As the Internet continues to gain popularity as a source of news and entertainment, so-called “old media” outlets such as television networks and newspapers are steadily receding into the background. In April, newspapers in the US reported circulation decreases of 3.6% on average, according to Bloomberg.com.
One of the hardest hit major newspapers in the US was the Los Angeles Times, which reported a 5.1% fall in circulation over the last six months. The New York Times also lost readers, reporting a 3.9% drop in circulation in the same period. Overall, US newspaper circulation dropped from 42.6 million in the spring of 2007 to 41.1 million in March of 2008.
The only two major papers not to show a decrease were the Wall Street Journal and USA Today. In fact, USA Today actually gained readers, reporting a .3% increase in circulation over last year, though their results were certainly not representative of the industry as a whole.
Newspapers representing large metropolitan areas have seen the greatest declines in circulation over the past year. The Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, the Detroit Free Press and New York’s Newsday were some of the hardest hit. The Dallas morning news even reported a profit-slashing 10.6% decline in circulation, with the Boston Globe close behind with an 8.3% decrease.
For the newspaper industry as a whole, these numbers represent an escalating trend; more consumers are turning to the Internet for their news and dropping their subscriptions to local papers. In fact, the newspapers which fared the best over the past year were national brands like USA Today and the Wall Street Journal that are not limited to one specific metropolitan area.
With circulations decreasing and this rate, it is looking increasingly inevitable that some major US cities will wind up without a daily newspaper at some point. It’s hard to imagine, but in the not-too-distant future, large cities such as Detroit, Dallas, or Atlanta may wind up without a daily paper.
But forward thinking publishers are taking steps to increase their online presence, in preparation for the day when it is no longer economically viable to publish newspapers. The New York Times, for example, has greatly expanded its online presence, as has the Wall Street Journal, the San Francisco Chronicle and the Washington Post.
The writing on the wall is very clear: if these “old media” publishers are going to survive, they are going to have to morph into “new media” publishers– and very quickly.
The WB network could never really seem to catch a break. The fledgling TV network began broadcasting in 1995, only to eventually close up shop in 2006, and their nine-year TV experiment contained many notable failures, and relatively few successful programs to bring in the all-important advertising revenue.
But the New York Times is reporting that the WB is about to return; but this time as a web site. The WB site will feature online streaming video of new original programming and classic shows from the Warner Bros. vault. Additionally, Warner Bros. is launching KidsWB.com, a complementary web site aimed at the younger demographic.
The new WB online network, called TheWB.com, is an interesting experiment, with the company seeking to create a profitable outlet for their original content via the Internet. The WB site hopes to take advantage of the emerging trend of watching “television” programs on the computer, something that is especially popular with the younger generation.
The network will use an ad sponsored revenue model to support free episodes of shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The Gilmore Girls. In addition, episodes of other programs owned by Warner productions will also be streamed online, including “Friends” and “The OC.”
But the new online network won’t just focus on Warner Bros’ “greatest hits.” The site is also planning several new programs that are made specifically for the web site. With Fox, HBO and most other networks rushing to develop online content, the new WB site will have plenty of competition. And let’s not forget the free-for-all video popularity of YouTube, which is still the most watched video-related site online.
The WB web site will have to work hard to win over viewers that are used to short-form video comedies and other programming online. In addition, major networks like ABC are streaming episodes of their most popular programs online; not to mention NBC Universal, which has recently launched Hulu, and advertising-funded free video site that is gaining market share online quickly.
Whether the WB web site can succeed where the TV network failed we’ll have to wait and see. But it is clear that Warner Bros. is jumping into the online video race a bit late in the day. With so many other sites well-established online, simply garnering a loyal viewership could prove tricky.
At the end of the day though, it all comes down to the quality of the programming. If the WB site can produce content viewers want to see, it certainly stands a good chance of competing online. But if they’re simply rehashing episodes of 90s WB shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, they will likely find it difficult to attract a sizable audience. Whether online or off, viewers want new, original programming. If they can provide that, the WB online may just stand a chance.
For the past decade or so, network TV has been struggling to deal with the realities of the Internet as an entertainment and multimedia outlet. Recently, the situation has become critical, and many pundits are saying that network television is a dying medium, soon to be replaced by a seemingly unlimited amount of entertainment choices online.
New studies show that more and more people are watching TV episodes and films online, and the networks are even losing viewers to online video sites such as YouTube and Metacafé. In response to this, TV executives are beginning to look at the Internet as not only an advertising medium, but a method of distributing entertainment content.
A good example of this is the new CBS series “Big Bang Theory.” CBS took the unusual step of debuting the first episode of the sitcom online in its entirety, BEFORE it appeared on network television. The experiment paid off in the case of “Big Bang Theory,” racking up 90,000 online views, and over nine million viewers when it eventually debuted on network TV last September.
Big Bang theory, a comedy about two physics geeks and a sexy girl next door, was tailormade for this type of experiment, as the show appeals to a younger, tech saavy demographic. But CBS isn’t the only network experimenting with online content. Both ABC and NBC are also taking a chance by releasing selected episodes of their more popular shows online.
Networks are also discovering that online content delivery is a great way to increase their advertising revenue. Over the past year, online advertising revenue for all three of the big broadcast networks has nearly doubled, and advertisers are finding out that their money may be better spent online than on traditional broadcast TV commercials.
One reason for this perception is because the Internet is by nature interactive. If the viewer becomes interested in a product being advertised during an online TV episode, they can immediately click on a link to take them to a web site providing more information about the product. In many cases, they can even buy the product online instantly and return to their TV episode without missing a beat.
ABC has discovered that streaming episodes of Lost or Desperate Housewives online is creating significant advertising revenue, as product manufacturers are hungry for the type of mostly-well educated and Internet savvy viewers who would watch these programs online.
With online ad revenues on the increase, it is clear that all the major networks will continue to experiment with online episodes, further blurring the line between television and the Internet.
It seems like REM has been around forever. With a career now pushing three decades, REM has certainly proved they’re not a fly-by-night band; and their latest studio album (their 14th) proves that the boys from Athens Georgia still know how to rock.
The new album, Accelerate, is an obvious departure from 2004’s “Around the Sun,” or pretty much anything the group has done since drummer Bill Berry left the band back in 1997. Since that time, REM records have had their ups and downs, but they certainly couldn’t be accused of “rocking out.” After the departure of Berry, REM records began to sound resigned and even mellow, a word most longtime fans would never have associated with the band.
But Accelerate sees REM in excellent form, and rocking harder than they have in at least a decade. The band brought in producer Jacknife Lee, who is known for bringing out the aggressive tendencies of other perennial rock giants, such as U2. Accelerate succeeds in bringing out a rougher and faster REM, with Michael Stipe spitting out spiteful lyrics that reek of disillusionment and revenge, without falling into clichés.
Taken as a whole, Accelerate sounds more like REM circa 1984, than the subdued, mellow and introspective REM of the late 90s and beyond. And that is definitely a good thing. The record never gets nostalgic — the band isn’t trying to become a parody of what they used to be. Accelerate is first and foremost a contemporary record; the crunchy production and over-the-top compression keep the record firmly up to date. But stylistically, it may be the most interesting collection of “thinking man’s anthems” in REM’s history.
One big problem with the REM records of the late 90s and into the new millennium was the loss of their drummer, Bill Berry. Well, let me clarify that: the real problem was that REM refused to replace Berry with another musician, and instead simply used a collection of studio musicians to fill in on recording sessions. Even worse, when none of their studio drummer pals seemed to fit the bill, they simply left the drums off altogether, resulting in a mellow and overly “twangy” sound that REM fans barely recognized.
The new album puts the backbeat back into REM. Although the band still hasn’t hired a full-time drummer to replace Berry — perhaps they never will — they have re-embraced the concept of a pounding rock drummer laying down a solid foundation for the band to work off of. This subtle shift in attitude makes all the difference on Accelerate, and returns REM to the world of the living.
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Occasionally a film will come along that not only captures the imagination of the general public, but also the interest of educators and academics. The Matrix (and to a lesser extent the film’s two sequels) have managed to do just that. The movie is now being used in universities throughout North America and Europe in classes as diverse as Pop-Culture, Philosophy, English literature, and even “Cyber Theory.”
The philosophical symbolism in The Matrix is clear: the “reality” we see around us on a daily basis is not reality at all, but only our perspective of reality. The film takes this concept to an extreme, by showing humans living in nurturing “pods,” unaware of their true surroundings, and being force fed images and sensations of an idealized world.
Philosophically, the plot of The Matrix is very similar to Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, in which prisoners are bound inside an underground cavern, where they see shadows of objects dancing on the cave walls in front of them, but never the objects themselves. It’s easy to see how The Matrix could be useful in explaining philosophical concepts like these, but educators are taking things much further, and even using The Matrix as an example of postmodern English Literature and “Pop-Culture Spirituality.”
Brandeis University, for example, offers sophomore English classes based on The Matrix, and junior and senior level classes in communication and pop-culture also use the film in their curriculum. One Brandeis graduate commented that after four years of college, he had seen the film no less than eight times in various classes.
Other universities have also added The Matrix to their curriculum, including prestigious schools such as the Yale, Penn State, Berkeley and Brown, proving that the academic fascination with The Matrix is a widespread phenomenon. And even though the sci-fi fans who originally adored the film have since moved on, The Matrix refuses to go away, and boasts hundreds of active web sites exploring the concepts and meanings behind the film.
There are dedicated Matrix message boards and forums in nearly every language you care to name; and it’s not just the usual crowd of cyber-geeks discussing the film ad nausea; university professors, theologians, philosophers, political scientists and even physicist all get in on the act, debating the implications and lessons of the movie.
Ironically, one group of professionals who have never been particularly impressed with The Matrix is film critics, most of whom slammed the film for its one-dimensional character studies, less than stellar acting and cheesy dialogue. Even the trademark rope-fighting effects which were so impressive back in the 90s are beginning to look a bit amateurish and silly these days.
But even if it is not the greatest film ever made (or even in the top 1000!), there is still SOMETHING about the Matrix that continues to capture the attention and imagination of intellectuals, free thinkers and other academic types the world over.
It’s been three years since the Las Vegas born quintet have released a new album. “Pretty. Odd” will be their sophmore release to their first album “A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out.” The question is, will this new album be able to raise them back up to the level they were at before? Or were they really even at that level?
Taking a look back at 05-06 when Panic at the Disco (who where known as “Panic! at the Disco” back then) had just managed to gain popularity. Fellow record label mates Fall Out Boy were at an all time high, receiving a significant amount of media attention. Considering that Fall Out Boy front man Pete Wentz owns and operates their record label, Decaydance Records, Panic at the Disco received a sizable hand-up. The time was ripe for Punk Rock and Emo bands to make their mark through Facebook and MySpace, so that’s exactly what they did.
While every band that has fallen into those classifications are often considered to be all the same, Panic at the Disco had a style that only had similarities to the band My Chemical Romance. Performing with more of a circus/performance atmosphere and playing a style of music that stood out from their fellow performers, their accelerated climb to greater things seemed inevitable. It didn’t take long to see Panic at the Disco debuting on MTV and over all the mainstream radio stations.
Unfortunately for them, that lime light had begun to die down. When band members Brendon Urie, Ryan Ross, Jon Walker, and Spencer Smith scrapped all their recordings from their initial attempt at a second album in early 2007. Their TV appearances became fewer and far between, making many wonder if they would fade away like their generic brethren. But with a release date for their new album slated for the end of this month already generating hype through MTV and even the Grammy’s, perhaps they still have it in them to get back up there.
Panic at the Disco has claimed that their album “Pretty. Odd” will come across in a much more positive fashion. With artists like Miley Cyrus toping the charts these days, perhaps it was a good choice for them to drop their darker feeling for a more well rounded and large age bracket sound. The question is, can they still offer that same thrill and experience they had during “A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out” or will this softer side fizzle out?
If you can’t wait until the release date of March 25th, you can catch their two singles, “Nine in the Afternoon” and “That Green Gentleman” on YouTube or Imeem.
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The undisputed biggest rock band of the 80s, Van Halen recently shocked both fans and critics by reuniting with the band’s original singer/front-man David Lee Roth for a North American tour. Van Halen have not toured with Roth since they parted company about 22 years ago, so the reunion tour was a highly anticipated event, and sold out concert venues throughout North America.
But the Van Halen tour is currently on-hold indefinitely while guitarist Eddie Van Halen undergoes a series of “medical tests,” according to the bands publicist. Insiders say that Eddie is back in rehab for alcohol abuse, after the pressures of touring with the band led him back to the bottle.
Edward Van Halen has struggled with an alcohol problem for many years, and finally emerged from rehab last year looking and sounding healthier than in a long time. Artistically, Van Halen still seem to have the old creative spark, and the guitarist’s lightening fast guitar riffs are as crisp and sharp as ever.
But the reunion Van Halen tour with original singer Roth almost never happened at all. Last spring, just weeks before the tour was scheduled to commence, Edward checked into a rehab facility, leaving fans to wonder if the reunion tour was over before it even began. Eventually, Eddie emerged from rehab, looking healthy and fit; and the band finally embarked upon their “come back” tour.
The band line-up now consists of Edward Van Halen on lead guitar, Alex Van Halen on drums, and Wolfgang Van Halen on bass guitar (Eddie’s son, who replaced original bassist Michael Anthony), and of course, singer/front-man extraordinaire, “Diamond” David Lee Roth.
Ross was replaced as the band’s singer years ago by vocalist/guitarist Sammy Hagar, much to the chagrin of loyal Van Halen fans. Although Hagar was undoubtedly a more controlled and technically proficient singer, without the raw exuberance of David Lee Roth on the mic, the band’s sound and stage image became bland and unimaginative.
Van Halen fans tend to be split into two distinct camps. Those who appreciate the early Van Halen, with Roth on lead vocals, and those who prefer the latter Van Halen, with Sammy Hagar upfront (also sometimes known as “Van Hagar”). But there is little doubt that the most diehard Van Halen fans prefer the original lineup. The raw energy and mind-boggling guitar virtuosity combined to create something truly special — something the band lost during the “Van Hagar” years.
Let’s hope Eddie gets his act together and the reunion tour continues. Millions of dedicated fans of the original Van Halen are counting on it.
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Show business is big business — there’s no doubt about that. The cost of making and marketing films for worldwide release continues to climb, and last year reached a new high, according to the film industry Organization, The Motion Picture Association of America.
The costs of making a feature-length Hollywood movie increases by 6.3% in 2007, to an average of $106.6 million per film. Much of that cost is due to the increase in computer-generated effects, backgrounds and even characters. The technology and expertise necessary to reproduce realistic computer-generated scenes requires a substantial investment, and with some releases accounts for as much as 50% of the film’s overall budget.
But another factor contributing to the skyrocketing costs associated with filmmaking is increased marketing. Television, theatrical and online marketing of films has reached record levels in the past few years, requiring even the most modest of film releases to spend millions in marketing in order to make a profit.
Because of the rising costs of marketing motion pictures, many filmmakers are turning to joint ventures as a way of defraying some of the advertising costs. Recent Hollywood films have joint ventured with Burger King, Kentucky Fried Chicken, McDonald’s, Sony and Hewlett-Packard, just to name a few of the major corporations jumping on board the Hollywood bandwagon.
But despite the rising costs of producing a film in Tinseltown, there is some good news: box office revenues reached a record high in 2007. In the United States, the motion picture industry reported its most profitable year ever. Sony’s “Spiderman 3” topped the list of the most profitable films of 2007, earning an estimated $336.5 million.
Internationally, box office receipts are also up. The Motion Picture Association of America is reporting that global receipts totaled over $26 billion in 2007, a new record.
The downside of the higher costs of producing films is that major studios are far more reluctant to take chances are unknown directors and independent filmmakers. With so much money at stake, the industry has become extremely conservative about the types of films released, a practice which many critics claim stifles creativity and innovation within the industry.
Even smaller and so-called “independent” films are costing more and more to produce and market. With average movie ticket prices increasing every year, independent films are finding it increasingly difficult to get distribution, and many opt for “direct to DVD” release as a way of bypassing the big Hollywood machine.
If this trend continues, groundbreaking and innovative films could soon become primarily associated with DVD releases, and bypass cinemas altogether.
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They say that the attention span of the average American continues to shrink. Books, films and even television shows must get to the point right away, grab the viewer or reader’s attention, and wrap things up in a timely manner. After all, people are busy, right? Everyone’s got 10 or more things to do at any given moment, or so the rationale goes.
Television is a good example of this, and the success of the standard 30 minute sitcom (which actually contains only 22 minutes of programming, along with eight minutes of advertising) is often pointed to as an example of the shrinking American attention span. But forget the bog-standard 22 minute sitcom; imagine a world full of five-minute mini-sitcoms, broadcast both online and on cable television. Disney is imagining just such a scenario, and has produced the first ultra-short form sitcom: called “Squeegees.”
Squeegees is being produced by Stage Nine, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Disney Corporation which is dedicated to integrating online and television content. Stage Nine’s mission is to exploit the popularity of Web video sites such as YouTube and Myspace, and develop original programming designed to bridge the gap between online and television entertainment.
The new mini sitcoms are approximately 5 minutes long — and that’s including commercials! They will be debuted on both YouTube and ABC.com. Squeegees is a comedy about four characters who wash windows for living, clinging to the edges of high-rise buildings in Manhattan.
But is it possible for viewers to grow to love and empathize with characters they see only briefly in five-minute intervals? The verdict is still out on that question, but it is clear that a new generation of comedians and short film producers have been creating quite a buzz on sites like YouTube over the past couple of years with 5-minute comedy sketches.
The comedy troupe known as “Handsome Donkey,” for example has produced several side-hurting comedy shorts that can only be found online. And interestingly enough, Handsome Donkey is also behind Disney’s Squeegees, both writing and starring in the mini-sitcom.
But where many of the comedy troupe’s short Internet comedy sketches succeed, Squeegees appears a bit overproduced, and in some ways, as if it’s trying too hard. One hilarious aspect of many online comedy sketches is the rough nature of their production and editing. When a company — Disney for example — tries to clean up these skits and add a smooth polished to them, they often lose much of the low-tech funkiness that make them funny to begin with.
If Disney wants to succeed with the five-minute online sitcom, it will need to take lessons from many of the most popular contributors on YouTube: keep it simple and keep it real.
The “new” has officially worn off of MP3 music tracks and albums. What was once a marvel of modern technology is now as ubiquitous and commonplace (read: boring) as the humble cell phone.
Of course, music CDs haven’t been relevant for years, and at this point are starting to look like those stacks of cassette tapes your dad has in a cardboard box in the attic. But with MP3s now passé, and CDs having reached their sell-by date a good 5 years ago, what new technology will jump in to take their place?
It appears that the flash drive is the trendiest music medium for 2008. With the prices of flash memory drives coming down on a near weekly basis, the technology has finally become inexpensive enough to serve as a medium for music albums.
Music acts such as Mars Volta, Matchbox Twenty and Jennifer López have all released versions of their current albums in flash drive format, and a number of high-profile artists are scheduled for flash-album releases this spring.
The flash drive versions of digital albums make sense in many ways. To begin with, they are tiny, and not nearly as cumbersome as CDs to store. Flash drives can also be fashioned into cool bracelets or necklaces so you can basically “wear your favorite band around your neck.”
At a retail price of about $30, the flash drive album looks like an idea whose time has come. The devices serve a double duty; besides containing the album’s digital music files, they can also be used as portable storage devices, much like an iPod.
And besides, consumers have been craving some physical object to represent their favorite artists and albums. Back in your dad’s day, they had these cool vinyl records, with unique art work and liner sleeves. Of course, after that came the cassette tapes, which weren’t nearly as cool, but still contained foldout liner notes and art work. Then came the CD — awkward and unattractive, but at least they included mini booklets containing artwork, lyrics and other information.
But ever since the digital music revolution, music fans have been left empty-handed when purchasing their favorite albums. Sure, the music may be great; but real fans want something physical, something tangible which represents the music and the artist.
That’s why some experts are predicting big things for the USB flash drive album. It is small and inexpensive, and can be fashioned into a variety of shapes, necklaces, bracelets, even ear rings. The MP3 is dead: Long live the flash drive!
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