours a person in 2015 or watching the 288 episode series of Criminal Minds two and a half times through. Currently, Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon are the three companies who hold the most stock in streaming however by 2019 Apple and Disney are predicted to get into the running as well. Since streaming has become a daily occurrence for many people, multiple companies are investing more money into the service. Recently, many of the streaming platforms have begun to produce their own shows in hopes of raising their income. Netflix predicts they will spend about $8 billion on filming and producing original content in 2018 and Apple estimating about $1 billion to be spent on their own shows. Additionally, there are fewer restrictions on the content they can display which is a large draw for many since the censorship guidelines, for live television, have been ridiculed as being “too strict” in the past.

The economics of the music industry have completely changed in recent years as sales of physical copies and online downloads have changed to online viewing websites and streaming subscriptions through companies such as Spotify and Pandora. The music industry is clearly rising, as in the first half of 2017, music industry revenues have reached four billion dollars, compared to the midway point in 2015 with revenue of three billion dollars.  Subscriptions to online streaming websites are accounting for an increasing percentage of total music industry proceeds. Returns from subscriptions to companies such as Spotify or Apple Music have increased by sixty-one percent from 2016, and American subscribers to streaming music sites now equal thirty million people.  

Part three of our transport manufacturing blog series examines recent trends in the global film industry. 

In recent years, the global film industry has undergone major changes due to increased globalization and the overall growth of the middle class. In the past, two-thirds of box office revenue was generated by the United States alone, but this is no longer the case. Today, 70% of this revenue is generated outside of the U.S., and this is leading to major changes in the way that films are produced and distributed around the world.

Throughout the past ten years, the music industry has increasingly embraced digital media formats for music distribution. The adaptability of business models to the digital format, however, has been volatile at best. When methods of distribution for music were primarily physical—vinyls, tapes, and CDs—record labels had more control over their product and how it would be consumed by the masses. As the music industry becomes more decentralized and more streaming services are popping up, a power struggle is occurring between record and indie labels, recording artists, and consumers over the value of music in this day and age.

When looking at the composition of the world over the past years, it is not hard to see that the world is becoming increasingly interconnected. If you look at a basic product, it is more than likely that the product you are looking at is made from components in various parts of the world. This increasing economic integration called globalization is having profound effects on many countries. Advances in transportation and telecommunications, including the rise of the Internet, are major factors contributing to globalization that have generated further economic interdependence and universal cultural activities. However, these are certainly not the only factors contributing to globalization. Today, I will show you how the entertainment industry has been a major driver of globalization.

The music industry incorporates many individuals, more than just those that write the music or perform it. It’s an intricate web of producers, record labels, retailers, managers, and a plethora of other careers that can come about just from music. The music industry has really transformed over the years. In the late 19th century, it was sheet music that brought in the most profits. However in the mid-20th century, records (vinyl, 8 track, cassette, cd, digital) overtook sheet music as the main source of income. In recent years, live music has really taken off. Earlier in the blog series we talked about piracy as potentially being detrimental to the entertainment industry. Nowhere does that ring truer than in music. Illegal downloading has really hurt profits, yet on the other hand it has opened up more avenues to find new artists and possibly buy music and merchandise that wouldn’t have been purchased before. While there are a lot of worries in this industry, some countries are seeing a continued growth. However partly because of the piracy issue, partly because of the digital age of the single, record sales just aren’t enough anymore to keep many in the music industry afloat. So what can be done for the industry?

It is no secret that the entertainment industry is undergoing massive changes (just like any other industry) with the rise of the internet and new technology. In part 2 of our blog series, we talked about how the industry has had a huge increase in pirating. I think there’s no doubt that increase is largely due to the internet making pirating much easier. While that’s one way that increased technology has negatively harmed the industry, there are many positive ways that technology is helping the entertainment industry.

The entertainment industry has many different facets, and each country seems to have their own spin on each of these. One thing that seems to be universally enjoyed by every culture is live music. There really is nothing quite like it. Mp3 players and stereos are great, but nothing can replace seeing your favorite band live in concert. The music industry thrives off of this desire. Artists from all different countries plan world tours and plan shows in some of the world’s most impressive venues. Concerts have become their very own version of business. With fans willing to spend such a premium to see their idols, concert venues have turned into extremely lucrative buildings. There are some venues that truly stand above the rest, and make concerts that much better. Here are just a few of the world’s most captivating concert venues:

For just about as long as any living person can remember, Bollywood and Hollywood have both been producing movies and been dominating their respective countries and audiences.  As far as Bollywood goes, many people in the U.S. view this burgeoning industry as a distant neighbor (although Bollywood was created 11 years before Hollywood, in the 19th century no less) of our hallowed Hollywood. In some sad cases people think it is just a misspelling of Hollywood.  With both Hollywood and Bollywood having already survived over a century each and the massive trend towards globalization, most people would think the similarities between the two would be great.  In actuality, the difference is vast.

While the global entertainment industry may appear to be thriving, there are serious threats to its long-term prosperity.  Many countries have been accused of failing to effectively protect intellectual property rights.  Some businesses may be forced to reduce global marketing and sales efforts if this trend continues.  An article in the globalEDGE Business Review estimated that worldwide counterfeiting has increased from $6 billion in the 1980s to over $600 billion today.  Even the most prosperous of businesses would struggle to cope with such overwhelming losses.

A quick look around the globe can show you that the continued growth in emerging markets have led to rapid changes in many industries. One of the industries that many people seem to overlook is the entertainment industry. Global entertainment is actually in the crosswinds of many trends that have changed (and will continue to change) the face of entertainment.

Senegal is one of the world's poorest countries (17th to be exact), where the average annual income is $980 according to the World Bank's latest figures. This is increasingly concerning as their major industry, fishing, is declining due to over-fishing and intense competition from Asia. But there is a booming industry which is primed for growth and provides investment opportunities in Senegal, and I would say most people wouldn't be able to guess what it is. That industry is wrestling, and it is starting to grow much more popular than football (soccer) in the country. It used to be a pastime of the farmers in the region, who could only work on farming during the rainy season. When they came to the cities to work, they found there was quite an audience ready to watch them wrestle, a traditional African sport which has transformed to take on elements of martial arts and boxing. Now, a winner of a big Lutte (as the Senegalese call it) match can make up to 100 million West African CFA francs ($205,000)! Some bigger names will even make a lot just by participating.

Richard Gelfond, co-CEO of IMAX, talks about the company's decision to sign a contract with a company in China due to the potential the country holds.

This deal is expected to increase profits for IMAX and the film industry in general. Furthermore, it will be helpful to the Chinese economy as it introduces a new product to the market with the potential for success.

Spain has the highest unemployment rate out of all developed European Countries. One region that is in desperate need for new investments and jobs is Aragon. Therefore, the parliament has decided to approve a law to allow the construction of a casino city in the countryside near Ontinena. The following video gives details about The Gran Scala project.