Deadline day Homework- Industry
INDUSTRY- How the media industry processes of production, distribution and circulation affect its products.
It is important to understand who owns the product and how does the ownership affect the way it is consumed.
Media industries are now adapting to new needs of audiences, an example of this is the though new media which links to the 'End of Audience' theory by Clay Shirky. Shirky believes that passive audiences (audiences that mindlessly watch or read without having to really think or do anything) no longer exist. He believes we are now a more active audience (audience that interact with the media). He believes the media has changed to become 'New media' which is media that is created or curated by the individual, not the traditional media like news, movies or radio. Audiences are embracing new media through the internet and are using it to interact with creators of their favourite films and programs and some audiences are creating their own media based on media which they have seen such as fan-fiction. This theory is true for a wide proportion of audiences but isn't correct for all as some people aren't digitally advanced to use the internet to become an active audience member.
Media Industries still face the challenge of having to sell their product to audiences in order for them to make a profit. The 'Cultural Industries' theory by David Hesmondhalgh suggests that industries rely upon repetition so they can sell formats to audiences. He suggests that it is difficult for companies to predict profitability, so they rely upon repetition to generate profit. The repetition can be in the form of using well-known celebrities, or rebooting old successful films like Disney is currently doing. Companies may copy formats which other companies have done if it was done well as they know this will be successful e.g an action film is released and has done well so other companies shortly release action films. The problem with this concept is that audiences often see the industry as uncreative and profit driven and lose interest in what the company is trying to sell.
Businesses can grow their industry through:
- Being conglomerate = Owning more than one company
- Vertical integration = When a company owns all parts of the production scale to avoid cash loss
- Synergy = partnering up with another company to advertise
It is challenging for companies to keep up with changing industries and may lead for them to decline. An example of an industry that is featuring a lot of change is the newspaper industry as revenue of papers was 12.06 million pounds in 2001 but in 2014 was down to 6.89 million pounds. This may be as less people are purchasing printed newspapers due to news being readily available online mostly for free. This is an example of how the industry has changed and companies need to change accordingly or will lose out. The press has adapted to the change to meet the change in industry as many newspapers now have their paper online and make money through advertising.
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