The year 2020 certainly affected many industries in various ways. That being said, the entertainment industry is, of course, no exception. With so many public entertainment centers closing their doors and numerous releases postponing their production, it’s safe to say that the entertainment industry really took a hit.
However, the good news is that since the entertainment industry is full of creative people, industry professionals are beginning to find ways around things. Virtual museum tours, virtual concerts and the recent expansion of the online entertainment options really managed to bring forth a sense of normality. That said, let’s look at some community factors of the entertainment industry as well as things we can expect moving forward.
Streaming
A huge part of the entertainment industry was offline entertainment. Events such as concerts, movie screenings and even museum tours brought a sizeable amount of money to the industry. However, with social distancing, such events are widely being canceled or postponed indefinitely.
Luckily, since we’re living in the age of technology, many artists found their way around things. For instance, direct online streaming offered a great opportunity to overcome some of these difficulties. Online concerts and museum tours have already become a thing. Virtual book tours and meet-and-greets also became quite popular during the pandemic. Movie and TV show streaming platforms also expanded their content and there are even movie producers that embraced a new format of movie making, the so-called Zoom format.
Production and creativity
In the entertainment industry of the past, various artists were either highly unlikely to move from their “field” and dabble into the other, or they were simply unable to do so. However, with this new shift in the industry, many artists can nowadays enjoy the inclusivity some of the online entertainment platforms are offering. For instance, platforms such as YouTube, TikTok and Instagram don’t really treat any of their creators differently, regardless of where they may be coming from.
These platforms offered various people a chance to create and share content they feel happy with, with their fans and followers. This offered the same opportunity to both A-list celebrities and us, common people alike to create content we feel passionate about and share it with the world.
This change can also be seen in crowdfunding, with Kickstarter and other crowdfunding platforms raising millions to support entertainment projects (up to 20 percent of all their projects). The amount raised by the biggest crowdfunded film (so far), Veronica Mars, was $5.7 million.
Online gaming
The world of online gaming was seemingly the least affected by the pandemic, at least if we’re only focusing on the negatives. What happened in this part of the entertainment industry is actually quite the opposite. The online entertainment industry actually experienced a huge influx of new customers.
Now, while this certainly is good news for the industry itself, id did create some ruffles among the audience. Just like some of the land-based entertainment centers have their own rules that need to be followed, such as the casino etiquette, the same applies to the online realm. Here, the biggest shift that can be noticed with the influx of new online gamers is the way in which gamers communicate with each other. That said, such a shift is entirely normal and old gamers can rest assured that their new playmates will be quick to catch on.
Digital shift
Even though there are still plenty of people that prefer cozying up in front of their TVs, they are slowly becoming sparser and sparser. Nowadays, the number of TV views only continues to fall, with digital content taking over the audience. This shift to digital consumption is closely related to the evolution of mobile devices.
Not surprisingly, new technologies changed the way people entertain themselves. Moreover, with technology continuing to evolve mobile engagement will only continue to grow. It is estimated that mobile screen time will double with the emergence of 5G network, but that’s something we are yet to experience.
Crowdfunding
In the end, various crowdfunding platforms nowadays enable small artists to make their appearance in the entertainment scene. Independent movie, music and even video game production was never something that was easily affordable. But nowadays, artists can pitch their ideas on crowdfunding platforms and see how they can make their idea a reality with the help of interested consumers. More often than not, the people that support an artist in this way also receive something small in return which shows the artist’s gratitude.
With all of this said, it becomes quite clear that social factors are some of the main influencers in the entertainment industry. Simply put, artists and entertainment companies that stay up to date with the latest trends really do stand to benefit a lot from following and implementing the latest trends. On the other hand, those who fail to do so can’t really expect to establish themselves as industry leaders.
